Opening This Week
Artist Descending A Staircase
Originally written as a radio play, Tom Stoppard's meditation on two artist friends dealing with the death of their roommate has been given a visual and auditory overhaul by Fever Theater, Portland's newest company. Fever Theater at the Liminal Space, 403 NW Fifth at Flanders St., 233-4420, Sun-Mon 8 pm, $10
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
I would like to know how any freaking Portland theater company can justify charging $48 for anything, let alone a trite musical from the Stone Ages. Broadway Rose Theatre Company, at the Deb Fennel Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Rd, 620-5262, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, $48
One Week Only
* Black Forest/Black Sea w/Janet Pants Dans Theeatr, House Of Cunt
This show will be straight-up fun. The House of Cunt is a miracle of cracked-out, music-fueled sketch comedy, while Janet Pants and the gang storm the senses with theatrical, colorfully costumed, endlessly hip, post modern dance. Disjecta, 116 NE Russell , 335-6979, 9 pm, $5
* The Mermaid Who Broke My Fucking Heart
The Monkey Wrench Puppet Lab, Seattle's premier purveyors of adult puppetry, presents a shadow puppet show about a mermaid who walks naked into a barful of drunks, and a traditional puppet show about a couple of dudes who steal a corpse for the fun of it. Devil's Point, 5305 SE Foster , 774-4513, Fri, at midnight, $3-$5; also playing Sunday at Dante's, 1 SW 3rd Ave, 226-6630, Sun 10 pm, $6
* The Strangest Kind of Romance
A couple of social workers have organized a cast and crew of people with mental health disorders to stage this classic play by Tennessee Williams about a man and his cat. The production is the center piece for a documentary by Charlie Boodman on alternative mental health therapies involving community building and artistic expression. The Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark Street, 380-0842, Sun 2 & 7 pm, By Donation
Closing This Week
A Piece of My Heart
Shirley Lauro's play about the true drama of six women who served in Vietnam. Four were nurses, one was a Red Cross volunteer, and you guessed it, the sixth woman was a country western singer. Chock full of heartache, desperation, and the ugliness of war. Portland Actors Conservatory, 1436 SW Montgomery St, 274-1717, Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 29, $13-$20
Out of Their Minds
Your home for consistently good improv, the Brody, presents this latest show in which the troubled cast of characters expose their improvised subconscious minds. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through June 28, $10
Current Runs
* Frogz
Frogz is as fun and innovative as it ever was, though it could benefit from some fresh writing... A new work, "Rabbits," is possibly the best skit of the lot, featuring movement skill as sophisticated as any of the other acts, and a clever, witty story to bring it all to the next level. JWS Imago Theater, 17 SE 8th Ave, 231-9581, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 1:30 pm, Sun 5:30 pm, through July 20 (extended), $14-$24
* Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Triangle's initial production of this ubiquitous transgender glam musical was so popular they've brought it back, with a significant price increase. It's a good show, but yowza is $30 a lot of money. That's like five or six burritos easy; seven depending on where you go. Triangle Productions, at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 239-5919, Wed, Fri, Sat 8 pm, $30
* Mamma Mia!
20 classic ABBA songs congeal in this ridiculous, yet unstoppably catchy musical about a young girl about to be married. Broadway in Portland, at Keller Auditorium, SW Third and Clay, 224-4400, Thurs-Sun, Tues-Wed 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm, $34.50-$76.50
