Theater

Some of best theater you can see in Portland happens in Britain, filmed at the venerable National Theatre with big-name actors and then screened here by Third Rail Rep at Portland's World Trade Center. This month, three favorites return for encores: the Danny Boyle–directed Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller (Jan 17, 18 & 26), Hamlet with Rory Kinnear (Jan 19 & 25), and Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art (Jan 19 & 25). 

THE MONSTER-BUILDER 
Jan 28–Mar 2, Artists Rep
“A good, representative production in a small theater is a lot better for a premiere than a mishandled production in a more prominent theater,” says Pulitzer finalist Amy Freed on why she chose to premiere her new play, The Monster-Builder, at the relatively small regional theater Artists Repertory. The comedy, about an  egomaniacal “starchitect,” is one of a bumper crop of shows that debut during the Fertile Ground Festival of new works (Jan 23–Feb 2). Read our full interview with Freed.

SHACKLETON'S ANTARCTIC NIGHTMARE
Jan 11–25, Hipbone Studios 
Reviving a show that’s sold out three Portland runs—plus a stint at New York’s United Solo Festival—Portland Story Theater cofounder Lawrence Howard will regale audiences with the epic tale of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 endeavor to become the first man to traverse Antarctica. As the title suggests, the trip didn’t go well. 

VISUAL ART

NATIVE CONSTELLATION: The Art Gym presents a star list of the region’s most vividly inventive Native American artists, including Rick Bartow, Wendy Red Star, and Nicholas Galanin, while the Museum of Contemporary Craft teams up with the Anchorage Museum to offer four contemporary Alaska Native artists who are blending ancient traditions with new media. →

I.m.n.d.n. Jan 13–Feb 12
This is not a silent movie, Jan 31–Apr 19

BOOKS & TALKS

JUST IN FROM THE MANTRA-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB:

That I believe in my gods and spiritual things.

That my magical work is powerful and effective.

That the numbers 7, 25, and 16 are not 
unlucky or evil for me.

That I am not bad to look upon.

That I am not susceptible to colds ...

That these words and commands are like fire and will sear themselves into 
every corner of my being, making me happy and well and confident forever!

—L. Ron Hubbard, in his pre-Scientology self-hypnosis mantra, as excerpted from Pulitzer winner Lawrence Wright’s investigation of Scientology, the National Book Award finalist Going Clear. 

Lawrence Wright at Literary Arts’ Portland Arts & Lectures Series
Jan 14 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall