MN Shortlist: Songs, stories and spells — six picks for Oct. 25–29

From indie pop hauntings to living memory onstage, this week hums with art that lingers long after the lights go down. Whether you’re catching the final notes of a local musical or hearing new voices rise from St. Paul’s literary scene, there’s magic in the mix.

Jeremy Messersmith — Oct. 25

Jeremy Messersmith brings his love of spooky season to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul for a Halloween variety show that’s equal parts clever and cozy. Expect cameos, costumes and those sharply observed songs that make him one of Minneapolis’s most beloved indie pop exports. Messersmith’s taken his music nationwide — he even once opened for Barack Obama.

‘Once on This Island’ — through Oct. 26

It’s the final weekend for Artistry in Blooming to offer its radiant take on "Once on This Island," a Caribbean retelling of "The Little Mermaid" that dives into love, class and colorism. Rooted in folklore and set to Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s unforgettable score, this musical finds magic where heartbreak and hope intertwine.

Curator Talk: ‘Cambodian Masterpieces from Phnom Penh and Paris’ — Oct. 26

Art and archaeology meet in this special talk tied to “Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Pierre Baptiste of Paris’s Guimet Museum explores Khmer bronze artistry and the discoveries reshaping its story. The Guimet, home to over 45,000 works from 17 countries, remains one of the world’s great troves of Asian art.

Tiago Rodrigues: ‘By Heart’ — Oct. 28–29

Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues turns memorization into an act of defiance in “By Heart,” a luminous piece that unfolds with 10 audience members learning a sonnet together onstage. At the McGuire Theater in the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, it’s part storytelling, part ritual. Rodrigues, now artistic director of the Avignon Festival, continues his lifelong study of what we choose to remember.

Author Readings: ‘Illuminations’ — Oct. 29

Next Chapter Books in St. Paul hosts an evening of readings from "Illuminations," the 14th Saint Paul Almanac anthology showcasing Minnesota voices in prose and poetry. Expect warmth, reflection and a few surprises as contributors share their work live. The book’s cover, by Twin Cities artist Ta-coumba T. Aiken, glows with the same spirit the collection celebrates.

‘Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812’ — Oct. 29–Nov. 22

Theatre Elision lights up Crystal with Dave Malloy’s electropop opera "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812," a dazzling retelling of just 70 pages of “War and Peace.” Following Natasha’s heartbreak and Pierre’s quiet heroism, this chamber-scale staging keeps the focus where Elision shines best — on women’s voices and emotional truth.