STAGE

ComedySportz

[IMPROV] Fast-paced, competitive, family-friendly improv. ComedySportz, 1963 NW Kearney St., 236-8888. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays. $12. Map

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

Meg Chamberlain, the director of Public Playhouse’s production of this perennial Bard-spoofing favorite, admits in the program that she hates Shakespeare. Therein lies the magic of this mashup romp: Love the Bard or hate him, The Complete Works is funny as hell. James Sullivan, Dustin Milberg and Matt Loehrke play, respectively, the cross-dresser, the wolf and the would-be scholar; they cycle through the plays with boundless energy, recreating Othello as a freestyle rap sesh, outfitting Romeo and Juliet with a strobe-light battle and miraculously condensing the 16 comedies—because Will uses the same formula “over and over and over”—into one slapstick get-down. Some proceeds from the show benefit LEP High. BEN WATERHOUSE. Miracle Theatre, 525 SE Stark St., 922-0532. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Aug. 2. $17-$20. Map

Crazy Enough

[EXTENDED RUN] Portland Center Stage presents an autobiographical monologue with songs by Portland’s rock-’n’-roll valkyrie, Storm Large, who describes with vulgar humor her traumatic childhood experiences with her schizophrenic mother, slutty adolescence, heroin addiction, rejection from Lilith Fair, musical success and family reconciliation. She performs on a faux-brick catacomb set accompanied by her longtime collaborator James Beaton, plus a drummer and guitar player. Crazy Enough’s dozen songs, from quiet lullabies to rip-roaring anthems, are catchy and honest. Large is undeniably one of the strongest performers in Portland, and with this show she proves that, despite all the ball-busting bluster, she's also one of the smartest. BEN WATERHOUSE. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays, 2 pm Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays through Aug. 16. $25.50-$48.50. Map

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

You may have to go out to the unglamorous depths of Tigard to see it, but Broadway Rose’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will do its darnedest to charm you once it has you. The 2004 David Yazbek musical (based on the 1988 film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine) is as agile and sly as its continental silver-fox scoundrel Lawrence (Leif Norby), but mercenary scoundrel-in-training Freddy (Wade Willis) encapsulates the slimy behind the seduction; he only wants “great big stuff”: “To play some naked Twister/ …with a Playmate and her sister.” You’ll be gleefully rooting for these con men to get conned, and the payoff is key. CAITLIN MCCARTHY. Deb Fennell Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Road, Tigard., 620-5262. 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes July 19. $20-$35, $20 all seats Wednesdays. Map

Dylan Hillerman's Grand Guignol

Third Eye Theatre presents an evening of four gruesome, savage stories inspired by Paris' Le Theatre du Grand Guignol. The most promising is "Silicone Death Cult," which, according to the press release, "welds sci-fi and horror into a hive-minded, pornographic monster!" The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 970-8874. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes Aug. 1. $10-$12. Map

The Ed Forman Show, with ME! ED FORMAN!

Aaron Ross terrorizes Dante's every Tuesday night as Ed Forman, a frenetic, oversexed, foul-mouthed 1970s talk-show host who abuses local notables (and not-so-notables), roams the audience stealing drinks and flinging insults, and generally makes mayhem. Imagine Stephen Colbert as a libidinous sociopath. Ross' lacerating wit and bottomless energy make for a hilarious evening of great gags and public humiliation. With two guests and a new house band every week, it's the best entertainment $3 can buy. Dante's, 1 SW 3rd Ave., 226-6630. 9 pm Tuesdays, though the show tends to start a bit later. $3. 21+. Map

The Endless Road

Wanderlust Circus celebrates summer with the last of three big-top-style shows exploring the troupe's quasi-fictional history, with guest appearances by carnivalesque Portland band Vagabond Opera Bossanova, 722 E Burnside St., wanderlustcircus.com. 8 pm Aug. 1. $17-$22. Map

An Evening of Sketch Comedy

Portland Improv Group performs original sketch comedy. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 8 pm Thursdays-Fridays. Closes July 3. $10. Map

Israel Onstage 2

[READING] Jewish Theatre Collaborative and PSU's Judaic studies program present a series of staged readings of Israeli plays, with Yael Ronen's Plonter on July 14. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 810-5408. 7 pm Tuesday, July 14. $8 suggested donation. Map

