Opening This Week

Call In Sick presents Theatre of the Film Noir
Paris...war...fog...criminals...morality...1944...noir. Raindog Theatre, 8638 N Lombard St, 335-3297, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Dec 8, $8-$14

Flesh and Blood
A new play by terrific playwright Edward Albee, based on the book by terrific novelist Michael Cunningham. This one should at least be interesting. Portland Center Stage, 1111 SW Broadway, 274-6588, Tues-Wed, Sun 7 pm, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, Thurs 12 pm, through Nov 18, $12-44

Footlight Frenzy
A desperate PTA group mounts a benefit play to save their kids' school--with calamitous results...BWA HA HA! Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S State St, 635-3901, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through Dec 9, $18-20

The Birthday Party
The plays of Harold Pinter seem rather ubiquitous in Portland right now, which is great. This one's about a societal outcast who seeks refuge in a seaside resort. Jack Oakes Theater, 2820 NE Sandy Blvd, 238-9692, Thurs-Fri 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through Nov 18, $10

Happy hour
This performance art/theater piece actually takes place in a bar instead of using bar props. According to the press release, Wendy Houston will perform a "hybrid of rant, and dance movement that reveals the state of bitter England." ohm, 31 NW 1st Ave, 242-1419, Fri-Sun 7 pm

The Haint
A Southern Gothic ghost story with 13 characters and a cast of one...cool... Stage Direct, at CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 295-3565, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through Nov 17, $10

The Time Between
Collage play stemming from the MEDIARITES Grief Project, which involved meeting with more than 50 youths, adults, and families, to get their stories on how they have dealt with loss in their lives. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave, 750-1439, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 17, $11-14

Portland Opera Company presents: The Pearl Fishers
If you like Opera, you only have three chances to see this one, so buy those tickets fast. Keller Auditorium, SW Third and Clay, 790-ARTS, Fri, Wed 7:30 pm, through Nov 10, Begins at $25

One Week Only

Benefit for MONSTER SQUAD
Celebrate Tahni M. Holt's new dance company, MONSTER SQUAD, with performances by Heidi Carlsen and Dawn Joella Jackson. Conduit Studio, 918 SW Yamhill, 4th Floor, 221-5857, Sat 8 pm, $10-50

Closing This Week

* Fateful Encounter
Some slugs hit you below the gut, and come from a fist. Other slugs hit you in the gut, and come from a flask. This play'll make ya feel you've just been the recipient of both. Firehouse Theater, 1436 SW Montgomery St, 972-5613, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sat 10:30 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 3, $10-12

Scary Movie
A tribute to late-night creature features, with two classic "movies" improvised each night. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Nov 3, $10-12

The Tempest
Prospero, Calaban, and the gang take the stage for one more romp through their island in the sky. Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company, 1111 SW Broadway, 288-8400, Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm, through Nov 4, $12.50-33.50

Johnny Stallings presents: Show and Tell
The man who once performed King Lear by himself has unveiled a new show featuring art, music, storytelling, and various guest artists. The Drawing Studio, 3614 SE Division, 281-1616, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Nov 3, $5-15

Current Runs

7th Annual El Dia de los Muertos Festival
Translation: The 7th annual Day of the Dead Festival. Features drama, dance, puppets, and children. The Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark Street, 736-1027, Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 11, $14-15

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Seems folks didn't get enough of this overpriced musical the first time around. It's back for one more go at it. World Trade Center Auditorium, 121 SW Salmon, 239-5919, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Dec 22, $23-25

Pinata Full of Blood
Halloween sketch comedy. Gross title. See review this issue. Blue Door Productions, at the Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark, 258-1681, Fri-Sat 11 pm, through Nov 17, $8

* Spinning Into Butter
CoHo Productions has opened its first season in its beautiful new home, with a play by Rebecca Gilman that attacks contemporary white America's self-congratulatory racial tolerance. Set in a mostly-white Vermont, liberal arts college, Spinning focuses on the dean of students, Sarah Daniels, who finds her hands full when a black student suddenly becomes the target of racist threats. As the pressure builds, Daniels' true views on race come forth in such a convincing fashion, that you won't know whether to be appalled or to agree. Along the way, Gilman also gets in some hilarious shots at the liberal arts college establishment, which you will find funny if you spent the dough necessary to become familiar with such an establishment. CoHo Productions, 2257 NW Raleigh, 220-2646, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 24, $13-15

* Profile Theatre Project presents The Homecoming
A somber production of Pinter's contemporary classic, which chronicles a man's return from America to England, to visit his bickering, miserable brothers, uncles, and father. The problems begin when the man introduces his demented wife, Teddy (Linda Hayden), to his equally demented clan. The resulting chemical reactions are lewd, depressing, incestuous, and fucked up. Pinter has never aimed to create comfort in his work, and the cast here, partially composed of soap and commercial actors, does justice to his relentlessly twisted dynamics. Theatre! Theater!, 3430 SE Belmont Ave, 242-0080, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 18, $12-20