From the world premiere of a new take on Puccini’s comic opera “Gianni Schicchi” (“Johnny Skeeky”) to familiar favorites like “Glensheen” and “A Year With Frog and Toad,” the coming months have numerous options for live theater and musicals. The lineup includes both touring productions and homegrown shows.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap

‘Skeleton Crew’

Opens May 4: Dominique Morisseau’s drama is set in Detroit during the Great Recession in 2008. The once-gleaming Motor City has lost its luster as four colleagues-turned-friends hear rumors that their plant is facing foreclosure. The final chapter of her acclaimed Detroit trilogy, Morisseau’s work earned three Tony nominations in 2022. Through June 9; Guthrie Theater, 818 S. Second St., Minneapolis; $82-$29; 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org.

‘MJ’

Roman Banks plays Michael Jackson in the first national tour of the jukebox musical “MJ,” which opens May 14 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. (Courtesy of Matthew Murphy)

Opens May 14: This jukebox musical uses Michael Jackson’s biggest hits to tell the story of the late superstar as he was preparing for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour. It opened in December 2021 and and won four Tony Awards, but received mixed reviews, with some critics calling the book by Lynn Nottage bland and preachy. Through May 26: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; $229-$50; hennepintheatretrust.org.

‘A Jumping Off Point’

Opens April 20: Written by playwright and screenwriter Inda Craig-Galvan (“Will Trent,” “How to Get Away with Murder”), this play follows a promising Black writer who has just landed her first deal with HBO when her white, former classmate Andrew shows up and accuses her of plagiarizing his script. Through May 19; Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave., Minneapolis; “pay as you are tickets” ($45 suggested); 612-822-7063 or jungletheater.com.

‘Flex’

Opens April 23: Arkansas playwright, poet and educator Candrice Jones is devoted to writing “love letters for and to women of the American South.” She developed “Flex” at the 2020 Humana Festival of New American Plays. It’s set in 1997 during the inaugural season of the WNBA, when high school champion Starra Jones and her teammates are leaving childhood behind as they make their full-court press into adulthood. Through May 19; Penumbra Theatre, 270 N. Kent St., St. Paul; $45-$20; 651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org.

‘A Year With Frog and Toad’

Raking the leaves turns into a tap dance in “He’ll Never Know,” featuring Bradley Greenwald, left, and Reed Sigmund from the 2017 production of “A Year With Frog and Toad.” (Dan Norman/Children’s Theatre Company)

Opens April 23: This Children’s Theatre Company original musical returns for the first time since 2017. Based on Arnold Lobel’s books, it’s the only show from Minnesota to be nominated for three Tony Awards, including best musical. Noting the show will be in its 21st year, writer/lyricist Willie Reale and composer Robert Reale said: “Despite the fact that it is old enough to be welcomed in a saloon, we trust that the innocence and fun of the show will be on full display once again at CTC.” Through June 16; Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis; $87-$15; 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org.

‘Blended (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters’

Opens May 4: A co-production with Theater Mu, “Blended” follows the four Kim Loo sisters as they begin their career in Minneapolis during the Jazz Age and move on to perform in vaudeville during the Great Depression and later appear on Broadway and the silver screen. Through May 26; History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul; $74-$64; 651-292-4323 or historytheatre.com.

‘Johnny Skeeky’

Opens May 29: Theater Latte Da presents the world premiere of “Johnny Skeeky; or, the Remedy for Everything,” which was developed through the company’s NEXT new works program. The reimagining of Puccini’s comic opera “Gianni Schicchi” was created and directed by Bradley Greenwald and Steven Epp. Robert Elhai provides orchestrations, with music direction by Sonja Thompson. Through July 7; Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis: $68-$35; 612-339-3003 or latteda.org.

‘Glensheen’

Opens June 20: Jeffrey Hatcher and Chan Poling’s “Glensheen” tells the true-crime story of the 1977 murder of Elisabeth Congdon and her personal care attendant, Velma Pietila, in Duluth’s Glensheen mansion. It is a comedy, but the murder victims are treated with respect and compassion in the show. This will be the History Theatre’s eighth production of the popular musical, which debuted in 2015. Through July 14; History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul; $74-$15; 651-292-4323 or historytheatre.com.

‘Little Shop of Horrors’

Opens June 22: This much-loved musical began life as a low-budget horror comedy directed by Roger Corman (with a young Jack Nicholson in one of his first film roles). The tale of a man-eating plant blossomed into a cult hit that inspired a 1982 musical and, later, a 1986 feature film starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. Through Aug. 18; Guthrie Theater, 818 S. Second St., Minneapolis; $95-$34; 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org.

‘English’

Opens July 13: In Iran, an educator who perfected her English during a nine-year stint in Britain strictly maintains an English-only method to ensure her four students pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with flying colors. Playwright Sanaz Toossi, who was also a writer for the Amazon Prime series “A League of Their Own,” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023. Through Aug. 18; Guthrie Theater, 818 S. Second St., Minneapolis; $82-$29; 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org.

Country duo Dan + Shay emerged from beneath the stage Friday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, dramatically lit from behind and strutting to the final notes of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” a song about betrayal.

