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Maybe they'll bring back Smell-O-Vision, too The Showplace Icon theater in St. Louis Park is what you might call a forward-thinking cineplex. It boasts VIP seating, all-digital projection and a swanky bar. But next week, it's going old school to salute the old Cooper Theater, which was located nearby before being demolished in 1991. One of the Twin Cities' most storied movie houses, it featured Cinerama, a technique that utilized three projectors to create one massive picture. To celebrate this history, Showplace Icon will screen the 1962 James Stewart-Gregory Peck epic "How the West Was Won," a mainstay at the Cooper. The single showing (7 p.m. Tuesday) is the first in a series the theater is calling "Cooper Classics." The $10 ticket will get you a complimentary dessert at the neighboring Cooper Pub, named after the old theater.

TOM HORGEN

Yep man The rootsy North Carolina indie-rock label Yep Roc Records announced this week that it will issue a new album by Greg Brown on May 10 -- which is a bit surprising, since the Iowa folk hero is a founder and flagship artist at St. Paul's Red House Records. Titled "Freak Flag," the disc was recorded in Memphis's famed Ardent Studio (see: Big Star, Replacements) with producer/guitarist Bo Ramsey and some of the modern equipment Brown has long eschewed (like ProTools). It's not Brown's first disc for another label, but it's his first for another company as sizable as Yep Roc, whose roster includes John Doe, Robyn Hitchcock and Gang of Four. Red House reps wished him well. Said Eric Peltoniemi, who took over as president after the passing of Bob Feldman, "Although Greg did help Bob start Red House, he has long been a free agent and has experimented with putting things out on other labels for years. And once again, he's at a place where he wants to try something new."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

The Tammy show It's not an April Fool's gag. The Loring Theater in Minneapolis promises a night to commemorate what would have been the 50th anniversary of Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker's wedding. They said "I do" in 1961 in the theater at 15th Street and Nicollet Avenue S. Their fairy tale ended early, of course, but Tammy Faye became an icon of garish taste and something of a matron saint for her work with the gay community. The film "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" will be shown at 7:30 p.m. April 1, followed by a discussion about Tammy's place in the Liza/Madonna/Gaga gay pantheon.

GRAYDON ROYCE

Squarer than Muskogee While their music was terrifically no-nonsense, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson did plenty of goofing off between songs Sunday night at Mystic Lake Casino -- usually at the expense of the casino itself, whose no-alcohol policy did not sit well with the old compatriots. Haggard said that when he found out about the booze ban, he asked, "Well, can you at least smoke pot?" He also joked, "They tried that in Egypt, and look what happened." Kristofferson slipped a quip into "Silver Tongued Devil" after the lines about the Tallyho Tavern: "This song is making me thirsty," he said. The best came after Merle suggested that they were having so much fun that they should give the crowd back its money. Interjected Kris, "Somebody get him a drink. Quick!"

Hats on for the president Hats were a theme at Sunday's gala buffet supper marking Kevin Smith's retirement after 30 years as president of the Minnesota Opera. About 350 guests, many wearing the straw boaters favored by Venetian gondoliers, toasted Smith, who shares a love of Italy with his wife, Lynn, and daughters Jackie and Allison. Gifts included the severed head of John the Baptist, a gruesome prop from a production of "Salome." Smith has always been "a great opener of doors," said Ordway CEO Patricia Mitchell. A congenial type, he helped negotiate a long-term agreement among the Ordway's chief tenants -- the Opera, Schubert Club and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra -- who had previously bickered over fees, access and scheduling. In recognition of his door-opening skills, Mitchell handed Smith a top hat and said he would "always have a job at the Ordway" -- where the doorman always wears a top hat.

MARY ABBE

An American band? The Minnesota Orchestra sounded "terrific" Monday night at Carnegie Hall, wrote New York Times chief critic Anthony Tommasini, but he seemed a little weary of director Osmo Vänskä's continued focus on Beethoven and Sibelius. The Beethoven Violin Concerto "showed some of the shortcomings of Mr. Vänskä's approach," he wrote -- meaning, apparently, an attention to detail that seemed "an attempt to make the most of every moment. This work of more than 40 minutes has seldom seemed so long." While he was generous with his praise, Tommasini had one wish: To see what the orchestra can do with some new American music.