Monsters, Red Shoes and Lear: What to see this weekend

From an art collection full of monsters to a ballpark full of actors, there's plenty to see in Minnesota's art world this weekend. Here are a few suggestions for the next few days:

A monstrous collection at Mia

Are you beset by nights of peaceful, restful sleep, uninterrupted by nightmares? The Minneapolis Institute of Art can help you with that. The current exhibit, "Guillermo del Toro: At home with Monsters," is practically guaranteed to have you staring at your bedroom ceiling into the wee hours.

Del Toro is the creative genius behind movies like "Pan's Labyrinth," and he clearly loves what he does for a living, because he's decorated his house with creepy stuff. Objects from his home are on display at Mia through May 28.

A chamber choir from Germany

If you weren't able to get tickets to the Eric Whitacre Singers concert Thursday night (presented by Classical MPR), you have one more chance to see something related to the American Choral Directors Association conference in Minneapolis.

The Stuttgart Kammerchor (Chamber Choir) will sing for free at 2 p.m. Saturday at Plymouth Congregational Church. On the program are Mendelssohn and a mass by Carl Fasch.

The Cube Critics suggest

On their podcast, MPR Cube Critics Euan Kerr and Stephanie Curtis talk about two of this week's new releases: "Kong: Skull Island" and "My Life as a Zucchini." (Spoiler alert: they are anti-gorilla and pro-zucchini.)

Who's on first? Mixed Blood, that's who

How often will you get to see a play performed at a ballpark? Maybe about as often as the Cubs win the World Series. Mixed Blood Theatre is presenting the site-specific "Safe at Home," about a Dominican pitcher contemplating a protest against immigration policy, through this weekend, and then it's done.

The audience moves in groups through the St. Paul Saints' CHS Field, watching scenes in places baseball fans don't usually get to see.

"Moonlight" writer glows about St. Olaf Choir

And speaking of movies, here's a local angle we hadn't heard about until recently: "Moonlight" writer Tarell Alvin McCraney credits the St. Olaf Choir with performing one of the 10 most important songs in his life.

McCraney listed "City Called Heaven" on his personal top-10 list in a February interview with Out magazine. In linking to the interview, the St. Olaf blog also offers a recording of the song and quotes the choir's conductor, Anton Armstrong, as saying he's "honored and humbled that our performance had an impact on such a talented man."

As you may have heard, "Moonlight" won some Oscars recently.

Art Hounds in pursuit of 'Red Shoes' and women's history

Art Hound Sally Rousse recommends "The Red Shoes" at Open Eye Figure Theatre, featuring Kimberly Richardson. The play is an adaptation of the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen, blended with the flavor of film noir and crime novels. It runs through March 19.

Another Art Hound, Brooke Nelson, is going to "Women's History Month: The Historical Comedybration" at Bryant Lake Bowl. The show performs at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through March 18.

"Lear" continues at the Guthrie

Torn apart by mental deterioration and the greed of two of his three daughters, King Lear is among the most relatable, and pitiable, of Shakespeare's characters — or, as he puts it, "a man more sinned against than sinning."

This challenging role is brought to life on alternate nights by two giants of the Guthrie Theater: Stephen Yoakam and Nathaniel Fuller. So, really, you might want to see this production of "King Lear" twice. Through April 2.