Stephen Hough plays three fantasies, Sunday at the Newmark Theater.

STAGE

Afield: The Slideshow of Our Boring Vacation

[NEW REVIEW; CLOSES SUNDAY] Nomadic Theatre company's Afield: The Slideshow of Our Boring Vacation is a trendily detached commedia dell'arte crossed with Theater of the Absurd, performed with a stylistic meticulousness that makes up in creativity what it lacks in comprehensibility. Think Trapper Keeper unicorns swooning in love, geeky scientists seeking other dimensions, slide shows, Abba and energetic grannies in pastel jumpsuits. An enthusiastic exploration of timing and physicality that showcases the talent of actresses Sarah Liane Foster and Amy Jo McCarville, Afield is so entertaining you'll forget that you have no idea what it's actually about. STACY RIGER. Nomadic Theatre Company at Performance Works NorthWest, 4626 SE 67th Ave, 971-219-5781. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, 7 pm and 2 pm Sunday. Closes Oct. 22. $12, $7 children.

An American Daughter

[NEW REVIEW] The plays of Wendy Wasserstein are, by greater or lesser degrees, pedantic constructs laden with cumbersome and politically charged content. As it happens, the message of this piece—the difficulty that professional women face in balancing competency with popular notions of femininity—is poignant, pressing and topical. An American Daughter tells the tale of Lyssa Dent Hughes (played here with great commitment by Karla Mason), a nominee for the post of surgeon general who encounters scandal and hostility from the housewives of middle America when it is revealed that she once failed to respond to a summons for jury duty. The real cause of the public's outrage turns out to have more to do with the perception of women in leadership roles as cold, hard and self-righteous, whereas a male counterpart would be perceived as tough, confident and able. Thom Bray inhabits the role of Hughes' husband (though he's miscast), and Dave Bodin and Jean Miller keep things buoyant as Hughes' father and stepmother. The blame for the flaws in the production—atrocious casting, blocking and set design—rests with director Jane Unger. After so many years of directing plays in Portland and elsewhere, it is astonishing that Unger fails to demonstrate proficiency in even the most elementary aspects of the craft. JAMES WALLING. Profile Theatre at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 242-0080. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 12. $10-$28.

The Birthday Party

Stanley Webber just wanted a nice vacation, but when creepy strangers turn up to celebrate his birthday a few months too early, the trip turns into a nightmare. Arts Equity at The Main Street Theatre, 606 Main St., Vancouver, Wash., 360-695-3770. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm matinee Oct. 29. Closes Oct. 29. $8-$24.

Delirium

[SHORT RUN] Cirque du Soleil presents a remixed concert of music from previous shows, accompanied by "tribal" dancing and acrobatics. Cirque du Soleil at the Rose Garden, 1 Center Court, 877-789-7673. 8 pm Thursday-Friday, Oct. 19-20. $69.50-$99.50.

Le Grand Guignol

Portland sketch comedians The Tragedies present horriffic shorts in the classic French tradition. The Tragedies at The Little Church, 5138 NE 23rd Ave., 367-2100. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes Oct. 28. $15.

Miss Witherspoon

Christopher Durang's twisted story of a woman who can't manage to die—no matter how many times she commits suicide, the afterlife keeps sending her back. Integrity Productions at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 286-3456. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 4 pm Sundays. Closes Oct. 29. $15.

Mr. Marmalade

[NEW REVIEW] New Jersey is a strange place. But a 4-year-old girl's imagination can be even weirder. Artists Repertory Theatre's Mr. Marmalade is about a little girl named Lucy, who is left alone for hours on end while her mom waits tables at a diner or goes out with slimy guys. Lucy's babysitter is a teenage hoochie, and her only other company is a 5-year-old who won the New Jersey record for "youngest-ever attempted suicide." Trying to make right what's wrong with reality, Lucy conjures up an imaginary world populated by obnoxious talking plants, a coke-snorting boyfriend named Mr. Marmalade and a flamboyant "personal assistant" who loves tea parties, but soon she finds out that even her fantasies can spin out of control. Excellent acting, particularly that of Laura Faye Smith as Lucy, clear direction and vivid stage and costume design combine to make Mr. Marmalade a darkly humorous show proving that childhood isn't always so innocent. STACY RIGER. Artists Repertory Theatre Second Stage, 1516 SW Alder St., 241-1278. 7 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 2 and 7 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 19. $20-$40.

Menopause the Musical

[OPEN-ENDED RUN] A hackneyed and trite musical revue converts pop songs of the '60s and '70s into ballads about hot flashes, weight gain and dildos. Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 224-4400. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 5:30 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Selling six weeks out. $44.50+ (Ticketmaster).

