Jess' top events Oct. 3-10

Thursday: Comedian Ralphie May will perform at Hoyt Sherman Place this week. May finished second in the first season of “Last Comic Standing” in 2003, and has since appeared in numerous movies and shows, including “The Wayne Brady Show” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” He appeared in his fourth Comedy Central special this year, “Too Big To Ignore,” which his current tour spotlights. 7:30 p.m. $32.50. Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave. Go to hoytsherman.org.

Through Sunday: Based on Victor Hugo’s novel about the French Revolution, Les Miserables returns to the Civic Center in a 25th anniversary production that features new staging and a “grittier” set inspired by Hugo’s own paintings. The popular songs, “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear People Sing?” and others remain the same, in the story about an ex-convict who becomes a force for good in the world, yet cannot escape his dark past. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $20. Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, 221 Walnut St. Go to civiccenter.org.

Martini Fest

Saturday: The most fun way to run a 5K? Covered in color! The Color Run will splatter runners with sprays of crazy color throughout the event (one spray at every kilometer) so at the end of the run, everyone is a walking rainbow. Coordinators of the event call the color a special “elf-made recipe of magical color dust,” which is natural and safe and will look great on you. The event is sold out, but we’re assuming even spectators will get a kick out of the fun. Due to its overwhelming popularity, participants will run at either 1 or 4 p.m. The run starts and ends at the Iowa State Judicial Building, 1111 E. Court Ave. Go to thecolorrun.com/des-moines.