![Miss Mississippi, played by Joetta Wright, dances on a pole during a rehearsal.] BRIDGET BENNETT SPECIAL TO THE STAR TRIBUNE • bridget.bennett@startibune.com "Pussy Valley" is about four strip club workers in the Mississippi Delta. opens Friday, April 17, 2015 at Mixed Blood Theater. Monday, April 6, 2015 during a rehearsal of "Pussy Valley" at Mixed Blood Theater.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/64K24MUZ374G3FDLHX7QRUCZQY.jpg?&w=1080)
OPENING
'Pussy Valley'
Memphis-born playwright Katori Hall's 2010 play "The Mountaintop" starred Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson, enjoyed a successful run on Broadway and led to Hall becoming the first African-American to win an Olivier Award. So it's quite the coup for Minneapolis' own Mixed Blood Theatre to stage the world premiere of her newest play, "Pussy Valley." Like "The Mountaintop," which caused controversy for its portrayal of the Rev. Martin Luther King, "Pussy Valley" is gritty, unflinching and unapologetic. The drama tells the story of four strippers in modern-day rural Mississippi as they experience poverty, racism, homophobia, misogyny and sexploitation. Los Angeles-based Nataki Garrett directs. (Previews 7:30 p.m. Thu. Opens 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Wed.-next Thu. Ends May 10. $20 in advance, free at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Mixed Blood, 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls. 612-338-6131 or www.mixedblood.com.) Jahna Peloquin
SATURDAY
Diavolo
With a mix of dance styles including hip-hop, ballet, martial arts and gymnastics, Los Angeles-based Diavolo specializes in a daredevil high-risk approach. The dance troupe presents a new work co-commissioned by the Ordway titled "Cubicle," about an imagined corporate world, and two other pieces — "Transit Space" and "Fluid Infinities." Artistic director Jacques Heim describes their work as "Architecture in Motion," a fitting subtitle for a company that employs elaborate moving sets as part of its vision. Where "Transit Space" has dancers skateboarding on abstracted ramps and "Fluid Infinities" sees them climbing on an enormous dome, "Cubicle" promises no less an impressive visual element — filling the stage with giant cubes among which the highly acrobatic dancers tumble and leap. (7:30 p.m. Sat. Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul. $23-$50. 651-224-4222 or www.ordway.org.) Sheila Regan
