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Openings & previews
42nd Street
"I Only Have Eyes For You" shouldered it's way into America's consciousness thanks to this starry-eyed 2001 Tony Award winner. When our young Peggy Sawyer comes to New York City, she's a fresh-faced and vapid transplant from the tiny Allentown, and her raison d'être is landing a good role in Pretty Lady on Broadway. Luckily for little Peggy, the lead gets maimed and she's given the role. With a long lineage of remakes—Busby Berkeley's 1933 movie, Bradford Ropes' original novel, a rewrite by Michael Swear and finally the Best Musical revival choreographed by Randy Skinner—it really seems there's no stopping Peggy. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 800-273-1530. 7:30 Tuesday-Friday, 2 pm and 7:30 pm Saturday, 1 pm and 6:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 27-Nov. 1. $25-$80.
Carrie the Musical
Carrie White still gets her bath in this remake of the classic Halloween fodder that notoriously flopped on Broadway in 1988. The multi-million dollar flop lasted just five performances during its original Broadway run, but now it's became such a legendary emblem of theatrical folly that a new generation felt obliged to raise the overly-maligned project from the grave. JAY HORTON. Antoinette Hatfield Hall, 1111 SW Broadway, 381-8686. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 8. $25-$40.
The Drunken City
In what reads like the set-up to the next Judd Apatow film, three 20-something bride-and-bridesmaids-to-be hit the town for one last night of bachelorette boozing and group squealing. Unsurprisingly, romantic drama ensues as the girls meet a couple of equally inebriated guys and engaged Marnie begins to question her choice to wed. PENELOPE BASS. Shoebox Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 971-244-3740. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 21. $10-$20.
Junie B. Jones: The Musical
As if the plight of Barbara Park's precocious heroine wasn't already enough—she needs glasses and the lunch lady is her only friend—Oregon Children's Theatre adds song and dance.Newark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. 2 and 5 pm Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, 11 am shows on Sunday Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 and 22. Through Nov. 22. $18-$32.
The Realistic Joneses
Following the local company's celebrated production of Will Eno's Middletown last fall, Third Rail and director Rebecca Lingafelter bring another of the Obie Award-winner's recent achievements to their Imago Theatre stage. The Realistic Joneses, Eno's Broadway debut (Toni Collette and Marisa Tomei were among the original cast members), doesn't promise much more of a premise than an elongated meet 'n' greet between new neighbors, but the interaction of strangers allows all the space necessary for the playwright's deft rhythms and addled sensibilities to refract scenes of mundanity through an inimitable prism. Eno always heightens the poignant and absurd, to enjoyable effect. JAY HORTON. Third Rail Repertory Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., 235-1101. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 14. $42.50.
New Reviews
Equus
Manic and stunning, Equus fulfills our Fall Arts Guide prediction that theater would get grim. Inspired by the true English case of 17-year-old Alan Strang (Phillip Berns) blinding six horses with a metal spike, Peter Shaffer's notorious play imagines the boy's therapy with children's psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Todd Van Voris) and unpacks his crime in a series of nightmarish flashbacks. Post5 power couple and Ty and Cassandra Boice co-direct, and here their penchant for showmanship is at its best. They set a stark stage—just a black box and a swivel chair—and populate it with twisted personalities. The show's only soundtrack is a haunting hum that sounds like a yogic refrigerator saying "om." It crescendos and then disappears, leaving an eerie silence for dramatic affect. But Post5's cast doesn't need the help. Seven of the 10 actors are newcomers, which could've made tackling this hefty play a hot mess. But Van Voris's (The Librarians, Grimm) Doctor Dysart is perfect. Conflicted but resolute, he shakes and spits with visceral passion during his monologues. Berns, the one original company member on stage, is painfully well-cast. Gaunt and pink-eyed, he glares silently and then explodes in manic episodes of ecstasy or rage that stay unpredictable for the entire, long show. And it is a long two plus hours to spend on a psychological roller coaster in this renovated Sellwood church. But for a true Halloween haunting, skip the new Guillermo del Toro flick or Fright Town—one look from Berns will fill your quota. ENID SPITZ. Post5 Theatre, 1666 SE Lambert St., 971-258-8584. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday. Through Nov. 14. $15-20.
Also Playing
The Foreigner
Dirty secrets and evil plots surface at a rural fishing lodge in Georgia thanks to a newcomer named Charlie and his debilitating fear of social situations. Regular guest "Froggy" LaSeur introduces his shy friend to the lodge denizens as a foreigner who speaks no English. Suddenly, the Georgians are spilling their darkest thoughts in front of Charlie, and a madcap satire ensues. No show Oct. 31. HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington St., Hillsboro, 693-7815. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday. Through Nov. 8. $15.
Rope
Wyndham Brandon is bored (and more than just a little unhinged) when he convinces his friend and classmate to help him commit a motiveless act of murder. They strangle their fellow undergraduate and stash his body in a chest. But all that happens before the curtain even rises. The two then host a dinner party where they serve a meal to the father of the boy they killed off a box that contains his son's body. If that sounds twisted, it is, and delightfully so. What follows is a parade of characters so ridiculously exaggerated that drama becomes farce. Brandon (a cocksure Trevor Jackson) is positively giddy, longing to brag about his genius. But Michael Tuefel as the cynical poet Rupert Cadell steals the spotlight every second that he's on stage. Channeling a cross between John Waters and Stewie Griffin, Tuefel's every action is enrapturing—from a sidelong suspicious stare to a spittle-flecked, red-faced rant. Guest director Rusty Tennant challenges us to regard death, or murder specifically, as a matter of perspective. Are we rooting for the murderers to be punished or to get away with it? The biggest surprise might be your own reaction to the ending. PENELOPE BASS. Bag and Baggage, 253 E Main St., Hillsboro, 345-9590. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday through Nov. 1. $25-$30.
