ART & MUSEUMS
Susanna Heller
The Canadian expatriate painter has made New York her home for decades now, walking the streets and looking, and turning her observations into works of glorious, near-volcanic painterly ooze. Inheriting the voluptuous touch of Emily Carr (a childhood hero of Heller's), the 53-year-old artist brings fervour and fierce joy to her depictions of the canyons of Manhattan. To Dec. 5. Free. Olga Korper Gallery, 17 Morrow Ave., 416-538-8220.
King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs
He's mummy's boy and is rarely referred to by his proper name, Tutankhamun. Some respect please for the golden-sandaled child pharaoh at the centre of a blockbuster exhibit that drew 750,000 visitors when the show first walked (like an Egyptian) into the city 30 years ago. To April 18. $12 to $18. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W., 416-979-6648 .
CONCERTS
Star Wars: In Concert
Use the force, Lucas: A full orchestra and choir (with narration and big-screen visuals) perform selections from John Williams's six dramatic scores, while costumes, props and paraphernalia from the George Lucas sci-fi films decorate the lobby areas. Today, 7:30 p.m. $43 to $83. Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St., 416-870-8000.
James Ehnes
With four concerts at three different venues, green-thinking fans of the Canadian violinist are thankful the TTC fare hikes haven't kicked in yet. A program with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra finds Ehnes having at Prokofiev's dynamic Violin Concerto No. 2 for three performances. Tomorrow (his day off from the TSO), the Grammy-winner visits Koerner Hall for Bartok's Rhapsody No. 1 and sonatas by Beethoven and Ottorino Respighi. Today (2 p.m.) and Saturday (8 p.m.) $28.50 to $128. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St., 416-597-7840; Tomorrow, 8 p.m. $20 to $75. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-408-0208; Sunday, 3 p.m. $39 to $89. George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St., 416-597-7840.
Devendra Banhart and the Grogs
A messiah figure in the freak-folk scene, Banhart's artful fare is as transporting as he is migratory (Texas-born, Venezuela-raised, now based in Southern California). His new album, What Will Be, is a sophisticated yet approachable piece of work. Tomorrow, 8 p.m. $27.50. Queen Elizabeth Theatre, CNE Grounds, 416-870-8000.
DANCE
National Ballet of Canada
How far will dance-maker Aszure Barton go? Just watch her. A mixed program (with George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Jerome Robbins's Glass Pieces) features Watch Her, a new piece from the contemporary ballet rising star. To Sunday. $20 to $210. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., 416-345-9595. Dances in a Small Room
World premieres by Tedd Robinson ( lone some, danced by Claudia Moore) and James Kudelka ( Half an Hour of Our Time, a 30-minute duet performed in silence) make up an intimate program that explores the human condition. To Dec. 5. $20. Young Centre, 55 Mill St., 416-866-8666.
Behind the Veil
Combining modern, jazz and belly dance styles with storytelling, a new piece from a new company (Evolution Dance Theatre) explores women's struggle between tradition and free expression - which is timely, given the Muslim Canadian Congress's recent call to ban the burka. Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.). $30 to $35. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. W., 416-978-8849.
COMEDY
East End Comedy Revue
He literally laughs in the face of death: Irwin Barker, a cancer-stricken writer for The Rick Mercer Show and a regular performer on CBC Radio's The Debaters who has outlived his prognosis, is one of night's featured stand-ups. Laughter is the best medicine, must be. Tomorrow, 8 p.m. $10. Dominion on Queen, 500 Queen St. E., 416-368-6893.
THEATRE
Stuff Happens
David Hare's 2004 play about the still contested, still murky build-up to the American-led invasion of Iraq continues to resonate even though one of the key characters (U.S. president George W. Bush) is no longer in office. To Dec. 23. $30 to $85. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W., 416-872-1212.
7 Stories
Theatre-going number-freaks will be in seventh heaven: Star Peter Anderson spends Morris Panych's entire play perched on an outdoor ledge seven storeys up, while behind him are seven windows into seven apartments that contain seven different stories that burst out and interrupt his contemplation of suicide. To Dec. 5. $20 to $92, Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. W., 416-368-3110.
The Madonna Painter
Strikingly topical, Michel Marc Bouchard's poetic play is set in a small French-Canadian village in 1918 as a serious flu epidemic breeds conspiracy theories. Don't tell us that shinny heroes Newsy Lalonde and Georges Vezina were given preferential medical treatment! To Dec. 13.
$25 to $35. Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St., 416-504-9971.
LITERARY AND LECTURES
Jeff Rubin
With Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, economic guru Rubin offers his gripping argument that the planet's economy has been propped up by cheap supplies of oil that can't possibly last. He speaks with Globe and Mail editor-in-chief John Stackhouse. Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Free. Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St., 416-393-7131.
Stefan Aust
Just like Depression-era bandits, the Red Army Faction terrorized charismatically and with a flair for drama. German journalist Aust speaks about The Baader Meinhof Complex, a 2008 movie about the West German militant group, based on his book. The film screens Sunday, 6 p.m., at the Royal, 608 College Street; Aust chats with Globe and Mail columnist Russell Smith Tuesday night at Innis Town Hall. Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Free. 2 Sussex Ave., 416-593-5257.
CLUBS
Matt Epp, with Bahamas
The Winnipeg troubadour Epp makes corduroy-comfortable soul-folk and affecting ballads on his easily listenable new album Safe or Free, while the musician who calls himself Bahamas offers tasty guitar licks and laidback song-craft, the best of which recalls stars Hayden and Feist. Saturday, 10 p.m. $10. Cameron House, 408 Queen St. W., 416-703-0811.
Kid Cudi
After he opens up for dance-pop diva Lady Gaga at Air Canada Centre, the rising young hip hopster hits the limo for a drive down the road that gets him to his own headlining show so quick the bubbles of his Cristal won't even have flattened. Saturday, 10 p.m. $27.50. Kool Haus, 132 Queens Quay W., 416-870-8000.
FAMILY
Robin Hood
An eco-friendly bandit and his merry men try to save Sherwood Forest from a wood-chopping lumber baron in an "environmental family musical." To Jan. 3. $55 to $79. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St., 416-872-5555.
The Princess & the Handmaiden
Mean Girls meets the Brothers Grimm in a musical about loyalty, friendship, magic potions and talking sheep. (For ages 5 to 16.) To Dec. 30. $10 to $20. Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, 165 Front St. E., 416-862-2222.
ET CETERA
The St. Lawrence Ward It was once Toronto's main shopping street, and it's still an area that offers an absurd array of meat products (at St. Lawrence Market). Maps, photographs and art provide a pictorial essay of Toronto's oldest neighbourhood. To March 13. Free. Market Gallery, 95 Front St. E., toronto.ca/culture. The Headless Woman Critics are losing there heads over Lucrecia Martel's mysterious thriller about a dentist who may or may not have been involved in a hit-and-run. The Argentine film, recently declared by the Toronto International Film Festival people as the 25th-best movie of the decade, makes its Canadian premiere. Tomorrow to Dec. 3. $7.08 to $11.56. Art Gallery of Ontario's Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. W., 416-968-3456.
BOOKING AHEAD
Susan Boyle Dec. 21, First Canadian Place, chfi.com/events. Steven Wright Jan. 30 and 31, Convocation Hall, 416-870-8000.
Cirque du Soleil's Alegría June 30 to July 4 (on sale Nov. 30), Air Canada Centre, 416-870-8000.
Brad Wheeler