Yet the 100-minute show that followed offered nothing but merry, breezy and infectious country/pop songs that had the capacity crowd glowing. The vibe felt a lot like it did back during the pair’s first local headlining arena show when they filled Target Center in September 2021 and gave each other a number of seemingly spontaneous hugs. (It was one of the first major country tours to hit the road after COVID restrictions began to lift.)

Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney first met in 2012 as aspiring songwriters living in Nashville. They hit it off, began writing together the next day and within two months had multiple offers for publishing deals. A year later, they issued their debut single “19 You + Me” and watched it sail into the Top 10. Friday night they played it and nearly every one of their 15 hit singles that have since followed, along with a few tracks from last year’s “Bigger Houses” album.

While Dan + Shay do occasionally mention alcohol in their songs — their biggest hit and perennial show-closer is 2018’s “Tequila” — they have little in common with the bro country that has been clogging up the charts over the past decade. The duo come across more like a 21st century Hall and Oates with a slight twang than peers of Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean. (In October 2022, Mooney took to Instagram to announce he had lost 50 pounds in large part due to cutting booze and sugar out of his diet. Friday, Smyers cracked a gentle joke about Mooney showing off his abs to the crowd.)

These guys sing about falling in love, getting married and feeling gratitude. The selections they played Friday say it all: “Alone Together,” “All of Myself,” “Show You Off,” “Heaven + Back,” “Nothin’ Like You,” “Glad You Exist” and so on.

The most overtly country song of the night, “We Should Get Married,” would have been the highlight of a night of line dancing at a ’90s country bar. They followed it with “From the Ground Up” and Mooney almost teared up as he told the crowd the song was inspired by the love shared by the pair’s grandparents. As he did several times throughout the night, he showered the audience with praise: “Thank you for changing our lives every single day!”

Yes, Dan + Shay’s endless cheer and claims that Twin Cities crowds are the greatest ever can start to feel forced. It was also a bit over-the-top when Mooney almost broke into tears a second time. But they clearly know what they’re doing and what their followers want from them. If nothing else, it was a pleasure watching them barrel through a cover of the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” with more energy and verve than I’ve ever seen from the band that wrote it.

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By DOUG FEINBERG (AP Basketball Writer)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Caitlin Clark led Iowa back to the national championship game, scoring 21 points as the Hawkeyes rallied past Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.

Next up for the Hawkeyes (34-4) is a rematch with unbeaten South Carolina, which lost to Iowa in last year’s national semifinals. The Hawkeyes then fell short of winning the school’s first championship, falling to LSU in the title game. Now Clark is one win away from bringing her home state its first women’s basketball title in the final game of her college career.

“It’s gonna take one through five. They’re so skilled. They played a great game today,” Clark said of South Carolina. “At this point anybody can take it. You’ve got to go prep, you’ve got one day to take of yourself, so we’ll be ready.”

After a rough opening 30 minutes because of a swarming UConn defense, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer finally got going in the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 51-all, Clark scored seven points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the period to give Iowa a small cushion. UConn (33-6) got within 60-57 before the Hawkeyes scored six straight to take a 66-57 advantage.

Iowa led 70-66 before Nika Muhl hit a 3-pointer after a steal with 39.3 seconds left to get the Huskies within one.

Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke turned it over with 10 seconds left. UConn had a chance to take the lead, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen with 4.6 seconds left.

Clark made one free throw but missed the second. Teammate Sydney Affolter got the rebound and UConn tied her up, forcing a jump ball. The possession arrow kept the ball with the Hawkeyes, who sealed the win by throwing the ball in the air to run out the final seconds.

Stuelke scored 23 points to lead Iowa. Clark finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.

“I thought we started off the fourth quarter really good,” Clark said. “Came up with some big baskets. Hannah came up with some baskets. Kate (Martin) was tremendous. Just resilient.”

Bueckers and Edwards each scored 17 points for the Huskies, who were back in the Final Four after a one-year hiatus that ended their run of 14 straight seasons in the national semifinals. This might have been the best coaching job by Geno Auriemma. UConn had hopes of winning the 12th title in school history coming into the season, but those were quickly dashed by a series of injuries that sidelined nearly half of its roster.

But Bueckers, the national player of the year as a freshman in 2021 who returned to that form after missing an entire season and part of another with injuries, carried the Huskies back into title contention.

UConn got going early behind Bueckers and stellar defense by Nika Muhl and her teammates, who swarmed Clark every time she touched the ball. The Huskies led by 12 points in the second quarter.

Iowa trailed by six at the half before getting going in the third quarter behind their star. She made her first 3-pointer of the game 2 minutes into the period, and then her four-point play got Iowa within one. The Hawkeyes then took their first lead later in the period right before Martin got hit in the face by Edwards, resulting in a bloody nose. She ran off the court, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Martin was back on the Iowa bench before they had finished cleaning the court. She then hit three big baskets down the stretch.

“Couldn’t be happier with our performance tonight in the second half,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “First half was a little rough for us. We really kept believing.”

Clark had a tough first half, scoring six points while missing all six of her 3-point attempts. She barely got any open shots and at times looked frustrated. Iowa’s coaches kept shouting words of encouragement to their generational player.

Even though she wasn’t scoring, Clark kept the Hawkeyes in the game with six rebounds and four assists as the Hawkeyes trailed 32-26 at the break.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness