opening this week

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Five women ditch out on their weddings and hide together. Magdelyn Theatre Company, 403 NW 5th, (971) 544-1736, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Fri 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Mar 8, $12

Shopping and Fucking
Ho-hum, another play about drug dealers and prostitutes dealing and prostituting. Triangle Productions, at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 239-5919, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Fri 8 pm, through Mar 8, $25

Sirena, Queen of the Tango
The Miracle chimes in on the stage-adaptation-of-film-noir movement with this spicy drag-queen/detective farce. The cast is intriguing. Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark Street, 236-7253, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through Mar 15, $13-$15

The Producers
Just remember you can also rent the brilliant movie version of this show for two bucks and not deal with crowds and bad sight lines. Portland Opera Company, 1515 SW Morrison , 241-1802, Tues-Sun 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm, through Mar 2, $31-$71

one week only

Dr. Atomic's Medicine Show
The activist entertainers, Dr. Atomic's Medicine Show, will headline with the blend of raucous political farce and musical parody that got them banned from the Salem Saturday Market. The Dance Cartel, at Echo Theatre, 1515 SE 37th, 585-6118, Sat 7:30 pm, $5-$10

closing this week

Seascape
Tells the story of an aging human couple who encounter a reptilian couple on the beach. Profile's production of it is, predictably, solid, but not spectacular. JWS The Profile Theatre Project at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 242-0080, Thur-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, though Feb 16, $12-$25

current runs

Cart
James Moore's feature-length dramatic writing debut, Cart, tells the story of three squatters who shack up in a seemingly uninhabited house. Rick (Rollin Carlson) is obsessed with a grocery cart that mangled his car. JWS defunkt theatre, at the Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 993-9062, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, through Feb 22, $8-15

Proof
Proof has an interesting premise, but the second half unravels, wrapping things up with too much ease, and too little flair. JWS Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St, 241-9807, Thurs, Sun, Tues-Wed 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Feb 23, $15-30

Collage: "True Stories from the Inside"
Marguerite Scott unveils a slew of surreal characters in this one-woman show. Play Workshop Theatre at Coho Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh, 274-6838, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through Mar 15, $6-$10

The Diaries of Adam and Eve
Based on short stories by Mark Twain, wherein the witty fellow used satirical renditions of the Adam and Eve story to explore his own relationship with his beloved wife, Olivia Langdon. Theatre Vertigo, at the Electric Company, 2512 SE Gladstone, Suite 200, 232-5955, Fri-Sat 7 & 9 pm, through Mar 1, $8