Opening This Week
Everyman
A modernization of the ancient mystery play with audience participation. Radiant Theatre, at the Hillsboro Universalist Unitarian Church, 22785 NW Birch Street, 502-8261, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sat 2 pm, through June 15, $8-10
Fortinbras
Find out what happened after Hamlet died. Portland Actors Conservatory, 1436 SW Montgomery St, 274-1717, Opens Fri, runs Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 23, $15-20
Hopscotch
A one-act mystery by Israel Horovitz, the dad of Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. Call in Sick Productions, at the Russell Street Theater, 116 NE Russell St, 335-3297, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through June 29, $8
One Week Only
Ripen Our Darkness
A free staged reading of Sarah Daniel's exploration of religion, alcoholism, and lesbianism. Theatre Vertigo at the Russell Street Theater, 116 N Russell, 306-0870, Sun 7:30 pm, FREE
Closing This Week
Othello
Jungle fever, Shakespeare style. PSU Theater Dept, at Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, 1620 SW Park Ave, 725-3307, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 8, $6-$8
Current Runs
* Cupid & Psyche
Faced with the deterioration of her looks and insanely jealous, Aphrodite employs Cupid to shoot the beautiful Psyche with his arrow so that she will fall in love with the lowly servant, Runt. Unfortunately, Cupid falls for Psyche himself and violates orders to whisk her away to a dark castle, where she can get to know him and fall in love with him based on his personality instead of his god-like beauty. Stark Raving's modern update of this Greek legend is peppered with flashing lights, cell phones, and witty, sarcastic asides that add a contemporary accessorization to the source material without giving it a relevant immediacy. It's an old story in racy new duds, but it's a pretty good old story, and the production makes up for its modernistic aimlessness with a powerful and poignant finale. MARJORIE SKINNER Stark Raving, at the CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 232-7072, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through June 29, $10-20
Hey, Don't Grab Me There!
Crazy late night sketch comedy with one of the silliest titles in recent memory. Stark Raving, at the CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 232-7072, Fri-Sat 11 pm, through June 29, $12
Killer Joe
Uber redneck, Chris, and his father, Ansel, hire a hitman/cop named Killer Joe to kill Chris' mom so they can cash in on her life insurance policy. This story is standard potboiler material that is supposed to be given new life because it is happening in the bizarre confines of trailer park culture. IFCC, 5340 N Interstate Ave, 241-1ART, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 16
Masterpieces
An exploration of pornography and the issues it confronts us with. Theatre Vertigo at the Russell Street Theater, 116 N Russell, 306-0870, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, through June 29, $14
Out of Nowhere
Like a tornado or a fit of truth, Brody improv stems out of nowhere. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 9 pm, through June 29, $10
The Bad Infinity
Mac Wellman's portrayal of four people who gather one evening to endure a "bad infinity" (the meaning of this term will forever remain a mystery) exists outside the realm of linear storytelling. Lines of dialogue don't necessarily follow their preceding lines, tangents occur rampantly, entire conversations repeat themselves, dead santas appear on stretchers, and men in kangaroo costumes take messages for French chefs in the middle of the woods. Material this bizarre makes me feel distanced to the point of disconnection. It scares me to say that because it makes me feel as though I'm failing one of the primary duties of a critic, which is to try to understand the world that a play creates for itself and critique the play within the context of that world and not within the context of some preconceived notion. Defunkt Theatre, at the Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 993-9062, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, through June 22, $8-15
The Birth of the Stick Figure Battery Baby
Chronicles the birthing process of the half-human, half-robot stick figure battery baby and its role in the battle over the fate of humankind. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that plot synopsis... stillbeautymovement, at the Back Door Theatre, 4319 SE Hawthorne, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through June 22, By donation
Uncle Betty
A new improv group presents improv. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Sun 7:30 pm, through June 23, $5
The Laramie Project
The story of the 1998 brutally homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard, which took place in Laramie, Wyoming. Artists Repertory Theater, 1516 SW Alder St, 241-1278, Tues-Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through June 30, $15-28
