Best of the Week: Nicola Benedetti, ‘Is God Is,’ ‘Last Stop on Market Street,’ Belly

After winning the prestigious BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2004, Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has matured into one of the world’s more charismatic classical performers. Recently named the Schubert Club’s first featured artist, Benedetti kicks off her yearlong tenure with a recital featuring Brahms’ three violin ­sonatas.

TERRY BLAIN

7:30 p.m. Tue. Aria, Mpls. $30, schubert.org

Twin sisters go on a wild ride in the bonkers — and bloody — “Is God Is.” Dame-Jasmine Hughes won an Obie Award when the play premiered off-Broadway, and she’s reprising her ferocious performance in Mixed Blood’s fluid production, which finds the twins doing a task for their mother: finding, killing and bringing a souvenir of their father. An excellent cast nails the tone, which veers between macabre humor and devastatingly up-to-the-minute tragedy.

CHRIS HEWITT

2 p.m. today, next Sun.; 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Ends Oct. 14. Mixed Blood Theatre, Mpls. $35, mixedblood.com

Pumpkins weighing more than 1,000 pounds will tip the scales at the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off during the Celebrate the Harvest Festival at Gale Woods Farm. Sheep will scurry about as border collies and their handlers showcase their skills in the Star of the North Sheepherding Trial. Guests can try their hand at sheep shearing. There will also be chef demonstrations, wool crafting and wagon rides.

9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sat. Gale Woods Farm, Minnetrista. Free, threeriversparkdistrict.org

“Last Stop on Market Street” uses the metaphor of a bus trip to talk about a child expanding his mind, heart and soul. Adapted from a popular book, it is a spirited ride, thanks to a stellar cast and the hip-hop music of Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier and his son Paris Ray Dozier. Alejandro Vega, 13, steals the show as a suburban kid visiting his strict city-dwelling Nana (Greta Oglesby), whose rap is a showstopper.

ROHAN PRESTON

2 & 5 p.m. today, next Sun.; 7 p.m. Thu.-Fri.; 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Sat. Ends Oct. 21 Children’s Theatre, Mpls. $15-$54, childrenstheatre.org

One of the leading women of the ’90s alt-rock boom, ex-Throwing Muses co-leader Tanya Donelly is back on the road with her almost famous melodic-fuzz band Belly, which landed the swirly 1993 MTV hit “Feed the Tree” and issued two solid albums before breaking up too soon in ’96. The Boston quartet played its first reunion shows last year. Things went so well that it’s back with a vibrant new album, “Dove,” and now an “evening with” gig at First Avenue’s newest property.

9 p.m. Fri. Fine Line Music Cafe, Mpls. $20-$35, eTix.com

Sky Hopinka’s experimental films employ a dreamy, non-narrative feel, bringing together breathtaking imagery of natural landscapes and poetic textual meditations. Bockley Gallery is screening all three of his films continuously, including “Dislocation Blues,” a meditation on Standing Rock, and “Fainting Spells,” the story of the Indian pipe plant used by the Ho-Chunk people to bring back those who have fainted. His films were featured in the 2017 Whitney Biennial.

ALICIA ELER

Ends Oct. 29. Bockley Gallery, Mpls. Free, bockleygallery.com

From its first First Avenue gig in 2013, brooding but buoyant Scottish synth-pop trio Chvrches has earned a warm reception in cool Minnesota, thanks in large part to singer Lauren Mayberry and her truly siren-like allure. The band’s gloomily named third album, “Love Is Dead,” is actually more bubbly and polished, earning the band more radio and digital play and a two-night stand this time around.

8 p.m. Tue.-Wed. Palace Theatre, St. Paul, sold out

Minnesota Opera opens its 2018-19 season with Puccini’s “La Rondine,” starring vibrant soprano Celine Byrne in the title role. This frothy, operetta-like work from 1917 contains elements of “La Bohème” and Verdi’s “La Traviata,” although the central female character is spared death upon the opera’s conclusion.

TERRY BLAIN

8 p.m. Sat. Ends Oct. 14, Ordway, St. Paul. $25-$238, mnopera.org

Having explored Latin culture for nearly 50 years, New York City’s Ballet Hispánico returns to Minnesota with works by three Latina choreographers, including Michelle Manzaneles’ piece about her Texas upbringing. Also featured are Tania Perez-Salas’ Pi-themed “3” and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s all-male “Sombrerisimo.”