Night of the Living Dead

[OPENS FRIDAY] No, we haven't screwed up. There are indeed two productions of George Romero's zombie flick playing this Halloween. Northwest Children's Theater at NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 222-4480. 10:30 pm Fridays-Saturdays. Opens Oct. 20. $12. Blue Monkey Theater at Valley Cinema-Pub, 9360 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, 777-4560. 10 pm Fridays-Saturdays, midnight Oct. 27-28. Opens Oct. 20. $12.

Portland Catacombs

[NEW REVIEW] The usually avant-garde Portland Art Center delves into a more mainstream and timely subject for its latest creative jaunt: an old-fashioned haunted house. In groups of eight, patrons are led into The Catacombs, an interactive maze of Chinatown's past. After being led by a pale man in a butler's suit into what looks like a leftover horror-movie set, audience members are introduced to the Catacombs' "ghosts," including a depressive porn-shop owner with a shrill sense of urgency to share his story, a ratty woman screaming at the top of her lungs and a wizened man with a pillow of white hair, intently focused on his gadgets. All of this happens amid the menacing sounds of a deafening chainsaw commingling with the eerie voice of a woman slowly chanting in a disheveled corner. Equal parts "choose your own adventure" and a freaky childhood game of hide-and-seek, this living installation brings truthful bits of Portland's past histories back to life. Word to the wiseass: To get the full experience, don't be shy to ask questions of the ghosts—they are more than willing to share their tales. ELIANNA BAR-EL. Portland Art Center, 32 NW 5th Ave. Continuous performances run 8-11 pm Thursdays-Sundays, 8 pm-midnight Oct. 31. Closes Oct. 31. $10-$20 sliding scale.

Ragtime: The Musical

This mega-sized Broadway musical tells the story of three turn-of-the-century families—one immigrant, one African-American and one white upper-class—whose lives intersect amid the squalor and success of 1900s NYC. ALICE JOY. Lakewood Theatre Company at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 635-3901. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 7 pm Sundays. 2 pm matinees Oct. 22 and 29. Closes Oct. 29. $26-$28.

The Thing that Wouldn't Die

[OPENS SATURDAY] Before Scary Movie, there was the improv Scary Movie. Halloween improv from the Brodys. The Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th Ave., 224-0688. 8 pm Saturday Oct. 21, 8 and 10:30 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 27-28. $10, $7 students.

West Side Story

This show is nearly flawless, with an enormous and energetic cast of fine singers and dancers and a top-notch orchestra. Outstanding among the cast are Vancouver native and stunt-man Tony Clarno (Riff), who brings acrobatic flips and manic physical feats to the tough-talking gang leader; fiery and intimidating Ivette Sosa (Anita), who steals the show—twice; and tiny, hyperactive Amy Palomino (42nd Street) as Anybodys, the Jets' maybe-queer hanger-on. Palomino just won't leave Portland alone, and we like it that way. This is the biggest musical in town this year. Don't miss it. BEN WATERHOUSE. Portland Center Stage at the Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays and Sunday, Oct. 22; noon Thursdays; 2 pm Saturdays-Sundays. Closes Nov. 5. $18.50-$61.50.

The Who's Tommy

[NEW REVIEW] After witnessing Live On Stage Theater Company's take on the Who's Tommy, all I can say is this show is way over—as in over the top, overwrought and perhaps the most unnecessarily overproduced show in Portland. It's also pretty overwhelming, because instead of sticking to its early-'70s-inspired script, the cast hams it up like leftovers from a bad late-'80s hair-metal video. The whole thing comes off like Rockstar: Supernova meets American Idol, but the show falls short of any rockstar-worthy performances. The beloved "Pinball Wizard" is bellowed with all the melodramatic angst of a 15-year-old performing in front of his bathroom mirror. Still, even with all its shortcomings, the cast couldn't mask the sheer energy behind the Who's brilliant artistry of musical storytelling. ELIANNA BAR-EL. Live on Stage Concert Theatre Productions at the World Trade Center Theater, 121 SW Salmon St., 280-5483. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes Oct. 28. $25.

The Witches

Roald Dahl's terrific tale of child abuse and international occult conspiracy, adapted for the stage by David Wood. Northwest Children's Theater at the NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 222-4480. 7 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 2 pm Saturdays-Sundays. Closes Oct. 29. $20 adults, $16 youth.

CLASSICAL

Piano Recital Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the '56 Hungarian Revolution

The Oregon Hungarian Communion of Friends sponsors this concert in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the revolution that the U.S. ignored. Bring your spare change, because the admission price for adults is $19.56. No joke. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., (800) 838-3006. 7:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 19. $10-$19.56.

Oregon Chamber Players

Celebrating its 12th season, this ensemble performs Boccherini's "Sinfonia," Poulenc's "Mouvements Perpetuels," a Rossini sonata, and Rameau's suites from "Les Fêtes D'Hébé." All Saints' Episcopal Church, 4033 SE Woodstock Blvd., 224-8499. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 21. $12-$15.

