BOOKS & TALKS

Timothy Egan
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books
The Seattle-based, National Book Award-winning author has a new book, The Immortal Irishman, which chronicles the absurdly eventful life of Thomas Francis Meagher. Meagher was banished from Ireland in 1849 after attempting to overthrow British rule, sent to a Tasmanian prison colony, and eventually ended up in America. 

COMEDY

Funny Felines: Kitty Improv with Kickstand Comedy
1 pm Saturday, Portland Art Museum
You've certainly heard that the Portland Art Museum is currently playing home to world's greatest cat painting—so it only makes sense that an afternoon of cat-inspired improv would follow.

DANCE

CLOSING Romeo and Juliet
7:30 pm Thursday–Friday; 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday, Keller Auditorium
It’s been more than 15 years since OBT last staged James Canfield’s adaptation of composer Sergei Prokofiev’s classic.

Bear/Skin Solo
8 pm Friday–Saturday, Studio [email protected]
If you're not familiar with Keith Hennessy, prepare yourself. The San Francisco-based dancer and performance artist is known for wildly expressionist work, which may involve champagne-soaked slip 'n' slides and bogus healing rituals. This weekend should be no different, with a politically motivated dance Hennessy says is about the following things: "the Rite of Spring, teddy bear shamanism, the reconstruction of ritual bear dances, action movies, suicide economics, and the poetry of springtime." 

FILM

POWFest
Various times Thursday–Sunday, Hollywood Theatre
Portland’s annual female-director-themed festival is back for its ninth year, with guest of honor Catherine Hardwicke. (She’s the director of Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown, and Twilight—the latter had the biggest opening weekend for a female director at the time it was released.) Plus: read our Q&A with Hardwicke.

CLOSING 25th Cascade Festival of African Films
Various times Thursday-Saturday, FREE
From four films in 1991 to this year’s lineup of 36 shorts and features, this ambitious month-long undertaking spans the continent, from Lesotho to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All films will screen at PCC Cascade with the exception of Opening Night and Centerpiece Films, which will play at the Hollywood Theatre.

MUSIC

Le1f
8 pm Thursday, Star Theater
Wut? Le1f is coming to PDX? New York rapper Le1f made headlines in 2013 when he accused Macklemore of ripping off his beat from “Wut” for “Thrift Shop.” Hear the live version and draw your own conclusions.

MarchFourth
8:30 pm Friday, Crystal Ballroom
Populous Portland staple MarchFourth celebrates their 13th anniversary with fitting pomp and circumstance. Saxophones, trumpets, dancers, and artists galore—march on!

John Prine
8 pm Friday, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The legendary songwriter boasts tunes that appear in the catalogs of Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and innumerable other folksy greats. Now, audiences can thrill to a serenade from the “singing mailman” himself.

Michelle DeYoung
3 pm Sunday, Lincoln Performance Hall
Three-time Grammy-award winning mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung is recognized as one of the most talented voices of her generation. She has performed extensively with world renowned orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, the Met Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic.

THEATER

CLOSING Contigo Pan y Cebolla
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Milagro Theatre
This Spanish-language comedy takes place just prior to the Cuban Revolution; in Héctor Quintero Viera’s 1962 play, money-hungry matriarch Lala is hell-bent on faking it till she makes it.

Stupid F**king Bird
7:30 pm Thursday–Sunday, 2 pm Saturday–Sunday, Gerding Theatre
Chic actresses, suicidal playwrights: Chekhov’s 1895 drama The Seagull gets an update in Aaron Posner’s take on classic themes of generational schism and aging. Also, read our interview with the Oregon-born Posner.

Free Outgoing
7:30 pm Thursday–Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, Lincoln Hall Studio Theatre
In Delhi in 2004, a cell-phone video clip of two 17-year-olds having sex spread across the country. That event spurred journalist-turned-playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar to write Free Outgoing, a Chennai-set drama that explores gender issues, sexual double standards, and the collision of technology and traditional values. The play went up at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2007, and was performed for the first time in India last year. Now it’s getting its US premiere, courtesy of Portland presenter Boom Arts, which is bringing up a Los Angeles-based cast for a four-day run. Plus, read our Q&A with director Snehal Desai. 

Chapatti
7:30 pm Saturday and 2 pm Sunday, CoHo Theatre
A humorous tale about love found in the most unexpected circumstances: Dan and Betty both live alone in Dublin with their respective companions—Dan with his dog Chapatti, and Betty with a gaggle of 19 cats. Gemma Whelan directs Christian O’Reilly’s tender drama about human connection and collective experience.

VISUAL ART

Contemporary Native Photographers and the Edward Curtis Legacy
10 am–8 pm Thursday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm Saturday–Sunday, Portland Art Museum
Wendy Red Star, Zig Jackson, and Will Wilson engage with the early-20th-century photogravurist’s groundbreaking collection The North American Indian. 

Rowland Ricketts
11 am–6 pm Thursday–Saturday, Museum of Contemporary Craft
From hand-grown indigo dye (“sukumo”) prepared the ancient Japanese way, Ricketts creates an immersive, site-specific installation featuring hand-dyed linen and historic textiles.

Gigi Conot: Coalesce
8:30 am–5 pm Thursday-Friday, Pushdot Studio
The Portland-based photographer meshes hundreds of images culled from city walks into vivid, “digitally blended” kaleidoscopes of color.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Marvel Universe LIVE!
7 pm Thursday–Sunday, Moda Center
For its first-ever arena event, the massive comic franchise unleashes 25-plus villains and superheroes—think Captain Marvel, Green Goblin, and Thor—in an epic battle royale.