Opening This Week
Disappeared
Written by Phyllis Nagy and directed by Devan McCoy, Disappeared has all the right elements to be pretty awesome. The Electric Company, 2512 SE Gladstone, Suite 200, 232-5955, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through May 8, $12-15
Landscape With Stick Figures
A new addition to the increasingly popular theatrical genre known as "docu-drama," this play by Steven Alan McGaw features over 30 roles, and is a meditation on violence in schools. Stark Raving, at the Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 232-7072, Opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, through May 8, $10-18
No Shame Theatre
This is basically an open mic for theater nerds. Bring a five-minute original piece and do whatever you want with it. You can perform it yourself, or have other people perform it, or give it to other actors who come tonight and have them read it cold. Come at 10 pm to sign up. The Electric Company, 2512 SE Gladstone, Suite 200, 232-5955, Fri 10:30 pm, through May 7, $5
TinO Does Time
An interesting-sounding play set in 1972 Los Angeles, and centered around a troubled brother/sister pairing. One day a cop comes and arrests the brother and falls in love with his sister. Bummer. The Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark Street, 242-1047, Opens Fri, runs Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through May 1, $14-17
One Week Only
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Broadway in Portland brings another big-budget musical on through. This one's based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name, about a Midwestern girl named Millie who arrives in New York City during the roaring '20s determined to raise some Hell. Allegedly features "all the jazz-age razzmatazz you could want." Broadway in Portland, at the Keller Auditorium, SW Third and Clay, 790-ARTS, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat 2 pm, Sun 1 & 6:30 pm, $23-63
Closing This Week
Puppetry of the Penis
Now, the Puppetry of the Penis crew has joined up with House of Cunt's ridiculously entertaining Amber Martin, which might just elevate it from, "overpriced novelty act" to "worth seeing." Puppetry of the Penis, at the Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 224-4400, Thurs-Sun 8 pm, $35-39
* Sneaky Little Armageddons
Eva Nicely (Firiel Galloway) lives inside a tiny, agoraphobic world--the world of a shut-in, kept company only by the whirling neurosis of her mind. One day, Eva impulsively advertises for a border in her home. Enter Annelle and Dave, prospective tenants who completely shatter Eva's tea-supping convalescence. Fever Theater at the B & O Warehouse, 107 SE Washington, 233-4420, Thurs-Sun 8 pm, through April 11 (extended), $10-15 sliding scale
Current Runs
Am I Turning to a Fish?
Sowelu has been quiet for a while, and they've been missed. Finally they present a new show, about the work and fantasy lives of seven office drones. Pacific Crest School, 116 NE 29th, 230-2090, Fri-Sat 8 pm, through April 24, $10-15
Max
Max is brought to us by the mind of reckless genius Günther Grass, who, still active today at age 77, has chronicled his native Germany's chaotic identity since the devastation of WW2. Grass looks at the '60s through the eyes of an ambitious dissident, trying to bridge the contemptuous gap between the young radicals of the '60s and their parents, the children of fascism. TP Toad City Productions, at the Back Door, 4321 SE Hawthorne, 736-1027, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, through April 24, $10-12
The Drawer Boy
With a bushy beard and a shuffling stride, the normally strapping William Hurt is nearly unrecognizable in Drawer Boy as a mentally disabled Canadian World War II veteran named Angus. He's the best part of an otherwise entirely unmemorable show. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St, 241-1278, Wed-Thurs, Sun 7 pm, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm, through April 25, $20-45
The Jack Slate Radio Show
A new theater group in town, Ego, presents their first show, a pulpy homage to the golden age of radio serials, featuring a bumbling P.I. named Jack Slate. Ego Productions, at Disjecta, 116 NE Russell, 784-4904, Fri-Sun 8 pm, through April 25, $10
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
Michael Brady's old standard about a dude coping with the loss of his wife and his family, who all want to shake him out of his grief. Pretty good cast here, including Julie Starbird, and Jared Roylance. Magdelyn Theatre Company, 403 NW 5th, (971) 544-1736, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through May 15, $12-14
Comedy/Improv
Kick the Squirrel
A local improv group that uses business cards from the audience to inspire fast-paced hilarity. Back Door Theater, 4321 SE Hawthorne, 232-5375, Fri-Sat 10:30 pm, through April 17, $6
The Mossbacks
"Mossbacks" is a clever allusion to old Brody veterans who wish to perform for you; namely, Kerry Leek, Brad Fortier, Tom Johnson, and Marilyn Divine. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fri-Sat 8 pm, $10
Dance
Chunky Move
We disapprove of the name of this Australian dance company, but approve of their nifty revolving stage with movement sequences inspired by films like Mystery Train and Short Cuts. White Bird, at PSU/Lincoln Hall, SW Park & Market, 224-4400, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, $12-24
* Holy Goats!
This month's edition of the rotating dance/improv hodgepodge (with bagels!) is one big hoohah of contact improvisation, starring Portland dancers Eric Ferguson, Laura Stokes, and Nat Newburger, and also some folks from Eugene. Performance Works NorthWest, 4625 SE 67th Ave, 777-1907, Sun 2 pm, $7
