Our Friday Best: Jack Harlow, Ringo Starr, 'The Phantom of the Opera,' Iranian art and festival

Jack Harlow

The curly-haired Rolling Stone cover boy is on the verge of being the hottest rapper in the game. Playing straight man on Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby" landed Harlow at No. 1 for the first time. He reached those heights again this year with his own "First Class," boosted by a sample of Fergie's "Glamorous." On his sophomore album, "Come Home the Kids Miss You," Harlow gets plenty of help from famous friends including Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake and Drake, whose nonchalant flow is the inspiration for Harlow's style. The quality of his content has been questioned ("cold like the Minnesota Vikings at home"), but he's become a bona fide star, set to appear in a remake of the film "White Men Can't Jump." With City Girls. (7:45 p.m. Fri. the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $72 and up, ticketmaster.com)

JON BREAM

'The Phantom of the Opera'

Yes, Broadway's longest-running musical has announced plans to close, but you can enjoy a much earlier adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel about spooky goings-on at a Paris theater. Organist, composer and master improviser Aaron David Miller will commandeer the keys of Northrop's room-filling pipe organ, providing the soundtrack for the 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney, "the man of a thousand faces." This scary launch for a Northrop silent film series also will be livestreamed and available on-demand through Oct. 9. (3 p.m. Sunday; Northrop, 84 SE. Church St., Mpls.; $10-$21; 612-624-2345 or Northrop.umn.edu.)

ROB HUBBARD

Steve Lacy

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Pet Shop Boys & New Order

They could've called this one the Monsters of Synth-Pop Tour. Both influential, innovative British bands that crossed over to MTV and American radio in the '80s — most noticeably with "West End Girls" and "Bizarre Love Triangle," respectively — neither has toured a whole lot in recent decades but stayed relatively active in the studio. Thus, their COVID-delayed Unity Tour is a little more special than just another Gen X nostalgia kick — and a little more expensive, too. EDM legend Paul Oakenfold is also in tow to DJ. (6:30 p.m. Sun., the Armory, 500 S. 6^th St., Mpls., $112-$172, ticketmaster.com)

C.R.

Ringo Starr

J.B.

Twin Cities Iranian Culture Collective mounts group exhibition

As protests in Iran and around the world continue over the killing of 22-year-old Masha "Zhini" Amini by the Iranian "morality" police, the Iranian Culture Collective hosts a group exhibition at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Curated by Leila Rastegar, the exhibition showcases work by 16 local artists who offer a variety of perspectives and work in animation, painting, drawing, installation, mixed media and more. Katayoun Amjadi's installation "This Is Not an Eggplant," Maryam Rafigh's drawing "My Aunt," Niccu Tafarrodi's delicate miniature dioramas and Neda Shahghasemi's oil on canvas paintings are part of the exhibit. (Ends Oct. 22. Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Free. 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins. 952-548-6489 or hopkinsartscenter.com)

ALICIA ELER

Twin Cities Iranian Festival

SHEILA REGAN

'Ghost Quartet'

Dave Malloy, who would go on to a Tony Award nomination for "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812," preceded that musical with this song cycle about love, death, whiskey and the ghost of Thelonious Monk. The stories and songs draw on spooky tales, including Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Mon., Wed., Thu., ends Oct. 8, Elision Theatre, 6105 42nd Av. N., Crystal, $40, elisionproductions.com.)

CHRIS HEWITT

'The Originalist'

C.H.

'46 Plays for America's First Ladies'

Yup, 46. Each tiny comedy, drama or musical focuses on a different presidential wife (or daughter or niece) who served as the official first lady. What emerges in the rapid-fire, alternately silly and thought-provoking show is the unrecognized influence of marginalized people in our nation's history. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun. & Oct. 3, ends Oct. 16, Crane Theater, 2303 NE. Kennedy St., Mpls., tickets on a sliding scale $16-$61 and must be purchased in advance, theatreprorata.org.)

C.H.

'Hocus Pocus 2'
When a hit movie doesn't get a sequel for a long time, sometimes it's because the stars didn't need the work, sometimes it's because nobody had a good idea and sometimes it's because the actors weren't eager to work together again. In the case of "Hocus Pocus 2," the 29-years-later follow-up, it may be all of the above. Two prologues mean we have to wait 28 minutes for original stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy to appear. What follows is a workmanlike, product placement-filled comedy where the OG witches and contemporary high school students get actualized. (Lands Fri., Disney Plus)

Fruit of fall

Hop on a hayride to the fruit field for crisp, tart and juicy apple varieties that are ready for picking during the Afton Apple Festival weekends. Autumnal activities in the orchard include magic shows, music and yard games. Throughout the season get fresh-out-of-the-kitchen items including apple doughnuts, fritters, pie and caramel apples and sundaes. (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. through Oct. 16. $5-$7. Afton Apple Orchard, 14421 S. 90th St., Hastings. 651-436-8385. aftonapple.com.)