Cock
To launch its 16th season of groundbreaking dramatic works, Defunkt Theatre and veteran director Jon Kretzu present the Portland premiere of Mark Bartlett's acclaimed relationship portrait Cock. Winner of the 2010 Olivier Award following its initial run at London's Royal Court, the searing examination of conflicted sexuality breathes fresh life to the age-old romantic triangle through the story of a gay man unexpectedly fallen into heterosexual love yet unwilling to leave his boyfriend. JAY HORTON. Defunkt Theatre, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 481-2960. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday through Nov. 15. $10-$25.
Dearly Departed
A hilariously mean-spirited and shallow brood of Deep South characters warily gather to mark the death of an unloved patriarch in David Bottrell and Jessie Jones' early 90s tour de force. JAY HORTON. Twilight Theater, 7515 N Brandon Ave., 847-9838. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday and 3 pm Sundays through Oct. 25. $15.
How We Got On
Narrated by a character named DJ "The Selector", Idris Goodwin's urban coming-of-age tale is like a history lesson on MTV—part music video and part exposé of kids with big dreams. Local poet-rapper Mic Crenshaw is music director for the all-Portland cast directed by Jen Rowe. Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., 488-5822. 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Fridays, 2 pm Sundays and 7:30 pm Saturday Oct. 24 through Oct. 31. $32-$36.
La Muerta Baila
An original baile folklórico production, this global premiere honors Honoring Día de los Muertos with a bilingual fable about a spirit's refusal to visit the land of the living. JAY HORTON. Milagro Theater, 525 SE Stark St., 236-7253. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Sundays through Nov. 8. $25.
Mars Two
Four different "episodes" about a (possibly doomed) team of adventurers trying to colonize Mars. Action/Adventure Theatre, 1050 SE Clinton St. 8 pm Thursday-Sunday through Oct 25. $15.
Passion Play Part III
This is the last of Ruhl's three adaptations of the passion of the Christ, as put on by three very different communities: Elizabethan England, post-war Germany and Cold War-era South Dakota. JAY HORTON. Shaking the Tree Theater, 823 SE Grant St., 235-0635. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday through Oct. 24. $25.
Remme's Run
Crafted from historical accounts of the Oregon Territory by writer-director (and two-time Oregon Book Award nominee) Wayne Harrel, this ambitious multimedia presentation recounts the tale of a cattleman's desperate ride north from Sacramento to save his fortune and start a family on Sauvie Island. JAY HORTON. CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Sunday through Nov. 7. $28.
Adrift in Macao
An admiring mix of the hard-boiled heroes, femme fatales and faux-tropical locales, this scattershot satire gleefully explodes every genre convention of Hollywood's so-called Golden Age. Featuring whip-smart dialogue by Tony Award winner Christopher Durang and a catchy score from composer Peter Melnick (Richard Rodgers' grandson), the backhanded tribute to film noir potboilers and overseas adventures follows American ex-pat Rick Shaw and sidekick Tempura as they spar with the sinister McGuffin and battle against the forces of good taste and common sense. Broadway Rose, 12580 SW Grant Ave., Tigard, 620-5262. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Saturday-Sunday through Oct. 25. $20-$42.
comedy & variety
American Comedy
Local comics Paul Schlesinger, Jason Traeger and Milan Patel and guest announcer Catherine Candor host Los Angeles-based comic Abbey Jordan, and locals Sean Jordan, Whitney Streed and Melody Rowell. This night will also include videos, music and all the tasteful sex appeal you can handle. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. 8:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 25. Free. 21+.
Sara Schaefer
Sara Schaefer (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) headlines this installment, backed by sets from visiting comedians Lydia Popovich and Michael D'Bey. The laughs are free, and you'd been an idiot to miss this outstanding lineup. Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta St., 284-766. 10 pm Sunday, Oct. 25. Free. 21+.
Craig Shoemaker
Maybe you know him as the baritone-voiced character, the Lovemaster. Possibly you've seen one of his standup specials that aired on Showtime, HBO or one of the major networks. Perhaps you noticed him on Parks and Recreation, The Bold and The Beautiful or Scream 2. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 7 pm Sunday, Oct. 25. $20-$28. 21+.
Tony Hinchcliffe
A veteran of the Los Angeles comedy scene, Tony Hinchcliffe has quick wit and a sharp tongue. A long-time consultant and writer for Comedy Central's Roast series, Hinchcliffe hosts the popular Kill Tony podcast on the Deathsquad Network. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 8 pm Thursday, Oct. 22, 7:30 & 10 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 23-24. $15-$31. 21+.
dance
Éowyn Emerald's New Works
Éowyn Emerald's name is starting to sound commonplace around Portland. She's "rising star" darling known for making it to Edinburgh's Festival Fringe in 2013 and for teaching and choreographing with BodyVox and the Portland Ballet. To borrow another genre's favorite catch-phrase, she's killing it. This show debuts her newest works, a series inspired by friendship and the ties that bond. Greenwood Theatre at Reed College, 2903 SE Botsford Drive. 7:30 pm Friday, 4 pm and 7:30 pm Saturday, 4 pm Sunday, Oct. 23-25. $20.
Willamette Week