Theater Listings
Opening This Week
Amadeus
Our very favorite Milos Foreman film (aside from Hair of course) is based on a hugely successful play by Peter Shaffer, about the tightlipped Antonio Salieri's epic jealousy of Mozart, played here by the well-cast Leif Norby. Lakewood Theatre Company , 368 S State St, 635-3901, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through Feb 20, $22-24
Talking Heads II
Last season's production of Talking Heads, three monologues by Alan Bennett, was a successful one for Triangle, and brought a Best Actress Drammy to Helena de Crespo. So this season they're doing three more, with de Crespo again, along with Vana O'Brien, and Deanna Wells. Triangle Productions, Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 239-5919, Opens Fri, runs Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Jan 30, $19-23
One Week Only
* Miz Kitty's Parlour Vaudeville Revusical & Novelty Show
After three seasons of successful vaudeville and musical acts, Miz Kitty has compiled a "best-of" evening with ukulele master Lyle Ritz, "mix-ologist" Cherry Shake, Taiwanese Glove puppeteers the Dim Sum Puppet Opera, and plenty more. The show will be taped for OPB's Oregon Art Beat. Mississippi Pizza, 3552 N. Mississippi, 288-3231, Sat 8 pm, $12
Current Runs
The Cold Comedy Concoction
See review this issue. Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 232-7072, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through Jan 22, $10-18
* Mike Daisey's 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com
After more than 200 performances of his solo tribute to the trials and tribulations of working at Amazon.com (including a six-month run in New York), it's fairly safe to say that Mike Daisey has honed 21 Dog Years. Blessed with both an amazingly expressive face and impeccable comic timing, Daisey attacks his anecdotes from the Land of Cubicles with a ferocity that draws huge laughs out of the smallest jokes, and sidesplitting banshee howls out of the big jokes. We learn about Jeff Bezos, the eerily amiable CEO of Amazon.com, and we learn about stock options, and how the dot.com apex formed from illusory PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets, as opposed to actual capital--not surprisingly, it promptly crashed. The funniest scenes involve Daisey's life as a Customer Service drone, dealing with an endless stream of calls and emails from awful customers furious because their Harry Potter books are late in the mail... If you've ever made such a call yourself and DEMANDED to speak with a manager, Daisey's insight on who you ACTUALLY get transferred to is enlightening, to say the least. The city of Portland rarely gets to see performers of this caliber, and with 21 Dog Years Portland Center Stage continues to prove that what it does best is bring in artists from other places. JWS Portland Center Stage, 1111 SW Broadway, 274-6588, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Tues-Wed, Sun 7 pm, Thurs 12 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Feb 6, $15-55
Dance
Bellydance Superstars
If you're going to see a bellydance show this year, reckon you better make it this one. The Bellydance Superstars take the best bellydancers from around the country and have been on the Lollapalooza Tour. Aladdin, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 233-1994, 7:30 pm, $22
* Random Dance
See review this issue. Fans of Random Dance honcho and choreographer extraordinaire Wayne McGregor can also take a workshop from him at the Conduit space, 918 SW Yamhill, Friday January 14, 10:30 am - noon, 221-5857 to reserve a spot, $15. Lincoln Hall, PSU, 1620 SW Park Ave, 790-ARTS, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, $14-25
Comedy/Improv
* Portland Comedy Competition, Round 2
Your favorite local standup comedy contest keeps on truckin' throughout January. Tonight's round is in Conan's Pub, but check www.portlandcomedycompetition.com for a full schedule of events throughout the week and month. Conan's , 3862 SE Hawthorne, 234-7474, Thurs 8 pm
Living Newspaper
Always dabbling with quirky improv formats, the Brody presents an evening inspired by headlines ripped right from the day's newspaper. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 8 pm, $10
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