Best of the week: Pilobolus Dance Theater, 'Bad Jews,' Art-A-Whirl and more

Famed choreographers Martha Clarke and Moses Pendleton, founder of Momix, are among the imaginative group of Dartmouth College students who founded the Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971. The world-famous, shape-shifting athletic troupe returns to the Ordway, where it performed three years ago, with an evening of five suites. The program includes "On the Nature of Things" and "The Inconsistent Pedaler," which features a bicycle as a metaphor for a vehicle that a girl rides into adulthood.rohan preston

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Ordway Center, St. Paul. $29-79, ordway.org.

Wife-and-husband team Allison Russell and JT Nero cut their teeth in separate bands, Po' Girl and JT & the Clouds, respectively, but have truly found harmony together in their jazzified soul/pop group Birds of Chicago. Roots music whiz Joe Henry just produced their second album, "Real Midnight," full of candlelit ballads and jangly, lovelorn ditties led by Russell's goosebumps-inducing voice. Ben Lubeck of Farewell Milwaukee opens.

chris riemenschneider

7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls., $15, TheCedar.org.

Playwright Joshua Harmon serves up a chewy brisket of a script — delicious and sure to cause a little indigestion — with "Bad Jews." Four people tussle over the disposition of a deceased grandfather's precious heirloom with volatile and raw perorations. Harmon doesn't quite stick the landing, but this is lively theater to watch.

graydon royce

Gregg Allman probably would have been ahead of David Bowie and Prince on the oddsmakers' list of rock stars to die before their time. But the lead singer of the now-disbanded Allman Brothers has survived despite battling drug addiction, hepatitis C and atrial fibrillation. He brings his Allmans blues including "Ain't Wasting Time No More" plus such solo hits as "I'm No Angel." Maybe he'll preview the new album he's been making with producer Don Was.

jon bream

8 p.m. Sat., Mystic Lake, Prior Lake, $59-$69, mysticlake.com

The inaugural Little Free Library Festival features poetry readings, pop-up puppet shows and live music by the Brass Messengers, Ann Reed, Dan Chouinard and others. Books & Bars host Jeff Kamin invites all ages to play "If I Were Harry Potter." Children can bring a book and read aloud to barber Courtney Holmes in exchange for a free haircut. There's even a canine contest for pooches in costume depicting authors and characters from books.

melissa walker

After a winter of productive hibernation, artists are stirring again in northeast Minneapolis. More than 600 will welcome visitors to their studios for the 21st annual three-day, show-and-sell Art-A-Whirl. As always, the free event will feature paintings, photos, prints, sculpture, furniture, glass, pottery, music, performances, food and family fun.

mary abbe

5-10 p.m. Fri.; noon-8 p.m. Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun., free, nemaa.org

As if Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros' psychedelic communal anthems aren't warming enough for a pre-summer outdoor concert, the bookers behind the L.A. hippie folk-rockers' latest local gig threw in one of the most feel-good acts in America, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, for an opening act — and they went and parked the show right outside the Surly Brewery, a new concert venue. This is one of the headliners' first gigs behind their polyrhythmic new album, "PersonA."

chris riemenschneider

"A Night in Olympus" is a new work by composer Chan Poling and writers Jeffrey Hatcher and Bill Corbett. The story is simple: Plain Jane wants the high school hunk for a prom date. All the teachers in "Olympus, Ind." are slumming Greek gods and goddesses. So it's easy for the fallen Venus to exercise her powers and change the young woman. Michael Robins directs a great cast headlined by Tyler Michaels, McKinnley Aitchison and Adam Qualls.

Graydon royce

7 p.m. Sun., 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. Ends June 4; Illusion Theater, Mpls.; $15-$42, illusiontheater.org

Nicholas Phan is one of the finest lyric tenors of the younger generation. He lends a touch of class to the closing concert of the Minnesota Bach Ensemble's season. He sings arias by Bach and Handel, interspersed with instrumental music by both composers.

terry blain