Theater Listings

Closing This Week

A SUNBEAM • PassinArt at Concordia University

SALTIMBANCO • Cirque du Soleil at the Grand Chapiteau

Opening & Current Runs

ANTIQUES IMPROV SHOW

The latest variation in the Brody’s improv hijinks, this time dedicated
to deriving stories from old objects. BRODY THEATER, 1904 NW
27th Ave, 224-0688, Fridays, 10:30 pm, $6

AVOID WALKING BACKWARDS

The Raindog Playwrights Project plays host to this production under
the guidance of artistic director Jonathan Walters. RAINDOG THEATER,
8638 N Lombard St, 287-8561, Thur-Sat 8 pm, $4-10

BETSY’S IN THE KITCHEN

Betsy’s in the Kitchen is a dizzyingly complicated improvisation,
with eight cast members spinning off a three act play. BRODY THEATER,
1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fridays, 8 pm, Through June 30, $8

CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS

Sam Shepard, a staple of Portland theater for decades, is a good resource
for companies in a holding pattern, seeking grants, or simply exploring
Shepard’s masculine, neo-Western world. This time around Lani Miller,
Tom Moorman, and Lindsay Thomas take the boards under the direction
of Matt Russell. PAULA PRODUCTIONS, AT THE JACK OAKES THEATER,
2820 NE Sandy Blvd, 238-9692, Thur-Sat, 8 pm, Through June 24, $10

*ENDGAME

Theater doesn’t get much more absurd, or depressing, than in the hands
of Samuel Beckett. In this final production from the Other Side theater,
director Sean Doran and his cast are faithful to Beckett’s intentions,
and while the play seems nothing more than a fit of post-apocalyptic
malingering, it is actually quite funny. Beckett is notoriously demanding,
and the cast, with Tom Galup as Clov, forms a chamber piece with four
instruments that don’t work. BACKDOOR THEATER, 4319 SE Hawthorne
Blvd, 938-1482, Thurs-Sat, 8 pm, Through June 25, $5-7.50

EYES RIGHT

Three different intertwined stories emerge and blend as performers
improvise among themselves and-yikes-with audience members. BRODY
THEATER, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Fridays, 8 pm, Through June,
$8

*FROGS, LIZARDS, ORBS, AND SLINKYS

Penguins playing musical chairs, two-faced crocodiles and paper bags
on stage? Well, if it’s good enough for New York City, we suppose it’s
good enough for us. Hometown-artists-made-good Imago Theater brings
Frogs, Lizards, Orbs and Slinkys home to Portland after a smash
run in NYC, and we couldn’t be more pleased. If you’re looking for fun,
fresh performance, this is definitely the production to see. IMAGO
THEATER, 17 SE 8th Ave, 231-9581, Fri 7:30, Sat 1:30 & 7:30, Sun
1:30 & 5:30, extended through June 25, $16 adults, $13 students/ seniors,
$9 kids

GREAT BRODY FREE-FOR-ALL

Weekly improv jam session featuring students of the Brody Theater
and others. BRODY THEATER, 1904 NW 27th Ave, 224-0688, Sundays,
7:30 pm, $5

LION IN THE STREETS

Canadian playwright Judith Thompson’s play about a little girl who
comes back and haunts her old neighborhood might sound a lot like the
movie The Sixth Sense, but it’s a little more intellectually
ambitious, particularly when the cast of seven play 29 different characters.
THEATRE VERTIGO AT THE RUSSELL STREET THEATER, 116 North Russell,
Thurs-Sat, 8 pm, Through July 1, $10-12

THE MOST FABULOUS STORY EVER TOLD

We love playwright Paul Rudnick in his guise as Libby Waxman Gelmer
in Premiere magazine. But will we still love him in the clutches
of Don. L Horn, the artistic director of Triangle Productions! when
he brings to the stage Rudnick’s campy take on theology? TRIANGLE
PRODUCTIONS! AT THEATER! THEATRE!, 3430 SE Belmont St, 239-5919,
Thurs-Sat, 8 pm, $15-$17

NO MERCY

Portland standby Ted Roisum joins Jean Miller and Scott Coopwood in
director Jane Unger’s production of Constance Congdon’s play. PROFILE
THEATER PROJECT, AT THE STARK RAVING THEATER, 3430 SE Belmont St,
242-0080, Thur-Sat, 8pm Sun, 2 pm, Call for ticket prices

PRIVATE EYES

Psychotherapy, the theater, wit, infidelity, and mystery are the components
of this play by Stephen Dietz. It’s the last production of this actors
school’s season, outside of a graduation show in July. Director Bruce
Burkhartsmeier leads a student cast of five aspiring thespians that
includes Zero Feeney and Siobhan Charlesworth Caverly. PORTLAND ACTORS
CONSERVATORY, 1436 SW Montgomery St, 274-1717, Wed-Thur 7 pm, Fri-Sat
8 pm, Sun 2 pm, Through June 18, $17, $15 students and seniors

SALTIMBANCO

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. CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AT THE GRAND CHAPITEAU,
Under the Marquam Bridge, 800-678-5440, Fri, 8 pm, Sat 4 pm and 8 pm,
Sun 1 pm and 5 pm, Tues-Thurs, 8 pm, Through June 11, $27-$150

SUGAR

Leif Norby and Gary Wayne Cash take over the Jack Lemmon and Tony
Curtis roles in this musical version of Some Like It Hot. And
rumor has it, they even wear dresses! 368 S. State St., Thurs-Sat at
8 pm, Sun at 7 pm, Through June 24

A SUNBEAM

An family drama by award-winning playwright John Henry Redwood.
PASSINART, AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSIT, 2800 NE Holman St, 321-5163,
Fri-Sat, 8 pm, through June 10, $15

WIT

Director Allen Nause mounts this play by Margaret Edson. ARTISTS
REPERTORY THEATER, 1516 SW Alder St, 241-1278, Thur, 7 pm, Fri-Sat,
8 pm, Sun, 2 pm, Through June 25, $15-25