Critics' picks: The 11 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

His touring partner, Elton John, has retired from the road. Her band, Fleetwood Mac, is still in mourning after the death of Christine McVie. So Joel and Nicks, a couple of 1970s stars who are in their mid 70s, have teamed up for a stadium tour. Both won Grammys for album of the year, she for Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," he for "52^nd Street." He hasn't released an album of new songs since 1993 but he's got a jukebox full of hits. She has had a continuing career with Big Mac and her solo work, which landed her in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for a second time. (7 p.m. Fri. U.S. Bank Stadium, 401 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $79.50-$1,850, ticketmaster.com)

JON BREAM

After cathartically addressing her court battle with producer Dr. Luke and other tough subjects on her latest album, "Gag Order," the California electro-pop hitmaker of "Tik Tok" and "Your Love Is My Drug" fame seems intent on having fun again on tour. She changed the name of her current outing from the Gag Order Tour to the Only Love Tour and is bringing along a Madonna-worthy array of props, dancers and stage gimmicks, like she did for her blissful outdoor gig at Mystic Lake back in 2018. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Mystic Lake Showroom, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, resale tickets only, mysticlake.com)

She's Cuban music royalty. Portuondo began singing professionally in 1950, working a few years later with Nat King Cole and then recording for RCA. She's best known in the States for her work with Buena Vista Social Club, starting in 1996. At 93, Portuondo is in the middle of a world tour that has taken her to India, Romania, Spain, Italy, Mexico and the United States. (7 p.m. Wed., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $55-$70, dakotacooks.com)

J.B.

Loved in Minnesota for their Replacements-like melodic bar-rock and blue-collar emoting, the Rhode Island quartet returned from a lengthy lull with one of the year's best Americana/twang-rock albums. "Emotional Contracts" was produced by Flaming Lips cohort Dave Fridmann and recorded mostly live, with a Dr. Dog-like joviality and some of frontman John McCauley's most wry and warm writings yet. Kentucky up-and-comer Abby Hamilton opens. (8 p.m. Wed., Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $28.50, axs.com)

C.R.

The new kid in town has a new band. Steve Gorman debuted in January as the new morning DJ on KQRS. He's also a drummer, having done stints in Black Crowes and Trigger Hippy. He's got a new power trio featuring guitarist Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi AllStars, Black Crowes) and singer/bassist Nick Govrik (Trigger Hippy). Bag Men's repertoire includes such originals as "I Can Feel It" and "Boil Away" and covers of the O'Jays' "Love Train" and Jimi Hendrix's "Fire." Curiosity of the week. (8:30 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry, 701 1^st Av. N., Mpls., $25, axs.com)

J.B.

Richard Goode

When it was announced that one of the world's finest pianists would offer an intimate Chopin Society recital at Macalester College's Mairs Concert Hall, there was little doubt that the concert would sell out. And it has. After all, Goode has almost filled the Ordway Music Theater, a hall over four times larger. The first American pianist to record Beethoven's complete piano works will devote the concert's second half to that composer's devilishly demanding "Diabelli Variations" after performing a fantasia and sonata by Mozart. (3 p.m. Sun., Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, 130 Macalester St., St. Paul. $20-$40; chopinsocietymn.org)

ROB HUBBARD

The Modigliani Quartet

Formed at the Paris Conservatory 20 years ago, this foursome has become one of Europe's most celebrated string quartets. Named for an Italian painter and sculptor based in Paris, the group looks to Italy for inspiration at this Music in the Park Series concert. Between a Mozart quartet composed in Milan and a rarely heard quartet by opera master Giuseppe Verdi, there are works by Elise Bertrand, Hugo Wolf and Giacomo Puccini. (4 p.m. Sun., St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ, 2129 Commonwealth Av., St. Paul. $23-$33, students & children free. 651-292-3268, schubert.org)

R.H.

While we wait to see who will take over "The Daily Show," we can enjoy a blast from the past. Noah, who managed the nearly impossible task of taking over for Jon Stewart, will command the Orpheum Theatre stage for four straight nights, a sign of his lasting popularity long after departing the anchor desk at Comedy Central. Expect an act that's more personal than political. Roy Wood Jr., who recently departed "TDS" after eight years as a correspondent, was originally scheduled to be in Minneapolis at the same time, but he's postponed that show until Feb. 9. (8 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 7 p.m. Sat. Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $49.50-$115. hennepintheatretrust.org)

NEAL JUSTIN

Imagined as an indictment of the degradations of industrialization and the dislocations of class, this 1922 Eugene O'Neill play is rarely produced for good reason — it has some tricky essentialist implications. A soot-blackened white man, who works in the engine room of a steamship, becomes increasingly alienated from the society. His temperament and spirit continue to darken before he finally becomes a literal beast. The Minneapolis-based Combustible Company is staging it to connect to currents of MAGA nihilism and fury. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. & Mon., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 18. Center for Performing Arts, 3754 Pleasant Av. S., Mpls. $28. exploretock.com/combustible-company.)

ROHAN PRESTON

Suppose everyone who has ever lived is still around but just out of reach. If you wanted to get in touch with these spirits, you would just go to a medium like Linda in "The Thin Place." Playwright Lucas Hnath explored religious faith and the notion of hell in "The Christians." He continues his inquiry into the afterlife with this play. Cheryl Willis Mayer plays Linda in a cast that also includes Jane Froiland and Peter Christian Hansen. Ellen Fenster directs. (Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul. $39. gremlintheatre.org, 1-888-718-4253)

R.P.

After sharing previews of its new National Endowment for the Arts-funded work at the Loft Literary Center and Red Eye Theater, Threads Dance Project unleashes the full premiere. The piece, choreographed by artistic director Karen L. Charles, gets its title from the Langston Hughes 1935 poem, "Let America be America Again," as well as the Trump slogan, "Make America great again." The work boasts an original musical score and three poems by spoken word artists as it interrogates America's promises and possibilities. (7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls., $30, 612-208- 1579, southerntheater.org)

SHEILA REGAN

The Minnesota Historical Society takes another look at Fort Snelling, a site recognized for its converging and controversial history. The exhibition focuses on the sacred Dakota homeland of Bdote, Native American history and contemporary perspectives, fur traders and battles over slavery. It also covers lesser-known World War II history, and roles played by Japanese Americans and Norwegians. (Historic Fort Snelling, 200 Tower Av., St. Paul. $8-$12. Free for kids under 4, Native Americans, veterans. Ongoing, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 612-726-1171 or mnhs.org/fortsnelling)

ALICIA ELER

Elementary-school-age children can learn about facets of the construction industry when they compete in Works Museum's national building competition. Watch the building frenzy as registered competitors are given 40 minutes to create a construction-related object. While there, walk through the interactive museum devoted to engineering where kids can explore science and technology through hands-on activities. (10 a.m.-noon Sat., museum hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $13. 9740 Grand Av. S., Bloomington. theworks.org)

MELISSA WALKER