Best of the week: Steve Martin and Martin Short, K. Flay, 'Bluest Eye'

The only thing more tantalizing than Steve Martin and Martin Short cracking each other up on stage would be the last-minute addition of Chevy Chase for a proper "Three Amigos!" reunion. Unlikely — but not out of the question. David Letterman made a surprise appearance at one of their previous performances, proof that the duo will do anything to counter their show's tongue-in-cheek title, "Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Lives."NEAL JUSTIN

7:30 p.m. Thu.; 8 p.m. Fri., Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $79-$199, hennepintheatretrust.org

Sounding like an unlikely cross between M.I.A. and Emily Haines of Metric, Illinois-raised singer/rapper/rocker Kristine Flaherty — aka K.Flay — doubles down on her unique sonic approach with her newly issued album, "Every Where Is Some Where." Underneath the ear-popping collage of styles is feminist-leaning, personally loaded songwriting, audacious and sometimes outlandish — although, at this point, is her new tune "The President Has a Sex Tape" really all that out there?

Chris Riemenschneider

8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, Mpls. $22-$30, eTix.com

Adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond from Toni Morrison's breakout novel, and directed with great care by Lileana Blain-Cruz, the Guthrie's achingly beautiful production of "The Bluest Eye" is a game changer. It sets a new bar for the theater even as it brings the unexpected story of three black girls to brilliant, haunting life on the state's most important stage.

ROHAN PRESTON

1 & 7 p.m. Sun; 7:30 p.m. Tue. and Thu.-Fri.; 1 & 7:30 p.m. Wed., Sat. Guthrie Theater, Mpls. $29-$77, guthrietheater.org

This week's unmissable chamber music event comes from Accordo, a top-notch string ensemble of leading players from the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, including Maiya Papach (pictured). Schumann's "Märchenerzählungen" ("Fairy Tales") and Hindemith's Clarinet Quartet will satisfy classical connoisseurs looking for rarities, while the more familiar A Major Piano Quartet by Brahms fills out the concert's second half.

TERRY BLAIN

7:30 p.m. Mon., Plymouth Congregational Church, Mpls. $21-$32.50, schubert.org

Jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson is much beloved in these parts, where she spent four years in the late '80s. Now in NYC, she is a storytelling singer of remarkable consistency. Her past four albums of non-holiday material have been nominated for Grammys. Whether the song is a bop standard, an American Songbook chestnut, something from Brazil or a pop hit, her version is well considered and intuitively astute.

BRITT ROBSON

7 & 9 p.m. Mon., Dakota, Mpls. $30-$40, dakotacooks.com

Leave it to Sally Wingert, the iconic Minnesota stage star, to break your heart in the most beautiful way. Her performance as a cancer patient with two hours to live in "Wit," Margaret Edson's 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner, is wry, witty and deeply affecting. This play is not about cancer or death, although those are the obvious subjects. As Wingert's performance makes clear, dying reminds us of how to live.

ROHAN PRESTON

2 p.m. Sun, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Artistry, Bloomington. $9-$30, artistrymn.org

St. Petersburg's Eifman Ballet explores the link between madness and creativity with its production of "Red Giselle." The show tells the story of prima ballerina Olga Spessivtseva, who fled Russia in 1923 and found worldwide acclaim — only to see her career and life fall apart because of depression and a series of nervous breakdowns. Choreographer Boris Eifman excels with this kind of dramatic material, mining despair for achingly beautiful movement.

SHEILA REGAN

7:30 p.m. Wed., Northrop, Mpls. $56-$76, 612-624-2345, northrop.umn.edu

This annual neighborhood party begins with a parade of cyclists atop decorated bikes. Local musicians provide the ambience while guests participate in games, crafts and other activities, including a meet-and-greet with local firefighters. Enjoy brats from Clancey's Meats, fish taco tortas from Tilia and ice cream from Sebastian Joe's. Or pick up some fresh produce from the Linden Hills Farmers Market. Have a rest and a cold craft beer at the new beer garden.

MELISSA WALKER

11 a.m.-5 p.m. next Sun. Free. Linden Hills Park, Mpls. lindenhills.org

Most fans of this new wavy British soft-rock band weren't yet born in 1975 or even 1995, so they may be too young to know that the 1975 is playing at the worst concert venue in town. It probably won't matter, though, given the heartthrob-nerd status of lovelorn frontman Matthew Healy, who guaranteed he'd go over big in poster-lined bedrooms when he titled the sophomore album "I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are so Beautiful yet so Unaware of It."

Chris Riemenschneider

8 p.m. Wed., Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, $25-$45, Ticketmaster.com