Ninjas will rule from dusk to dawn

A significant number of Minnesotans have already competed on "American Ninja Warrior," but locals will face their ultimate challenge when the hit NBC series comes to U.S. Bank Stadium Friday and Saturday nights to tape two episodes under the cloak of darkness. The competition is filming during off-peak hours — from sunset to sunrise — to maximize the reality series' top-of-the-line lighting design, an NBC spokesperson said. The public is invited to watch would-be warriors tackle the obstacle course with host Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Kristine Leahy all on hand. As of Wednesday, tickets had been scooped up for all tapings except 3:30 a.m. Sunday. You can find a link for seats — or join the waiting list — at usbankstadium.com/events. The opportunity to qualify for the contest has come and gone, but local media personalities are being invited to attempt the course. We'll keep you posted on any Sven Sundgaard sightings. The 10th season starts airing May 30 with Minneapolis episodes scheduled in early July and late August.

NEAL JUSTIN

Twin Cities actor Dame-Jasmine Hughes won an Obie Award, which recognizes excellence in off-Broadway theater. "I feel excited," Hughes said. "I flew into New York for the event and was really shocked and excited to win." Her co-star, Alfie Fuller, also won. They played twins in Aleshea Harris' genre-bending play "Is God Is," about two sisters who seek revenge for horrible things that have befallen them. The play, which premiered in February at Soho Rep, also won the 2016 Relentless Award, in honor of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hughes added the Obie to an Ivey Award she won in 2016 for her fierce performance in "Sunset Baby" at Penumbra.

ROHAN PRESTON

Soul Asylum has announced a deal to release expanded reissues of its first two albums. The Minneapolis alt-rockers' 1984 and '86 releases for Twin/Tone Records, "Say What You Will … Everything Can Happen" and "Made to Be Broken," will be available on CD July 20 from specialty label Omnivore, which also has reissued albums from Bob Mould, the producer of these Soul Asylum LPs. Each includes remastered versions of the original tracks, plus more than a dozen bonus cuts and booklets with extra photos and liner notes. Both show off the more bombastic, snarling, spazzy side of the band originally called Loud Fast Rules. Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson served as co-producer for the reissues. C.R.

Minnesota Orchestra associate conductor Roderick Cox just won the country's most prestigious award for young conductors. The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award is aimed at helping conductors further their careers. Cox will receive $30,000 for training and professional advancement, plus introductions to the Chicago Symphony and Chicago Lyric Opera. A native of Macon, Ga., he arrived in Minnesota in 2015. A video of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony from his acclaimed 2017 subscription-concert debut went viral, racking up more views than any other in the orchestra's history. Cox will leave his post after the orchestra's South Africa tour in August, with plans to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November and Houston Grand Opera in January.

TERRY BLAIN

"Baskets" is best known in these parts as a comeback vehicle for Louie Anderson, but the FX comedy is also a showcase for Martha Kelly, who shines as a perpetually dazed insurance claims adjuster. The Austin, Texas, comic is trying out new material through Saturday at Acme Comedy Co. — her favorite club in the nation, she said — riffing on everything from emotional-support pets to the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" films. Tuesday, she had "Last Comic Standing" vet Emily Galati as a guest. Afterward, Galati mentioned she has just moved from New York to Minneapolis. Keep an eye out for her.N.J.

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