A list of recommended things to do this weekend:

Eleven albums into the band's career, Americans still might say "The Tragically Who?"

But in its native Canada, The Tragically Hip is a national treasure -- winner of multiple Juno Awards, member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, headliner of arenas.

Check out this recent description from the Ottawa Citizen, "The Hip-Hip-Hip chant started in the lobby as folks flocked to their seats, and as soon as the music began, the entire audience jumped to their feet, fists pumping and heads bobbing."

The band -- named from a Monkees skit -- travels down to Pittsburgh Friday for a show at the Byham, part of a tour for the new album "We Are the Same." The band is led by 45-year-old Gordon Downie, described by another Canadian publication as "a cross between Michael Stipe, Jim Morrison and a cartoon character."

The show is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29-$39. Call 412-456-6666.

World beats

Those rumbles you hear this weekend will be coming from the August Wilson Center, scene of the "World Rhythm Festival: One Heart, Many Rhythms."

Master drummers from across the world are gathering for workshops and performances, including Giovanni Hidalgo, Glenn Velez, Zakira Hussein, Takumi Kato, The Army Drill Band, The Irish Drummers and Native-American: Rainbow Eagle.

The concerts take place at 8 p.m. tonight through Sunday ($12-$28). The workshops run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day ($35 each). Combo Prices: Day pass (concert and classes on a single day) -- $105; weekend pass (includes all concerts and classes) $231. It's co-presented by Afrika Yetu.

Calling all members of Pittsburgh's Zombie Nation: The flesh-eating undead aren't just on movie screens these days.

Starting Friday night, "The Revenants" by Scott T. Barsotti invades Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company through Oct. 31.

Revenants, strictly speaking, means someone who returns after a lengthy absence. In this case, it's definition No. 2: one who returns after death.

Mark Whitehead directs the story of two married couples who become barricaded in a basement while zombies munch and crunch above. As hopes dwindle, it is revealed that two of the spouses are infected and getting ... hungry.

The Windy City Times' theater critic wrote of the Chicago production, " 'The Revenants' opens with a mini-masterpiece of unnerving terror."

Friday-Saturday show times are 8 and 11 p.m., plus 8 p.m. Oct. 28 and 29. Tickets: $17.50 in advance; $35 for 11 p.m. show on Halloween; 412-394-3353 or proartstickets.org,

Heinz Hall audiences will get their first chance to hear music by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's composer of the year, Richard Danielpour, when the orchestra premieres his song cycle, "A Woman's Life."

Led by one of the great interpreters of American music, the orchestra's principal guest conductor Leonard Slakin, and with Angela Brown as soloist, "A Woman's Life" is a setting of seven Maya Angelou poems. By the way, the song cycle was co-commissioned by the PSO and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Yes, the hockey teams may hate each other, but not the orchestras!

The program opens with Peter Mennin's Concerto for Orchestra, "Moby Dick," and Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $12.50-$79; call 412-392-4900, or pittsburghsymphony.org.

Miss those guys from the TV show "Whose Line Is it Anyway"? They'll be live on stage -- and pulling folks from the audience -- for the improv show "Whose Live Anyway?" at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Chip Esten and Jeff B. Davis will create on the fly crazy skits and hilarious songs, with some help, of course, from the fans in the seats. So be prepared to join in the fun.

Tickets are $37 and $44; 724-836-8000 or www.thepalacetheatre.org. An additional $50 gets you into a post-show meet-and-greet reception to benefit the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

Prime Stage Theatre opens its 13th season Saturday with Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," with a little hometown flavor:

Jon Burnett of KDKA-TV's "Pittsburgh 2 Day" will make his Pittsburgh stage debut as Dr. Gibbs, returning to his theatrical roots from his college days.

Prime Stage, known for staging literary adaptations, makes its home in the New Hazlett Theater on the North Side. "Our Town" runs through Oct. 25; tickets are $20 ($15 for 65+, $10 for college students or 18 and younger) and available through www.primestage.com or by calling ProArts at 412-394-3353.

