Best of the week: British Arrows, Dawn Upshaw, the Jayhawks, Rio Nido, the New Standards, more

For 40 years, the British Arrows Awards have been saluting the most creative video ads in England, and, for three decades, Walker Art Center has been screening the winners. This year's collection features a seven-minute featurette for the H&M clothing chain pairing deadpan soccer star David Beckham and manic comic Kevin Hart, who is shadowing the superstar in preparation for starring in a Beckham biopic. Hart mangles a British accent and even uses Beckham's toothbrush to get into character. And, of course, they wear matching outfits from H&M.COLIN COVERT

Various times daily, closes Fri., Walker Art Center, Mpls., $11-$14; walkerart.org

When Twin Cities architect William Purcell moved with his family into a new home near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis around Christmas of 1913, the long, narrow building was an oddity. Now the Purcell-Cutts House is regarded as a fine example of Prairie School design. Currently owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the house is offering "Winterlights" holiday tours with costumed docents.

REBECCA RITZEL

Every hour Sat. & Sun., Purcell-Cutts House, 2328 Lake Place, Mpls., $4-$5, (free shuttle available from the museum), artsmia.org

New Year's Eve with the Minnesota Orchestra comes spray-decked with quality. Dawn Upshaw, one of the great sopranos of the past half-century, rolls out the carpet with a selection of Broadway classics by Bernstein, Gershwin and Sondheim. Music Director Osmo Vänskä caps the proceedings with a performance of Rachmaninov's sumptuous Second Symphony, with glistening colors and sweeping romantic gestures to set the new year's pulses racing.

TERRY BLAIN

8:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. next Sun., Orchestra Hall, Mpls.; $30-$100, minnesotaorchestra.org

It was a transformative year for the Jayhawks, but it's ending under typical circumstances with another in a long line of holiday-week gigs at First Avenue. With Gary Louris as the sole frontman again, Minneapolis' veteran Americana band set aside the twang for sprinklings of '60s psychedelia and flower-pop and '70s groove-rock on their first new album in five years, "Paging Mr. Proust," coproduced by longtime cohort Peter Buck of R.E.M. Local Anglophile rockers Two Harbors open.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8:30 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, Mpls., $32.50, eTix.com

Rio Nido, the Twin Cities trio that made retro vocal jazz cool nearly 40 years ago, reunited last year after a three-decade absence. In the interim, Tim Sparks established himself as a world-class guitarist, Prudence Johnson became one of the most versatile vocalists in town and Tom Lieberman made a splash as a composer/producer for radio, TV, stage and screen. The go-to group for special events back in the day, Rio Nido is a perfect between-holidays attraction nowadays.

JON BREAM

7 p.m. Tue.-7 & 9 p.m. Wed. Dakota, Mpls., $25-$35, dakotacooks.com

Not all classical composers who wrote beloved holiday tunes were angels themselves. The Cleveland-based ensemble Burning River Baroque will tackle repertoire for voice, violin and harpsichord when the "Forces for Good: Seasonal Works by Saints and Sinners" tour visits St. Paul.

REBECCA RITZEL

7 p.m. Tue., the Baroque Room, 275 E. 4th St., #280, St. Paul, $10-$15, thebaroqueroom.org

Don't expect a horn section, string quartet or any special guest singers. This isn't the New Standards' annual holiday show. This is the Twin Cities trio's annual Preener's Eve shows — that's pre-New Year's Eve. Chan Poling, John Munson and Steve Roehm, the silent weapon with his killer vibraphones, interpret well-known pop and rock songs in their own lounge-y style, which will make you completely rethink the songs.

JON BREAM

7 & 9 p.m. Thu.-Fri., the Dakota, Mpls., $30-$40, dakotacooks.com

Kids who want to participate in New Year's activities needn't worry about negotiating bedtime. The Como Zoo invites families to ring in 2017 during daylight hours. There will be family-friendly entertainment including music by the DJs of Kidsdance, zookeeper talks, games, giveaways, contests and, of course, animals. At noon, hundreds of beach balls will be dropped from the ceiling.

MELISSA WALKER

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat.-next Sun. Como Park Zoo, St. Paul, $1-$2, comozooconversvatory.org

Kids getting antsy after too many days off school? Visiting relatives already seen every holiday show in town? How about taking the whole family to a backstage tour of the Guthrie? The holidays are the theater's busiest stretch of year, making it a great time to go behind the scenes and see costumes, sets and all the machinations that make the magic happen.

REBECCA RITZEL

10 a.m. Fri. & Sat., Guthrie Theater, Mpls., $7-$12, guthrietheater.org