The Paris Theatre Is Set to Reopen This Fall

After watching Portland weather the pandemic, Chris Pink jokes that he’s not sure why he’s reopening the landmark Paris Theatre on Southwest 3rd Avenue at West Burnside Street this fall.

“Sheer fucking stupidity, I think,” Pink, the owner and artistic director of Seattle’s cabaret theater Can Can says when asked why he’s stuck with downtown Portland. “We’ve been performing in Old Town since the mid-2000s with Can Can as a group at Dante’s and the Star Theater over the years, so we’ve been in the ’hood for a long time and always loved it.”

Can Can announced back in 2022 its intention to buy and reopen the Paris Theatre. Pink gives a tentative mid-November opening date for the freshly renovated nightclub, which over the years has been everything from a burlesque hall and dance venue to a porn theater. The Paris Theatre was last renovated in 2016, converted from a sex club and porn theater into a space that hosted drag, electronic dance music, and hip-hop shows. But the renovation wasn’t thorough enough, and the roof collapsed in 2019, abruptly forcing the theater’s closure. Work was underway for Can Can to take over the Paris Theatre in March 2020 until the pandemic lockdown went into effect.

Pink got into cabaret from the opera world, largely inspired by the works of composer Kurt Weill. He says Can Can troupe members would often look at the Paris Theatre during its seedier era and tell themselves that they needed to one day own it. Their late-night dream had been largely put to bed by the time Can Can went looking for a Portland location, but Pink moved when the opportunity to own the club presented itself.

“We put in an offer on the old Byways Cafe space, didn’t get it, and I just immediately pivoted to ‘What’s happening at the Paris Theatre?’” Pink says. “All the circumstances just lined up and it seemed serendipitous, so we just kept with it and spent 10 times more money than we should have—we’ll never get our money back—but it’s a passion project and something that would fulfill our mission to bring positivity to a place that needs it.”

The space, which will be known as Can Can’s Paris Theatre, will seat 140 guests who will watch original dance theater productions with the troupe’s northern members, as well as Portland performers who respond to the club’s ongoing casting call. Since the club will open ahead of the holiday season, Christmas-y shows can be expected in the early program (“the holidays with a twist,” Pink says). Some shows are toned down for all-ages afternoon matinees where possible, though not all shows clean up as well as others.

While the Seattle club has a full dinner service, Can Can’s Paris Theatre doesn’t have a large enough kitchen to pull off that kind of menu. Instead, Pink says to expect Northwestern concessions along with a craft cocktail menu. When asked about the odds of a corndog, Pink says he discussed with his chef making a duck confit wrapped in a beignet served with housemade condiments. While a lot can still change over the next few months, Pink feels confident about the future of Can Can’s Paris Theatre.

“We’re in it to help be the catalyst that changes the neighborhood,” he says. “It could also be a dream that never comes true, but something keeps driving in the back of our heads that says, ‘Move forward, this is very important.’”