Opening This Week

La Cage aux Folles
It's the stage version of the movie, The Birdcage but with more singing and dancing, and with less Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. Musical Theater Company, Eastside Performance Center, 531 SE 14th Avenue, 916-6592, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 3, $20-$35

Mr. Bundy
Parents and daughter face the revelation that their elderly neighbor is a convicted child molester. Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, opens May 18, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, through June 9, $7-$15

One Week Only

Holy Goats
Performance Works presents another episode of their improvisational dance series, this time to raise money for an upcoming concert by Linda Austin and Dancers. Performance Works NorthWest, 4625 SE 67th Ave, 777-1907, Sun 2 pm, $7, includes bagels and coffee

Closing This Week

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare's greatest acid trip, presented fittingly by college students. Little Theater at Portland Community College-Sylvania campus, 12000 SW 49th Avenue, 977-4363, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, through May 19, $5-$6

Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theater
Energetic fusion of comedy, circus, and dance. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 224-8499, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 3 pm, through May 19, $17-$27

King Lear
Probably Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company, 1111 SW Broadway, 288-8400, Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through May 20, $10-$30

Long Days Journey Into Night
Eugene O'Neill's depressingly compelling study of a family stricken by alcoholism. Jack Oakes Theater, 2820 NE Sandy Blvd, 238-9692, Thurs-Fri 7 pm, through May 19, $10

Objects for the Emancipated Consumer
A 360 degree interactive multimedia spy drama. Liminal, Top floor of the The Dekum Building, 519 SW Third, 229-3979, Thurs-Fri 8 pm, through May 19, $8-$15

References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot
Gabriela's reality is the moon's music, coyote voices from the desert, and vampires. Miracle Theater Group, 525 SE Stark St, 236-7253, opens Fri, Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through May 19, $12-$16

The Gimmick
Dael Orlandersmith's searing, one-woman show about life in Harlem. Portland Center Stage, 1111 SW Broadway, 274-6588, Wed-Sun 8 pm, through May 19, $10-$17

Veronica's Position
It's actually not a porno, but a sex farce. Unfortunately, there is a difference. Triangle Productions! at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St, 239-5919, Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through May 19, $17-$19

When Pigs Fly
A musical grab bag of song, dance, and running gags, with a dash of vaudeville. Triangle Productions, at the World Trade Center Auditorium, 121 SW Salmon, 239-5919, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through May 19, $23-$25

Current Runs

defunkt theater presents The Investigation of the Murder in El Salvador

Defunkt's current production of Charles Mee's The Investigation of the Murder in El Salvador observes a group of upperclass bourgeois pricks as they schmooze over luncheon in an El Salvadorian resort while political violence rages outside in the street. Servants enter to serve food; they exit; a scream is heard; and the servants reenter covered in blood. The main characters ignore it all, choosing instead to sit and shoot the shit for 90 minutes. But unfortunately, this production still ultimately fails, due in large part to its technical aspects, which include slides and a fairly complex sound design. The lights were too bright to make the slides legible half the time, and when they were legible, they always seemed to be cut off by one of the heads of the rich snoots. They didn't make any sense anyway, as far as I could tell, and the soundscape was incomprehensibly artsy: a mish mash of Oregon public radio experts, music, and spacey sound effects that rarely seemed to illuminate the action onstage. Raindog Theatre, 8638 N Lombard St, 938-1482, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through June 9, $6-$15

Frogz
Frogs, worms, cowboys, giant paper bags, crazy cats. Imago Theater, 17 SE 8th Ave, 231-9581, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 1:30 pm, Sun 5:30 pm, through May 27, $9-$18

Generic Hospital
Improvisation in the tradition of soap opera and nighttime drama. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through June 16, $8

Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
It's by Stephen Sondheim and it's about a murderous barber, so it just has to be at least decent. Lakewood Theatre Company at Lakewood Theater for the Arts, 368 S State St, 635-3901, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 10, $19-$21

The Bald Soprano
An all-female cast leads the way for this Ionesco one-act about middle-class couples battling their fears. Jack Oakes Theater, 2820 NE Sandy Blvd, 238-9692, Fri-Sat 11:30 pm, through June 2, $10 See review this issue