One Week Only

Jellies
Heidi Carlsen, Eric David Johnson, and Teryl Saxson-Hill have collaborated to produce this one-woman experimental dance/video/theater piece. Sustainability is a major theme of the evening, with the very cool and progressive Ecotrust building as the venue, and with a post-show supper hosted by Ripe, a local foods organization focused on issues of sustainability and community. Ecotrust Building, 721 NW 9th Ave, 288-9119, Fri-Sat 8:30 pm, $10 for performance, $30 for performance and dinner

The Dream State
Triangle's youth internship program presents an exploration of dreams through live action, music, and dance. Triangle Productions, at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, 239-5919, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, $5-10

Closing This Week

Forever Plaid
Four dead guys return to earth to fulfill their dreams of singing on the Ed Sullivan Show. Broadway Rose Theatre Company, at the Deb Fennel Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Rd, 620-5262, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Aug 18, $9-18

Important People
It's easy to get people to laugh at somebody (any grade school punk can do it). It is extremely difficult to get people to laugh with somebody. John Breen is a master of the latter. He seems incapable of indulging in the former. He takes the characters that populate his one-man show seriously; they do not exist to be made fun of, but to be held up and appreciated. Breen masters every nuance and idiosyncrasy of his characters, from the scout leader who gets his troupe lost in the woods to Mother Theresa, and then shares them with the sheer unadulterated joy of a child at his first show-and-tell. There is no cynicism here. No pretension. Just a loving tribute to Breen's personal collection of "important people" who have touched his life. JUSTIN SANDERS Goat Company, at the Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 242-0202, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through Aug 17, $10

Quilters
A pioneer woman sews a legacy quilt for her six daughters. Song and dance ensues. Lakewood Theatre Company , 368 S State St, 635-3901, 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, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Aug 17, $13-15

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

Greater Tuna
The plethora of characters that exist in this exploration of a small Texas town fail to create a rich tapestry of a unique location. Instead, they adhere to the play's gimmick, which is that the same two actors, Michael Teufel and Darrin Murrell, play all of them. This is comedy that scrapes the bottom of the barrel for laughs, and if that weren't enough, it's called Greater Tuna. Blech. JUSTIN SANDERS Triangle Productions, at the Flying Rhinoceros Theatre, 1440 NW Overton, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through Aug 31 (extended), $17-23

The 3rd Floor: The Musical!
Musical has skits that in terms of sheer weirdness, might surpass anything that The 3rd Floor has ever done. In one, a couple's landlord turns out to be a liege from mideival times who seems to possess magical powers. When called to fix their sink, he conjurs a barbarian goddess who kicks the couple's asses in the trippy, slow-motion wall-climbing style made popular by The Matrix. Inspired moments like this one abound in Musical, which also features plenty of cheesy songs to justify its title. Despite a valiant and energetic effort from the cast, however, the show as a whole doesn't quite work. It's too long, for starters, which results in later skits that feel forced and underdeveloped. It also just doesn't feel like a musical, but like a series of unrelated skits that include some funny songs. It is advertised as sketch comedy, so this aspect of it shouldn't be too surprising, but it's also advertised as a musical. Blue Door Productions, at the Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark, 258-1681, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through Aug 24, $12

Twelfth Night
The Portland Actors Ensemble presents their annual Shakespeare in the park production. Each week a different park! For instance, this week's park is Main City Park. Wow! Portland State Park Blocks, 321-0710, Sat-Sun 3 pm, through Sept 2, FREE

Fellatio Rodriguez and the Daughters of the Revolution
A Reed College-based improv group with a pretty cool name struts its stuff. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri 9 pm, through Aug 16, $7