City Theatre's production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" takes unexpected twists in Jeffrey Hatcher's re-imagining of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic novella. David Whalen stars as the good doctor whose inner monsters are unleashed on the streets of Victorian London in previews beginning Saturday. Opening night is Oct. 23, and the show runs through Nov. 8. Tickets: $23-$48; citytheatrecompany.org or 412-431-CITY (2489).

Tony Hills hasn't seen the field much during his tenure with the Steelers, but the big offensive lineman from Texas is generating some action in the community with the Tony Hills "Amazing Race" Pittsburgh Saturday at South Park Fairgrounds.

Based on the hit TV show, teams of four will race along a course that includes a series of fun-filled pit stops that involve a combination of skill, intellect and teamwork. The team that finishes all the challenges and reports back to the final checkpoint first wins. Up for grabs are Steelers tickets.

It takes place at 3 p.m. Cost is $25 or $100 for a foursome (it's limited to 50 teams, so register at www.TonyHills.org.) It benefits The Tony Hills Adopt.A.High School Academic Initiative, which offers academic and SAT/ACT assistance to underserved students in area schools. The event includes a live and silent auction of collectible Steelers memorabilia.

Artist Shepard Fairey, known for the red, white and blue poster he created for the Obama campaign that went global, and for his street art featuring Andre the Giant, will DJ at the opening reception for an exhibition of his work from 7-10 p.m. Saturday at The Andy Warhol Museum. Also featured are globally famous DJ Z-Trip and DJ Justin Hopper of Pittsburgh's Vipers Soul Club and PANDEMIC.

"Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand" arrives from The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston with more than 20 years of Fairey's work.

Also opening are "SuperTrash," 150 film posters from the 1940s to the 1980s, and "Unnatural Rubber," 15 contemporary artists commemorating the 100th anniversary of the invention of synthetic rubber. Lite bites, beer by Ninkasi Brewing Co., cash bar. Tickets $20, $15 for students and members, 412-237-8300 or www.ticketweb.com. An artist talk by Fairey at 6 is sold out. An After-Party will run 10 p.m.-midnight at Artists Image Resource, 518 Foreland St., North Side (free with Warhol opening ticket).

• They Might Be Giants will be returning early next year for a children's concert, but the agenda at Mr. Small's Friday night will be rockin' the grown-ups. Maybe a taste of the recent "Here Comes Science," a third children's record, will slip into the set. The show is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Call 1-866-468-3401.

• The Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill gets a jump on Halloween with "Bump in the Night," an outdoor gathering for families with storytelling around a campfire, a sing-along, a walk on the trails, an opportunity to meet a nocturnal mammal and other related activities. It runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Oct. 23 and 24. Cost is $10 for adults (ages 12 and up) and $8 for children (ages 3-11). Space is limited, so reservations are required. Call 412-422-6538 for reservations.

• Mr. McFeely from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" will be at the National Aviary Saturday for the birthday of X, the Eurasian eagle owl, with story readings, a special owl encounters, a birthday sing-along for X and cupcakes. It runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Early jump on Christmas shopping? That's the temptation of the 15th annual Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Christmas Festival taking place this Friday through Sunday and Oct. 24-25 at the Washington County Fairgrounds. In all there will be 220 booths of crafters and food vendors from 15 states, plus petting zoo, trolley rides, Santa and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $5.50; $1 kids 6-12. Go to www.familyfestivals.com.

• "Appalachian Atmospheres," a show of functional pottery by eight artisans who do wood, salt, soda and reduction firing, opens from 6-8 p.m. Saturday at Sweetwater Center for the Arts, 200 Broad St., Sewickley (free; 412-741-4405).

• Culture Club at Carnegie Museum of Art, from 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, asks "Where Are the Boundaries? Artists' Lives & Work: Mary Cassatt and Kara Walker," with assistant curator of fine arts Amanda Zehnder and assistant curator of contemporary art Dan Byers. ($5 plus museum admission, includes two drink tickets; 412-622-3131).

• "From South Side to Italy and Back," paintings by Ray Sokolowski, opens from 6:30-9 p.m. Friday at the Father Ryan Arts Center, 420 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks (free; 412-771-3052).

-- Compiled by Scott Mervis, Sharon Eberson, Mary Thomas, Karen Carlin and Andrew Druckenbrod

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