Jump to: Readings & Talks | Performance | Visual Arts
Readings & Talks
Melissa Broder
The poet and writer known for her popular Twitter feed "So Sad Today" reads from The Pisces, a novel about a woman who falls head over heels for an attractive and mysterious merman.
Wed 7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Melissa Stein
The First Book Prize-winning poet reads from her latest collection, Terrible Blooms.
Thurs 7:30 pm, Powell's Books on Hawthorne, free
IPRC's 20th Birthday
Has it really been 20 years since Chloe Eudaly (not yet a city council member) founded this non-profit self-publishing space? The number of local artists and writers (including yours truly) that have happily toiledâcollating, stapling, and squeegeeing their self published piecesâwithin the IPRCâs supportive walls are too many to measure. For their birthday bash, the IPRC keeps it DIY with a group mural project and a time capsule of stuff. Hooray for 20 years and 20 years more! Pizza, tacos and a sheet cake are involved (you know how to do it right, gurl). SUZETTE SMITH
Fri 6:30 pm, IPRC, $8
Dan Pfeiffer
The Pod Save America co-host and former Senior Advisor to President Obama comes to Revolution Hall for the Portland stop on a tour supporting his new book, Yes We (Still) Can, exploring how politics and the media have changed, and what can be done to resist and fight back in the Trump era.
Mon 7:30 pm, Revolution Hall, $38, all ages
Tessa Fontaine
Tessa Fontaine reads from The Electric Woman, chronicling her journeys with the last traveling American sideshow.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Performance
Very Poorly Indeed
The Institute for Contemporary Performance presents this one-weekend-only performance of their newly developed work, inspired by the story of the Donner Party, focused on five people slowly realizing what it is they'd be willing to do if it meant their survival.
Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 5 pm, CoHo theaer, $5-25
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
The Off-Broadway musical that became a hit independent film that became a massive Broadway smash returns to Portland in its original recipe formâwith a few extra spices and sprinkles applied by Triangle Productions.
Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, $40
Les Misérables
Man there were a lot of sad people with beautiful singing voices in 19th-century France. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönbergâs Tony Award-winning musical makes its way back to Portland for a full slate of shows at the Keller Auditorium.
Wed-Fri 7:30 pm, Sat 2 pm, Sun 1 pm & 6:30 pm, Keller Auditorium, $40-115
Recipe: A Reading Test and Raw Material
Pacific Works NW founder/artistic director Linda Austin resurrects a pair of '80s-era choreographic works to help raise funds for PWNW's future programming.
Fri-Sat 8 pm, Performance Works NorthWest, $12-25
Road House: The Play!
Patrick Swayze gave my friend a ride home once when she was too drunk to drive. He was a true hero and a staple of manly Americana. Road House, the 1989 film, celebrated Swayzeâs gentle machismo as a âcoolerâ brought in to civilize a rowdy Missouri nightclub. Road House: The Play!, adapted for the stage in 2010 by Shelley McLendon and Courtenay Hameister, is an uproarious, no-holds-barred, slapstick homage to the film, performed by an outstanding cast of Siren Theater comedy favorites. Youâll laugh 'til it hurts! Nobody ever wins a fight, but this show always sells out. SUZETTE SMITH
Fri-Sat 8 pm, Siren Theater, $18-22
World Builders
The latest production from Badass Theatre Company, World Builders is Johnna Adams dark comedy about two people who fall in love while participating in a clinical trial for an experimental new drug.
Thurs-Sun 7:30 pm, Sun 3 pm, Shaking the Tree Studio, $15-20
Bryan Callen
The writer, actor, and comedian known for being the "kid" half of the popular UFC podcast, The Fighter & The Kid, brings his stand-up stylings through Portland for a full slate of shows at Helium.
Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm & 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $20-34
It's Gonna Be Okay!
Barbara Holm's It's Gonna Be Okay is the only local showcase I've seen tout its lack of meanness as a selling point, which is next-level in a city KNOWN for its safe-space shows. It's the cheerful slumber party of Portland stand-up, which is exactly what's needed to reclaim comedy for those of us who aren't obnoxious ancient white dudes. MEGAN BURBANK
Mon 7:30 pm, EastBurn, free
John Roy, Dan Van Kirk
A stand-up comedy double-feature starring Dumb People Town podcast star Dan Van Kirk and Star Search comedy champion John Roy.
Sun 8 pm, Siren Theater, $20
Portland's Funniest Person: Preliminary Rounds
Past winners of this contest have pretty much all promptly packed their shit, moved to Los Angeles or New York, and gotten steady work making people laugh a lot on a national stage. In these preliminary rounds you might see who from our comedy community is about to make that leap for themselves.
Tue-Wed 7pm & 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $10
Visual Arts
Consu Tolosa, Helen Kaufman, Hazel Glass, Rose Covert
Consu Tolosaâs abstract paintings exude joy. The 30-some canvases, on display at the Guardino Gallery (alongside pieces in carved clay by Kaufman, paper cut works by Glass, and weaved willow pieces by Covert), all share a jelly bean palette, with a blushing pink their common star. Tolosaâs organically shaped orbs and repeating dots recall mid-century modern art, but Pleasures + Perils cannot be mistaken for decoration. The layers are intricate, and the patterns dynamically arranged. The complexity is significant. Time spent with each of these small-to-moderately-sized pieces consistently reveals new elements. ALLISON STRAUSS
Guardino Gallery, Through Jun 26
Marvels
Marvels. is part of We. Construct. Marvels. Between. Monuments., Portland Museum of Modern Art Director Libby Werbelâs year-long programming project which began in November. The third of its five iterations (following We. and Construct.), Marvels. uses the instructions of the first social practice artwork that the Portland Art Museum acquiredâStephanie Syjucoâs notMOMAâto task 31 art students from Portland-area high schools to refabricate existing pieces of art that are currently on display at New Yorkâs Museum of Modern Art. The project also included three local galleriesâc3:initiative, Melanie Flood Projects, and Una Galleryâto help curate and narrow the scope for students to choose from, as well as to highlight women and artists of color. Despite having so many diverse creative visions, thereâs a striking cohesion to the installation, even if at the opening it was impossible to tell which kid made which object because they were all taking selfies with each otherâs pieces. SUZETTE SMITH
Portland Art Museum, Through Jul 8
The Book is a Body that Bends
An exhibition of new works from artists Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulsen.
PDX Contemporary Art, Through Jun 30
Emerge and Evolve
Featuring works as created for Bullseye's tenth juried kiln-glass exhibition, alongside new works from former finalists, including Joanna Manousis, Cassandra Straubing, and Kathryn Wightman.
Bullseye Projects, Through Sept 8
ink like hair
Nick Norman's exhibition at Lowell includes a selection of his new paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
Lowell, Through Jul 22
notMOMA
A satellite exhibition in conjunction with Portland Art Museum's Marvels., sharing the behind the scenes work that went into the exhibit's creation.
c3: initiative, Through Jun 30
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
