Opening This Week

Quilters
Music, dance, and song illuminate the stories of a pioneer woman sewing a legacy quilt for her six daughters. Lakewood Theatre Company, at Fir Acres Theatre, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd., 635-3901, Opens July 12, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm & 7 pm, through Aug 18, $20-22

* Spinning Into Butter
Coho put on this excellent play about racial hypocrisy in the academic world last fall, and it was so popular they've brought it back. If you saw it then, see it again, and if you haven't seen it, please do. Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 220-2646, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Aug 17, $13-15

Keith Goodman & Dance Gatherer In Concert
Goodman and Co. will be presenting four works, of which two, Marooned In Innocence and Tempo, are brand spanking new. Conduit Studio, 918 SW Yamhill, 4th Floor, 221-5857, Fri-Sun 8:30 pm, through July 21, $10-14

One Week Only

Cabaret Boris & Natasha
Performance Works presents another collage of works by local dancers, actors, and other. This one's to raise money for the residency of New York choreographer, Sally Silvers. Performance Works NorthWest, 4625 SE 67th Ave, 777-1907, Fri-Sat 8 pm, $15-25, includes refreshments

The Vagina Monologues
A semi-entertaining theatre experience that has been inflated to ridiculously epic proportions, thanks to its high "liberation" factor. Newmark Theater, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, SW Broadway & Main, 790-ARTS, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sat 5 pm, Sun 3 pm & 7 pm, $30-40

Closing This Week

* Head-Crazy Brain Girl
Tony St. Clair is drolly diabolical as Dr. Soapstone, a mad scientist who gets his wife decapitated in an accident involving a reanimated corpse, and then spends the rest of the play trying to find a body for her head. It's hardly an original storyline, but original storylines are not the point in this amusing ode to hackneyed 1950s-era television camp. What matters here are the hilarious characters and the period ambience, which Kevin-Michael Moore and his Gunhappy Theatrical Ensemble nail pretty well in this slick, fast-moving production. Look for Andy Buzan as the Wally Beaver-esque "Gig," and Michael-Moore himself as a cracked out drug addict. Both are brief crests in a sea of excellent performances. Blue Door Productions, at the Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark, 258-1681, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through July 13, $10

The Will Rogers Follies
Musical about Will Rogers's rise from unassuming okie to unparalleled stardom as an actor, newspaper columnist, and radio personality. Broadway Rose Theatre Company, at the Deb Fennel Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Rd, 620-5262, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through July 14, $9-18

Current Runs

Double Play
Two acts of spontaneous theater and comedy by an expanded troupe of 16 performers. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Sat 9 pm, through Aug 31, $9

Dralion
It costs a lot to put on a circus; it's not easy, and somebody has to pay for it. That person is you, if you want to enjoy contortionists, high wire acts, and other mundanities of the big top tricked up as high class performance art. Extended. Cirque du Soleil at the Grand Chapiteau, Under the Marquam Bridge, 800-678-5440, Tues-Wed, Sat 8 pm, Thurs-Fri 5 pm & 9 pm, Sat 4 pm, through July 21st, $31.50-65

Frogz
Frogz is back for its 573rd Portland run. Imago Theater, 17 SE 8th Ave, 231-9581, Wed-Fri 7:30 pm, Sat 1:30 & 7:30 pm, Sun 1:30 & 5:30 pm, through July 28th, $13-23

Graduation Showcase
Graduates celebrate graduating with the performances of monologues. Portland Actors Conservatory, 1436 SW Montgomery St, 274-1717, Wed-Thurs 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, $13

Greater Tuna
Hicks in a small Texas town shoot the shit. Triangle Productions, at the Flying Rhinoceros Theatre, 1440 NW Overton, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through July 20, $17-$23

* Hedwig and the Angry Inch
At its core, Hedwig, is a full-on rock n' roll show with an incredibly charismatic lead singer. For this reason, it has touched people existing well beyond the boundaries of the typical musical demographic. With its concert-within-a-play structure and its ultra-hip David Bowie glam style roots, Hedwig is a musical for people who love AND hate musicals. If you think that because you saw the movie you are excused, think again, because Hedwig and her band rock way harder live and in person than they do in the artsy fartsy film version. You wouldn't just watch music videos of your favorite band all the time, no! You'd go see them in concert and have a great time. It's the same with Hedwig and the Angry Inch. They're not your favorite band now, but they will achieve that status for at least the duration of their set. JUSTIN SANDERS Triangle Productions, at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 239-5919, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through July 13, $22-28