Concerts

Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders All-Star Benefit
Friday, Aladdin Theater
Last year's sellout Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders variety show benefit was perhaps the most star-studded single lineup in Portland history. Singer-writer Wesley Stace (who also goes by the stage name John Wesley Harding) is back this year with another killer crew: Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), China Forbes (Pink Martini), John Roderick (The Long Winters), Ural Thomas and the Pain, Laura Veirs, Willy Vlautin, and Black Prairie. The proceeds go to the Children's Cancer Association's My Music Rx.

Ticket Alert

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 am for Lyle Lovett's July concert at McMenamin's Edgefield and the Mountain Goats in June at Wonder Ballroom. Fleetwood Mac fans will have to wait until Monday at 10 am to buy tickets for their November appearance at Moda. What The Festival 2014 Early Bird and  OMG Experience Pass tickets on sale Monday.  General admission tickets on sale Tuesday.

Special Events

Pioneer Courthouse's Birthday with Pink Martini
Sunday, Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pink Martini returns for the second year to Pioneer Courthouse Square for the now annual sing-a-long series, "Singin' in the Square"—and this time it's for the square's 30th anniversary. To celebrate, there will be 1,984 free mini cupcakes provided by Cupcake Jones and free commemorative songbooks featuring more than 30 of bandleader Thomas Lauderdale’s favorite sing-a-long tunes, including “America the Beautiful,” “I Will Survive,” Oh Susanna!” and “This Land is Your Land,” in case you don't know the words.

Theater

Othello
April 5–May 11, Portland Center Stage
Linked to the art museum’s Venice exhibition, PCS’s tale of the Moor of said city of canals features period costumes on an Escher-like revolving stage. Daver Morrison, whose credits range from Shakespeare to soap operas, stars.

Sister Act
Thru April 6, Keller Auditorium
The Whoopi Goldberg vehicle was one of the funniest and most successful comedies of the 90’s, so it’s no surprise that the story is reprising as a Broadway musical. The adaptation was nominated for a number of Tony Awards on Broadway and Oliviers in London (where Whoopi herself stepped in as Mother Superior for a short run).

BOOKS

Julia Alvarez
Thursday, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Widely considered one of the most significant Latina writers of her generation, Alvarez pens vibrant prose style that plunges into issues of identity and culture.

Back Fence PDX: “Reel Stories”
Friday, Mission Theater
BackfencePDX—the live, unscripted, totally (well, presumably) true storytelling show—is changing the game this January. Featuring writer-filmmakers Jon Raymond (Rain Dragon), Arthur Bradford (Dogwalker), and Brian Lindstrom (Finding Normal), Backfence presents an evening of storytelling featuring film clips intermingled with true behind the scene stories.  

Dance

NW Dance Project: Directors Choice
Apr 3–5, Newmark Theater
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Northwest Dance Project, founding Artistic Director Sarah Slipper selects the best works from the companies all-original repertoire, featuring past works from French choreographer Patrick Delcroix, British dancer and choreographer Ihsan Rustem, and from Slipper herself. The live show will be simulcast in a giant projection on the Jive Building at SW 10th and Stark. 

Classical

Portland Baroque Orchestra: The Vocal Concerto
Apr 4–5, First Baptist Church
Dutch bass Harry van der Kamp makes his PBO debut, joining Stephen Stubbs on lute and Monica Huggett on violin to perform 17th-century German works in a concert that will tour the Northwest.

Oregon Symphony: Alban Gerhardt
Apr 5–7, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
In addition to this work from the Czech master, German cellist Alban Gerhardt returns to the symphony for a rendition of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no. 2. As he did last year, he will also be playing solo concerts around town, including recitals at the Ace Hotel on Thursday at 5:30 and at the Chinese Garden and Friday at 12:30.

First Thursday Gallery Walk

Photo Month 
The annual month of all thing film and pixels gets rolling with a number of openings tonight. More shows and events will take place throughout the month.
Opening this weekend:

• Blue Sky: Patricia Galagan & Craig Hickman
  Opening Thursday 6–9
• Charles Hartman Fine Art: Dave Heath’s A Dialogue With Solitude
  Opening Thursday 5–8
• Butters Gallery: Rick Stare
  Opening Thursday 6–9
• PNCA: Rebecca Steele: Thoroughbred Chair – Opening Thursday 6–9
• Waterspace Gallery: Grace Weston’s Unfamiliar Faces 
  Opening Thursday 6–9 
• Newspace Center for Photography: Bryan Schutmaat & Mark Rupert
  Opening Friday 6–9
• Portland Art Museum: Halcyon Days: The Camera In The Garden 

Elizabeth Leach Gallery: Shane Adams & Lee Kelly’s Pavilion
Over 30 monumental public artworks by the iconic Northwest artist Lee Kelly can be found throughout Oregon (perhaps you've driven by one of the more recently planted, his Memory 99 marking the site of PNCA's new building). This show features this trademark sculptural work alongside his first new paintings since the 1960’s. Shane Adams show of new paintings opens tonight.

Blackfish Gallery: Members Show
The gallery collective marks its 35th anniversary—has it already been 35 years?—with an exhibition of its members’ best works.

PDX Contemporary: Wes Mills’ Hamilton Drawings
With an attention to spacial depth that evokes a quiet Zen thoughtfulness, Wes Mills’s internationally exhibited, abstract, graphic-and-ink drawings return to Portland. 

Museum of Contemporary Craft: This is Not a Silent Movie
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: Nicholas Galanin, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Da-ka-xeen Mehner, and Susie Silook. Closes April 19.

Lumber Room: Polly Apfelbaum’s Color Stations Portland
Opening Sunday from 12–2 pm
Just in time for Spring, Apfelbaum’s installations are like bright flowers of dyed velvet blossoming across the floor—the perfect work to fill Lumber Room’s bright, airy, organic space. Known for pushing the boundaries between sculpture, painting, and installation, Apfelbaum’s work has been exhibited internationally, and she’s been recognized by a laundry list of awards, including the Rome and the Guggenheim.

FILM

10th Annual Faux Film Festival
April 4–6, Clinton Street Theatre
Fake movie trailers, mockumentaries, and advertisements for products that don’t exist make up the 10th annual Faux Film Festival, which aims to spoof, satirize, skewer, and poke fun at, well, anything that’s graced a screen. The films may be faux; the laughter is anything but.

FAMILY

Raven Stories
April 4–13, Imago Theatre
Tears of Joy Theatre presents three stories adapted here by Shoshone-Bannock poet and storyteller Ed Edmo about Raven, the ancient trickster of Native American lore responsible for giving us the sun and fire. In the Polish 'Figure Theatre' style, wooden puppets weave the stories together on stage.