Art Hounds: Art that shows up in your mailbox

Sculptor Jill Waterhouse loves the current show at the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota. “Stamped and Posted: Communication Art from around the U.S.A.” features works from the collection of artist and art educator Mimi Holmes. “Mail art” started in the mid-20th century as a means to circumvent the hierarchy of art galleries; the only criteria for a work of art was that it met size requirements, followed a given theme and could make it through the postal system. Waterhouse says the exhibition is irreverent and delightful. On view through Sept. 30.

Minnesota Fringe Festival executive director Dawn Bentley is looking forward to seeing Theatre 55’s production of the musical “Pippin.” The musical tells the story of a young prince who’s looking for meaning. Theatre 55 features performers who are all over the age of 55; its production replaces the prince with three older women, who are contemplating what to do in their next phase of life. Performances run through Sept. 29 at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.

Actress Diana Lawrence thinks you should check out “History Alive!” in Lanesboro, Minn. Now in its fifth year, the production brings to life a piece of Lanesboro history, providing 90-minute tours of the town with dramatic scenes along the way. This year, the town is reliving the year of its founding, 1869, and explores the impact of both the Civil and Dakota wars, the end of slavery and the rise of the suffragette movement. Performances run this weekend and next.

• Art Hounds: Songbirds and snails onstage
• Art Hounds: Threads Dance Project asks what shoes say about us
• Art Hounds: ‘Network: A River Connected’ takes a stroll down the Mississippi
• Art Hounds: Cadex Herrera’s murals of White Bear Lake immigration