STAGE

Antigone

Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon returns with the last of Sophocles’ three Theban plays, famous for revealing just what kind of shit will go down if you get down with Mom. By the time Antigone kicks off, that motherfucker Oedipus is long gone and his brothers/sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, have slain each other in a battle for control of Thebes. When new ruler Creon (Daniel Shaw) declares Polyneices a traitor whose body will be left on the battlefield to rot, Oedipus’ daughter/sister, Antigone (Christy Bigelow), decides to surreptitiously bury him. Except for some choreography problems in the chorus, director Keith Scales’ cast does an admirable job performing in a style older than Christianity, getting particularly heart-wrenching performances from Shaw and Bigelow. Sure, it’s an old tale, but its themes of madness, family, freedom, religion and power are as topical as ever, and when Creon starts speaking about the virtues of service to the state, you’ll swear you’re watching John McCain at the Republican National Convention all over again. How old is that guy, anyway? MATT GRAHAM. Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., brownpapertickets.com. 4 pm Sunday, Oct. 5. $10-$20. Map

Blackbird

If the victim in Akira Kurosawa’s film crime classic Rashômon had been a child and the witnesses limited to two, it might have resembled David Harrower’s unbearably horrid Blackbird, which places characters Ray and Una in the filthy breakroom of Ray’s employer for 90 minutes to air their dirty laundry. The trouble? The last time they saw one another—15 years ago, when he was 40 and she was 12—he’d just finished giving her a good rogering in a dingy seaside guesthouse before leaving her, alone and bleeding, while he popped over to the pub for a pint. Are you queasy yet? It gets worse when Harrower, like a humorless Nabokov, forces us to sympathize with his pedophilic protagonist. In Artists Rep’s production, directed by JoAnn Johnson, the unthinkable couple are played by Amaya Villazan and Allen Nause, the company’s artistic director. Nause is admirably convincing as the confused and repentant predator, and Villazan gives her most forceful performance to date, rising from some early evening awkwardness on opening night to a frightening display of pain and passion. It is, objectively, a pretty good production. But when all the damage is done and the house lights come up, one has to wonder­—to what end all this nastiness. What, Mr. Harrower, was the point? BEN WATERHOUSE. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays, 11 am Wednesday, Oct. 1. Closes Oct. 12. $20-$47. Map

Blue Moon Cabaret

Corey Brunish, James Peppers, Chrissy Kelly, Sheila Bruhn and others sing classic show tunes to benefit Blue Monkey Theater. Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 593-2466. 7 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4. $15. Map

BUILT

Sojourn Theatre's newest show draws from six months of interviews and workshops in Portland and Chicago to pose questions about how cities should grow. There may be tightrope walkers. Presented by Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art Festival. South Waterfront Discovery Center, 0680 SW Bancroft St., 224-7422 (PICA reservations). 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 pm Friday, Sept. 5; 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 6-7. Free with reservation. Map

Cabaret Babylon

Weimar-style filth and fun by Noah Mickens and company. Fez Ballroom, 316 SW 11th Ave., 221-7262. 9 pm Thursday, Sept. 4. $10. Map

Dwight Slade

Portland comedian Slade comes home to film Right and Raunch, a double-feature DVD showcasing both his high-energy, family-friendly clean act and the despicable filth that fills his soul. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 233-1994. 7 pm Saturday, Sept. 6. $20-$25. Map

Hedda Gabler

When Henrik Ibsen published Hedda Gabler in 1890, he intended it as a departure from the declamatory style of acting, a now-defunct method that emphasized long, impassioned speeches and grand hand gestures. The reason? That’s not how people talk. It’s boring. But NWCTC has taken us right back to those windy, pre-realist days with this decidedly clunky staging of Hedda. Generally speaking, the actors emote from the waist up only, fussily, without seeming to consider what they’re saying. When they can’t come up with a convincing emotional response, they compensate by turning up the volume. Exceptions are Melissa Whitney (Mrs. Elvsted) and Allison Anderson (Hedda), although Anderson’s performance falls off sharply after intermission. JOHN MINERVINI. Shoe Box Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 971-244-3740. 7 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Oct. 12. $15-$18. Map

The Phantom of the Opera

It’s the same old Phantom: a few good songs, a hilariously bad book, an abundance of underwhelming special effects (you call those measly wisps fireballs?) and the least intimidating supervillain since the Mysterious Masked Matador (see Daredevil No. 5, December 1964). When taken as a comedy, the first few scenes of this show-that-will-not-die, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber gleefully skewers the conventions of classical opera, are actually pretty hilarious. Everyone can sing, some can even act a little, and the chorus of ballerinas is pleasingly attractive. But then comes the interminable second act. The Phantom’s tantrums and Raul’s impotence cease to amuse an hour before curtain, and viewers over the age of 14 find themselves nodding during incessant reprisals of the title song. Beware The Phantom. BEN WATERHOUSE. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 241-1802. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturdays, 1 and 6 pm Sundays. Closes Sept. 7. $23-$73. Map

Razzle Dazzle Die!