Portland Gay Men's Chorus "Cabaret Soirée"

The Portland Gay Men's Chorus season opener features selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Trial by Jury." Locomotions, PGMC's dance ensemble, and Cascade, the classical vocal ensemble, also perform. Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.. www.pdxgmc.org. 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 21. $20-$25.

Alfredo Muro Guitar Recital

Peruvian guitarist Alfredo Muro celebrates the release of his compact disc Alma Brasileira, Volume II with a concert of works by Brazilian composers. Drummer Carlton Jackson, bassist Brian Healey and percussionist Dave Fischer accompany Muro. Portland Community College, Sylvania Performing Arts Center, 12000 SW 49th Ave., 888-6145. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 21. $20-$50.

Improvisational Piano by Robert Levin

The Oregon Symphony plays the music of Mozart and Messiaen, but the real highlight will be improvisations by pianist Robert Levin, who will take thematic suggestions from the audience and weave them into on-the-spot improvisations when he plays Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 228-1353. 7:30 pm Saturday, 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sunday, and 8 pm Monday, Oct. 21-23. $20-$88.

Stephen Hough in Recital

Portland Piano International presents the acclaimed British pianist in a program of three fantasias by Mozart, Schumann and Liszt-Busoni, plus a sonata by Mozart, and finally a new work by Hough. This is the first concert for PPI in this hall. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 228-1388. 4 pm Sunday, Oct. 22. Tickets available at the door, $20.

Columbia Symphony Orchestra's 25th Anniversary Continues

Hometown heroine Angela Niederloh graces Mahler's Rückert-Lieder with her beautiful mezzo-soprano. Also on the program are William Boyce's Symphony No. 2 and Malcolm Arnold's Symphony No. 2. Huw Edwards also conducts the orchestra in five selections from Maurice Ravel's delicious ballet score, Mother Goose. Good Shepherd Community Church, 28986 SE Haley Road, Boring, 234-4077. 3 pm Sunday, Oct. 22. $20-$25.

Echoes of Eastern Europe

The Oregon Repertory Singers start their 33rd season with a concert of music by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, the "Matrai Kepek" by Zoltan Kodaly, and "From Olden Times," the last choral work for male chorus by Béla Bartók. St. Mary's Cathedral, 1716 NW Davis St. and Agnes Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College, 615 SW Palatine Hill Road, 230-0652. 2 pm Sunday and 7:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 22 and 24. $8.50-$33.

DANCE

TooBLUE

Robert Guitron guides his 12-member troupe through a richly kinetic program that mind-melds the gravity and grit of the blues with the Terpsichore-in-tennies innovations of modern dance. In addition to Guitron pieces, this remount of TooBLUE (featuring music by John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, Koko Taylor, Nina Simone and then some) has the cachet of great new work by Mary Oslund, a master of angular poetry and fierce momentum, and the ruthlessly sly, poignant whimsy of Gregg Bielemeier. Portland State University/Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave. 725-3307. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 18-21. $24 ($20 students, seniors).

Crimson Cabaret

Pendulum Aerial Dance Theatre revisits the carefree, dreamlike world of 1930s Parisian cabaret—those good old days of Montparnassian excess and absinthe-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder hilarity—with magical realist panache and a battery of hoop, bungee, silk, trapeze and assorted diaphanous apparati. Under the direction of Suzanne Kenney (and accompanied by a sumptuous Food in Bloom family-style feast), audiences are treated to jaw-dropping displays of taut, graceful bodies; weightless partnering; and a taffeta-rich infusion of l'amour fou that deftly melds aerial poetry and evocative movement-theater.Montgomery Park Atrium, 2701 Vaughn St., 319-5486. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 20-21; 7 pm Sunday, Oct. 22. $65, dinner and show. Reservations required by Oct. 18.

Daily Specials

Choreographer Rebecca Salzer, a longtime mainstay of the Bay Area and a Portland resident of late, premieres her latest dance-film, Daily Specials, a comic fantasia set in a grocery. A consummate craftswoman, Saltzer blends modernist dance (Cunningham, Limon) with a wry, bitingly deadpan theatricality. Part of the Portland International Short Short Film Fest (see Screen, page 73). Hollywood Theater, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 493-1128. 7 pm Saturday, Oct. 21. $6.

Noche Flamenca with Inmaculada Ortega

Flamenco's cante jondo (deep song) meets the lighter Sevillana cante chico and sparks fly when Ortega joins Tamara Herrero and company for an overflowing evening of table-side song, dance and emotive sorcer—complete with a mesmerizing menu of Spanish delights. Patanegra Restaurant, 1818 NW 23rd Place, 227-7282. 6:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 22. $60 dinner and show. Reservations required. (Ortega also offers master class/workshops in rumba flamenco and siguiriyas Oct. 20-25. Call 830-9000 for details.)