King Lear

Portland Actors Ensemble performs the play Paul Scofield called "undoubtedly the greatest play ever written by Shakespeare—or anybody else, for that matter." Jeremy Lillie directs. Cathedral Park, North Edison Street and Pittsburg Road., 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes July 11. Free. Map

MarkofMystery

[MAGIC] Close-up sleight of hand and mentalism with MarkofMystery. Jake's Grill, 611 SW 10th Ave., 241-2125. 6-9 pm Fridays. Free. Map

My Country 'Tis of ME

[IMPROV] The Brody Theater troupe celebrates America's birthday with an improvised riff on a dog of a homework assignment: "Write 200 words on 'What America Means to Me.'" The Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway., 224-2227. 8 pm Saturday, July 5. $7-$10. Map

P.I.G Tales: An Improvised Fairy Tale

[IMPROV] Portland Improv Group creates impromptu fables. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., portlandimprovgroup.com. 8 pm Sundays. Closes July 5. $10. 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

Reed McClintock

[MAGIC] The heavily tattooed local magician holds down a weekly gig at Voleur. Voleur, 111 SW Ash St., 227-3764. 8 pm Fridays. Free. 21+. Map

Undine and You Don't Know Jack

Hand2Mouth Theatre's Faith Helma reprises her creepy rock-'n'-roll solo show about a water nymph for whom things do not go so well. Then San Francisco-based company the Carpetbag Brigade performs its "surreal and comic nightmare" about a boy growing up with an abusively musical mother, shell-shocked grandfather, cannibal teachers and seductive scientists. The highly physical show includes original and traditional music played live by the actors. Milepost 5, 900 NE 81st Ave., 235-5284. 8 pm Friday and Sunday, July 3 and 5. $15. Map

A Very American Breakfast

[FUNDRAISER] A benefit for Sojourn Theatre's 2010 project, On the Table, with food by Phresh Organic Catering and some previews of the company's preparations for the show. Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave., sojourntheatre.org. 7:30-9 am Wednesday, July 1. $50. Map

CLASSICAL

Manish Vyas

The Indian singer/composer/tabla master brings a Scottish violinist and other friends along with his global fusion music. Yoga Shala, 3808 N Williams Ave., 493-9043. 7:30 pm Thursday, July 2. $15-$20. Map

DANCE

Sinferno Cabaret

A fiery combo of striptease, jugglers, magicians and, yes, fire dancers, doused with a bit of classic rock-’n’-roll sleaze. Because, c’mon, it’s Dante’s. Dante's, 1 SW 3rd Ave., 226-6630. 8:30 pm Sundays. $7. 21+. Map

Water In the Desert/The Headwaters Summer Institute: Workshops & Intensives

As part of the Water in the Desert Festival—a celebration of 50 years of butoh—the Headwaters experimental movement lab partners with Portland State University’s Center for Japanese Studies to present an incredibly wide array of workshops and classes with butoh masters. Highlights include a weeklong “immersive” experience with Japanese Butoh masters Koichi and Hiroko Tamano, “contemporary dance explorations in perception” by stellar local mover Cydney Wilkes, Balinese dance classes and “shadow yoga” labs—plus buckets of more fringe awesomeness. Visit theheadwaters.net for a full schedule, pricing and to register for workshops. KELLY CLARKE. The Headwaters at Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave., 289-3499. Water in the Desert workshops take place throughout July. Classes range from $25 to $250. Map

Women’s Dance Jam

It’s a fact: The ladies love to dance. But some don’t really don’t want to do it in a club, you know, with everybody ogling or judging them. So, Euphoria Studio hosts a women-only dance jam the first Saturday of every month so females of every shape and dance training level can get together and get their groove on in a “supportive, open and peaceful space.” Organizer Eleanor Benecki explains that the group starts in a dance circle and lets the music and the movement heat up from there. It’s pretty much anything goes—connect with Gaia, get crazy with your pals or face the corner and sway for two hours, they don’t care. And at the end, share snacks! Visit womensdancejam.com for more info. Bare feet or soft-soled dance shoes only, please. Snacks appreciated. KELLY CLARKE. Euphoria Studios, 1235 SE Division St., 230-7784. 7-9 pm first Saturday of every month. $8-$10 sliding scale. Map