[DINNER THEATER] Interactive murder-mystery musical dinner theater. Food by Timothy Fuhrman, murder by Eddie May. Pine Street Bistro, 221 SW Pine St., 524-4366. 7:30-9:30 pm Fridays-Saturdays. $69 per person. Map

Tim Crouch

England is Tim Crouch’s award-winning experimental play that doubles as an investigation into the nature of the audience. This is the Time-Based Art Festival, so you’re going to need a strong head, either because your mind’s going to get blown or because you’ll be at risk of wearing a hole in your cranium from scratching it so hard trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Also, you’ll need strong legs, as the audience is expected to spend a portion of the performance standing. That’s right, you lazy bastards, you’re going to have to work, too. Now that's meta. MATT GRAHAM. Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 417 NW 9th Ave., 224-0521. 6:30 pm Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 10-11. $20-$25. All ages. Map

Who Stole My Dead Husband?

Lou Pallotta’s Italo-sploitation family dinner theater, starring Jim Caputo. Madison's East Wing, 1125 SE Madison St., 800-966-8865. 7:30 pm Fridays-Saturdays. Open-ended run. $64-$69, dinner included. All ages. Map

CLASSICAL

Art Resnick Trio

The veteran composer-pianist’s threesome is joined by multisaxophonist Blake Lyman in Resnick’s jazz originals. BRETT CAMPBELL. The Cave, 636 SW Jackson St., 274-4294. 8 pm Saturday, Sept. 6. $5. Map

Cappella Romana

The fine local vocal ensemble hosts a recital and reception for composer Ivan Moody, who’ll be in attendance while donations are sought to support CR’s upcoming recording of Finnish Orthodox music. BRETT CAMPBELL. St. Agatha's Catholic Church, 1430 SE Nehalem St., 4 pm Sunday, Sept. 7. Donation. Map

L. Subramaniam

Aretha may be the queen of Soul, but this venerated master of sinuous classical South Indian (Carnatic) music has been officially proclaimed (by an Indian governor) “emperor of violinists.” No wonder: He’s recorded more than 200 albums; composed film scores (including Mississippi Masala), ballets, and orchestral works (he holds a master’s degree in Western classical music from Cal Arts); collaborated with some of Indian’s greatest singers as well as with Western legends such as Rampal, Menuhin and Grappelli; and literally written the textbook on Indian music. In this concert, sponsored by the Rasika cultural organization, he’ll be accompanied by veteran Indian musicians Mahesh Krishnamurthy on the mridangam barrel drum, Sathish Pathakota on kanjira tambourine, and Satya Sai Ghantasala on moorsing mouth harp. You won’t hear a finer musician, or more glorious sounds, in town this summer. BRETT CAMPBELL. NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 531-7266. 7 pm Saturday, Sept. 6. $17-$35. Map

Portland Festival Symphony

This outdoor concert by the summer aggregation of some of the city’s classical regulars features a Haydn symphony as well as shorter works of Bizet, Kodaly, Liszt, Leroy Anderson (including the ever-popular “The Typewriter”) and Tchaikovsky. Children will be participating. BRETT CAMPBELL. Foothills Park, Foothills Drive, Lake Oswego., 245-7878. 4 pm Sunday, Sept. 7. Free. Map

Symphonic Safari

Columbia Symphony Orchestra’s performance is part of an afternoon celebrating arts and animals. Kids can take a safari through the orchestra as it performs Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals and other works, though the line is drawn at mounting violists' heads on the walls. BRETT CAMPBELL. East Hill Church, 701 N Main Ave., Gresham., 234-4077. Noon Saturday, Sept. 6. $5 per family. Map

DANCE

An Damhsa Irish Dance Show

There’s a place in this world where people can obtain an advanced degree in Irish dance: That place is the University of Limerick’s Irish World Music Centre, and graduate Maldon Meehan is one of the people who did just that. Since then, she’s been performing traditional Irish dance in various parts of the world, although she’s based here in Portland. Her latest venture is An Damhsa, a narrative about the Irish diaspora, told through the grounded dance style known as Sean-nos, blended with Cape Breton footwork, clogging, tap and modern dance. Dancers from as near as Seattle and as far as Boston and Washington, D.C., will be joining Meehan for this performance; the Johnny Connolly Band provides traditional accompaniment on accordion, bodhrán, banjo and guitar. Friendly House Community Center, 1737 NW 26th Ave., 484-5482. 2 pm Saturday, Sept. 6. $7-$9. Map

OBT Welcome Night

Don’t be alarmed if you suddenly find a pointe shoe hovering over your chardonnay: Oregon Ballet Theatre will be dancing all over the Pearl this First Thursday, concluding its neighborhood tour with a season sneak-preview performance at OBT’s Welcome Night. The OBT Theatre Associates, a volunteer group of young professionals with an enthusiasm for ballet, hope to bring newbies into the fold through time-tested means: hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and a free show. Albina Community Bank, 430 NW 10th Ave., 445-2150. 5-8 pm Thursday, Sept. 4. Free. Map