The promotional poster for Legendary Season 3, featuring members of House of Ada. Top row, left to right: Vanity Ada, Papi Ada, Virgo Ada; Bottom row, left to right: Sophora Ada, Babi Ada HBO, courtesy of House of ada Portland is about to, once again, shine in the national eye. That light is sparkling on […]
Andrew Jankowski
Posted inTheater & Performance
In The Queers, Mikki Gillette Writes Real, Unflinching Stories about the Transgender Experience
Juliet Mylan as Ally (left) and Naomi Jackson as Lisa (right) in The Queers COURTESY OF FUSE THEATRE ENSEMBLE There are no fantasy heroes in Mikki Gillette’s work. And hardly any glamour. “A person at a reading said, ‘I’m glad you aren’t just writing the noble transgender character,’” Gillette told the Mercury. “And inside I […]
Posted inSpring Arts Preview 2022
In The Queers, Mikki Gillette Writes Real, Unflinching Stories about the Transgender Experience
There are no fantasy heroes in Mikki Gillette’s work. And hardly any glamour. “A person at a reading said, ‘I’m glad you aren’t just writing the noble transgender character,’” Gillette told the Mercury. “And inside I laughed out loud because that’s not what I would ever do.” As a playwright, Gillette focuses on characters who […]
Posted inMusic
Live Music Preview: Marina’s Unstoppable Femme Energy
Courtesy of Marina Marina’s 2021 album, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, sounds like the revelations of a searcher upon returning from a long journey. It’s Marina Diamandis’ second album since the Welsh singer-songwriter ascended to a mononymous moniker, shedding Marina and the Diamonds, and it feels like her most urgently fed-up collection of songs […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Theater Review: The Great Leap‘s Basketball Drama May Be Predictable, but Makes Surprise Moves At the Buzzer
Tommy Bo in The Great Leap. Alec Lugo As it became a global phenomenon, basketball helped open the world. Introduced to China around 1895, it was eventually chosen as one of the country’s two national sports during the Great Leap Forward—a brutal five-year period starting in 1958 which preceded Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution. In 1979, […]
Posted inVisual Art
Brett and Moon Westfall See Hope for Humanity in Signs of Life Art & Fashion Exhibition
photo by Andrew Jankowski The strawberries in visual artist and menswear designer Brett Westfall’s signature “Fresh” produce motif are inspired by ten days in 2007 he and a colleague spent stranded in Patterson, California, a rural farming town known for its apricots. Westfall, a friend and collaborator of Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo, studied […]
Posted inHoliday Debauchery Guide 2021
A Sampler’s Guide to Portland’s Best Perfumers
Andrew Jankowski Portland’s scents are among the world’s finest and freshest. Because of the doughnut chain next door, my neighborhood smells like fresh rising dough, confectioners’ icing, and fruit fillings on its best days, shifting savory at night thanks to a score of breweries and coffee roasters. The neighborhood’s base notes shift seasonally, now emitting […]
Posted inHoliday Debauchery Guide 2021
A Sampler’s Guide to Portland’s Best Perfumers
Portland’s scents are among the world’s finest and freshest. Because of the doughnut chain next door, my neighborhood smells like fresh rising dough, confectioners’ icing, and fruit fillings on its best days, shifting savory at night thanks to a score of breweries and coffee roasters. The neighborhood’s base notes shift seasonally, now emitting petrichor, dried […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Scary-Funny Improv Show Murder Mystery Machine Is “Scooby-Doo Meets Saw”
Andrew Jankowski Sarah Michelle Gellar fans who missed Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Musical’s latest run at the Funhouse Lounge, should consider attending the venue’s next installment of their improv pop culture spoof series. Billed as “Scooby-Doo meets Saw,” Murder Mystery Machine takes Scoob and the gang and plops them wherever the audience chooses, solving […]
Posted inFood & Drink Guide 2021
Southeast Portland’s Fermenter Returns With Funky, Briny, Vibrant Vegan Brunch
ANDREW JANKOWSKI Uninitiated Portland diners should take heed of Fermenter’s return. The vegan restaurant and kombucherie reintroduced themselves in October 2020 at Southeast 14th and Belmont, shifting into the space once held by their still-on-hiatus sister restaurant, Farm Spirit. Fermenter’s heated patio was installed in November, and in-person brunch followed this past summer. Mushrooms, smoked […]
Posted inFood & Drink Guide 2021: Eating Sustainably
Southeast Portland’s Fermenter Returns With Funky, Briny, Vibrant Vegan Brunch
Uninitiated Portland diners should take heed of Fermenter’s return. The vegan restaurant and kombucherie reintroduced themselves in October 2020 at Southeast 14th and Belmont, shifting into the space once held by their still-on-hiatus sister restaurant, Farm Spirit. Fermenter’s heated patio was installed in November, and in-person brunch followed this past summer. Mushrooms, smoked tempeh, and […]
Posted inTBA
Photo Essay: Striking Scenes From PICA’s Time-Based Art Festival
Andrew Jankowski Editor’s note: The following are photos from three exhibits at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time-Based Art Festival (TBA), running now through October 3. Find more of the Mercury’s TBA coverage here and here. A participant in vanessa german’s THE BLUE WALK responds to the poet-artist’s call for rage in an empty […]