Marie and Bruce
An intriguing-sounding effort from the New House Theatre, a brand new Portland company. Marie and Bruce, Wallace Shawn's discomforting look at a dysfunctional marriage, will occur in the tiny living room of a house in industrial SE. Depending on the quality of the production, this will either be awkward in a really good way, or awkward in a really bad way. New House Theatre , 628 SE Mill, (971) 563-4284, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through May 21, $10 sug. donation
Jesus Christ Superstar
Radiant's first attempt at a large-scale musical, the hippie-riffic Hair, was surprisingly decent, and Jesus Christ Superstar is even more hippie-riffic because Jesus was a total hippie. The Scarlett Ballroom , 700 NE Dekum, 502-8261, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 & 7 pm, $8-15
Mysteries of the Heart
Having demonstrated the raw power basic puppetry can still wield in this cynical, modern world with their highly innovative Wild Child, the Hand2Mouth company has moved on to an even greater challenge with their current production, Mysteries of the Heart: unmoving wooden figures. For those who fell in love with the expressive wooden boy puppet in Wild Child, these decidedly less expressive carvings that pass for puppets will take some getting used to. At first, it seems that the actors are just carrying the figures around with them, like footballs-weird props to hang on to as they race through the show's quirky stories based on folklore from around the globe. But eventually, a more compelling relationship between object and human materializes: the stiff figures represent the physical world, and the humans are their spirits. If anything, the figures portray the ultimate Mystery of the Heart: the true nature of our bodies. We are lumps of matter given life and breath by something outside ourselves, something that we will never understand. JWS Brooklyn Bay , 1825 SE Franklin, Bay K, 248-0557, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, $10-12
Blue/Orange
The entirety of Blue/Orange, Artists Repertory Theatre's current Second Stage production, takes place in one room of a mental institution, where two doctors debate whether a patient is sane enough to be released. Christopher, the patient (Bobby Bermea), is a young black man diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, temporarily institutionalized for doing something indelicate and unspecified with an orange. A bowl of oranges rests in the middle of an otherwise barren set; Christopher thinks the oranges are blue. He also insists his father is former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, and that he's being persecuted by zombies. Is Christopher crazy, or just responding to the fucked up world he lives in? The outstanding performances in Blue/Orange highlight and deepen these ambiguities, with Bermea's Christopher as a frighteningly moody and heartbreakingly vulnerable focal point. AH Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center , 5340 N. Interstate, 241-1278, Tues-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 & 7 pm, through May 29, $15-35
Frogz
Imago's surefire cashcow has run successfully for five billion straight seasons for good reason: it's really fun to watch. Imago Theater , 17 SE 8th Ave, 221-5857, ex. 3, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 1:30 pm, Sun 5:30 pm, through May 29 , $21-24 It's Only a Play Profile concludes their season-long tribute to Terrence McNally with this production of his play-within-a-play. Stars Leif Norby, Karen Trumbo, and other local stalwarts. The Profile Theatre Project at Theater! Theatre! , 3430 SE Belmont, 242-0080, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through May 22, $12-25
The Resurrectory
See feature story, page 13. Portland Art Center , 2045 SE Belmont, 239-5481, Thurs-Sat 8-10 pm, through June 18, $6-10 pay-what-you-can
SpugMotion
This all-girls dance group apparently incorporates Irish dance and partner movement to create works about women's obsessions with their bodies. We know nothing beyond that, except that they have really cute tennis shoes on in the press photos. Nocturnal , 1800 E Burnside, 239-5900, Thurs 8 pm, Fri 8 & 9:30 pm, $10
