Veteran Twin Cities actor Charity Jones made history Sunday as the first woman to play Ebenezer Scrooge in the Guthrie Theater's "A Christmas Carol." And what special history it was. In the first of four scheduled performances in the role, Jones commanded the theater's thrust stage with poise, wit and empathy. She brought out different qualities in the uber-miser, who is being played for most of the run with mastery by Nathaniel Fuller. While still a man, Jones' Scrooge seems both more severe and more deeply felt. He becomes glass-eyed as the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him his painful childhood, goes from snark to self-reflection as he discovers he's the butt of jokes by his nephew, and turns downright fearful as the Ghost of Christmas Future foreshadows what's to come. Jones carries us on Scrooge's journey step by step, inviting us into her character's wounds, mistakes and, finally, his chance at redemption. To celebrate Jones' excellence is not to diminish Fuller's performance, which elicits a few more laughs. But what Jones has accomplished is pretty special. And it's worth seeing when she dons Scrooge's pants and top hat again Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 13 (10:30 a.m.).
ROHAN PRESTON
Another Prince controversy
Two Prince-related developments reiterated there will be a purple tinge to Super Bowl week even if (when?) the Vikings blow their chances of competing. First, his former bandmates touring under the New Power Generation moniker confirmed two concerts Feb. 2 at the Dakota. The '90s-'00s-era crew, led by keyboardist Morris Hayes, will include local players Tommy Barbarella and Kirk Johnson, plus André Cymone and Kip Blackshire as vocalists. More controversially, Paisley Park applied for a Chanhassen city permit to sell alcohol that week, obviously in hopes of hosting concerts for the mass influx of visitors. No word on what those events might be. The council will have to weigh various legal issues at a Dec. 11 meeting, since the studio facility is officially zoned as a museum now. Prince fans already have weighed in online with disappointment, since Paisley was almost always alcohol-free whenever Prince hosted events.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
New play hits Target
When Target decided to abandon its Canadian expansion attempts in 2015, our neighbors to the north may have lost 133 stores with reasonably priced goods but they gained a play. "A Community Target" will have its first staged reading Sunday in an empty former Target in Hamilton, Ontario. Playwright Robert Motum says he sensed something missing from the bottom-line-oriented news coverage of Target's move. "I was curious about the human side of the story, so I started talking to people, customers and former employees. I wanted to see something creative, something positive, something cathartic come out of it." His goal is a full production that will immerse audiences as it moves throughout a former store. "There are still dozens of them available around the country," says Motum. "People joke that we could do a national tour."
CHRIS HEWITT
Hurricane relief
Twin Cities performer T. Mychael Rambo will co-host an all-star concert for hurricane relief Friday at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater, an event that doubles as the release party for a benefit album sharing the same title: "Minnesota Voices United." Both represent a broad swath of Twin Cities talent, including Grammy-winning belter Jamecia Bennett of the Sounds of Blackness, rockers Tina and the B Side Movement, country artist Chris Hawkey, "The Voice" veteran Kat Perkins, and singer/rapper Maria Isa, who is of Puerto Rican background. The theme song of the evening could be "Never Give Up," a single written by music director Julius Collins, former Prince keyboardist Tommy Barbarella and producer John Fields. "We wanted a big-hearted gesture to show that we care, that the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Houston can take heart," said Rambo. All proceeds will go to Americares, the nonprofit relief organization. (7:30 p.m. Fri., $22.50-$62.50. 651-290-1200.)R.P.
