Pullout: The Food Issue 2008
Alison Hallett
Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Little Dog Laughed
Portland Center Stage at the Gerding Theater
I’ve never been particularly interested in watching men have sex with each other, but—here is something I NEVER thought I would say—Portland Center Stage’s new show had the unexpected effect of making me reconsider my pornography viewing habits. The Little Dog Laughed is a pointed little play about a hunky, closeted starlet, Mitchell (Brik Berkes. […]
Posted inBooks
Bryan Lee O’Malley
An interview with the creator of the Scott Pilgrim books
Bryan Lee O’Malley is the 29-year-old creator of the Scott Pilgrim books, a popular comic book series that integrates familiar Gen Y tropes (the eponymous Scott is an emotionally underdeveloped slacker who can barely hold down a job) with fantasy elements borrowed from videogames (in order to win over his new girlfriend, Scott must do […]
Posted inSPECIAL!
A Safe Space For Nerds
Keeping it DIY at the IPRC
This weekend brings a landmark of sorts for Portland’s independent publishing community: The Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC) celebrates their 10th anniversary, with a two-venue rock show featuring a stellar lineup of local musicians (more on that in a minute). Ten years ago, when the IPRC first staked out its offices on SW Oak, zines […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Nobody Here But Us Chickens
For the last show of their 2007-2008 season, and their last production at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center before moving downtown to the World Trade Center, the Third Rail tackles Nobody Here But Us Chickens, three one-acts from British playwright Peter Barnes that take a humorous look at people with disabilities. Third Rail consistently aims […]
Posted inBooks
Northline
by Willy Vlautin (Harper)
Willy Vlautin is the frontman of local alt-country band Richmond Fontaine, which is why his new novel, Northline, is probably the only book you’ll read this year to come with its own soundtrack. The slow-strummed ballads that accompany Northline provide a lush companion to Vlautin’s starkly descriptive prose, and wisely, they’re wordless, so you can […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Lost in Translation
Wong Kar-wai Comes to America
The prospect of an English language film from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love) is an exciting one, and it’s made more intriguing by his decision to cast Norah Jones, in her first acting role, as the lead. And while it’s interesting to see the director’s distinctive visual style […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Love Songs
A Succinct Review for the Discerning Cinephile
I personally cannot imagine a better film synopsis than this one: Love Songs is a French musical about an ambisexual young couple and the hot girl they’ve invited to share their relationship. Julie (Ludivine Sagnier, AKA the foxy blonde girl from The Swimming Pool) and Ismaël (Louis Garrel, AKA the future father of my French […]
Posted inBooks
Comics For the People
It’s the Perfect Month to Discover the Comics You’ve Been Missing
As if there weren’t enough reasons to love living in this city (good beer, plentiful strip clubs, committed local farmers who will hopefully sustain the rest of us when the economy collapses), we are now officially a Comics Mecca™. Earlier this month, Mayor Tom Potter dubbed April “Portland Comics Month,” with a press release that […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Long Christmas Ride Home
If it seems strange to present a Christmas show in April, consider that The Long Christmas Ride Home playwright Paula Vogel suggests the show be set in any month but December, thus sparing her audiences the hard truths of this script during an already taxing holiday season. Theatre Vertigo’s production of Vogel’s “puppet play with […]
Posted inBooks
Attack of the Theater People
by Marc Acito (Broadway Books)
Portlander Marc Acito is the author of How I Paid for College, a frothy, funny coming-of-age novel about Edward Zanni, a high schooler who wants nothing more than to follow his dreams of being an actor by attending Julliard. The recently released Attack of the Theater People chronicles Edward’s post-high school adventures in New York […]
Posted inBooks
Our Story Begins
by Tobias Wolff (Knopf)
Tobias Wolff has already assured himself a place in the canon with the publication of such books as Old School and his excellent memoir This Boy’s Life. The recently released Our Story Begins is a collection of his short stories, from early works that have been anthologized elsewhere to the 10 new stories that conclude […]