MPR News Arts Reporter Marianne Combs joins Steve Seel and Jill Riley to talk about four arts events this weekend that are inspiration to get out to enjoy despite the weather.

Lonely Soldiers: Women at War in Iraq — The stories of soldiers on the front lines of America's most recent wars are unlike any that came before, especially for women in uniform. This play by Helen Benedict is based on interviews with soldiers stationed on the front lines in Iraq. This is the final weekend of this play, which stages at the History Theatre in St. Paul until April 6.

Mahmoud El-Kati discusses his book The Myth of Race, the Reality of Racism — Mahmoud El-Kati is a lecturer, writer and commentator on the African American experience, and he specializes in African American history and advocates institution-building within cultural communities. El-Kati will be reading from and discussing his book, The Myth of Race, the Reality of Racism, at Subtext Books in St. Paul tonight, Thursday, April 3, starting at 7 p.m.

The Mountaintop — This co-production by Penumbra Theatre and Arizona Theatre re-imagines the events on the evening before Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968. Set in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., Dr. King meets a feisty hotel maid who brings surprising news. Through this encounter, Dr. King is forced to confront his doubts, destiny and legacy to his people. The Mountaintop is staging at the Guthrie Theater's McGuire Proscenium and runs to April 19.

Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre: ConVivir — Inspired by the convivencia ("coexistence") period in Spanish history (711 CE to 1492 CE) when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in an atmosphere that was remarkable for its lack of religious strife, this production by Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre combines flamenco, hip hop, Sephardic and Arabic music and dance to offer a compelling vision of the future. ConVivir stages at the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis April 4 to 6.

Marianne Combs joins The Current's Morning Show for the Weekend Arts Roundup every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Read about all the latest arts news at the State of the Arts blog at mprnews.org.