Art Hounds: Le Vent du Nord blows into Winsted

Glencoe resident Marie Zimmerman is looking forward to Friday when Quebecois folk band Le Vent du Nord makes a stop in nearby Winsted. Zimmerman is a new fan of the high-energy francophone musicians, and appreciates that the Winsted Arts Council brings such big acts to town. Le Vent du Nord performs at 7 p.m. Friday at the Blue Note Ballroom. (Can’t make it to Winsted? Le Vent du Nord performs Thursday at The Cedar in Minneapolis.)

Playwright Dan Pinkerton is a fan of Henrik Ibsen’s plays, particularly “A Doll’s House,” which offers a searing critique of a woman’s opportunities in late 19th-century Norway. The show closes with the character Noura leaving her husband and children. Now, Jungle Theater in Minneapolis is staging “A Doll’s House, part 2,” by playwright Lucas Hnath. This story picks up 15 years later, and Noura is back. Pinkerton says the play is a smart and funny look at the broader consequences of one woman’s freedom.

Singer and writer Alia Jeraj used to be a skeptic when it came to puppetry, but now she’s a huge fan. She recommends you see some of the most creative puppetry around by attending "Puppet Lab” at Open Eye Figure Theatre in Minneapolis. The lab presents two weekends of new performances by four different emerging puppeteers. Performances run Friday through Jan. 19.

Correction (Jan 9, 2020): A previous version of this feature misidentified Alia Jeraj’s artistic pursuits.

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