Books & Talks

Nathan Englander

7:30 p.m. Sun, Powell's City of Books, FREE
Englander nabbed a Pulitzer nomination for his short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, and he returns with Dinner at the Center of the Earth, a political thriller about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Comedy

Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher

8 p.m. Fri, Revolution Hall, $32.50
The super-sharp stand-up comedians—who also happen to be a couple and co-created a TV series, Take My Wife, based on their life together—join forces on a North American tour.

Music

Japanese Music Now

7:30 p.m. Thu, Portland Japanese Garden, SOLD OUT
Third Angle New Music performs a contemporary Japanese program, with instrumentalists scattered throughout the Portland Japanese Garden. The show builds to a new commission by composer Dai Fujikura, to be played in the garden’s Cultural Village—a recent expansion designed by superstar Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

Stackstock

1 p.m. Sat, Sept 23, Haystack Gardens, Cannon Beach, $40–150
In the inaugural year of this brand-new music festival, the likes of Colin Meloy, Edna Vazquez, Pure Bathing Culture, and And And And play an intimate seaside venue in Cannon Beach—read more in our preview.

Vagabon

9 p.m. Sun, Holocene, $12–14
Heralded by Pitchfork as “an indie rock game changer,” the Cameroon-born, New York City-based Lætitia Tamko (who records as Vagabon) is a ridiculously skilled multi-instrumentalist and singer who draws from punk, African music, and electro-pop.

Theater

OPENING Fun Home

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sun, Gerding Theater, $25–75
Portland Center Stage opens its season with the riotously popular, Tony-winning musical, based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel about growing up as a closeted lesbian.

OPENING Human Noise

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, Imago Theatre, $10–20
Imago's ever-intrepid Jerry Mouawad brings the work of Raymond Carver to the stage, directing and choreographing four of the author's earlier works—three short stories and a poem, all of which "explore the intimate and sometimes unusual struggles and passions of male female relationships."

Hands Up

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sat and 3 p.m. Sun, Multnomah Arts Center, FREE (donations accepted)
The traveling showcase of work by emerging black playwrights from diverse backgrounds—which launched in 2014, in response to police shootings across the country—returns to Portland for a series of 10- to 15-minute monologues. We spoke with several of the playwrights last year.

The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, CoHo Theatre, $25–32
Madeline George’s time-traveling drama unites three of history’s most famous Watsons: Sherlock Holmes’s companion, Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, and the IBM super computer that won Jeopardy. The Chicago Tribune said the 2014 Pulitzer finalist “[probes] our insecurity about the inevitable and imminent encroachment of our sponge-like digitized assistants into the world of emotional intelligence and into our bedrooms.” 

Visual Art

Jo Hamilton

11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thu–Sat, Russo Lee Gallery, FREE
Portland artist Jo Hamilton’s work may at first look like colorful paintings, but make no mistake: it’s all yarn knotted by hand. This exhibition of new work showcases Hamilton’s latest crochet pieces, including portraits and Portland cityscapes.

Connecting Lines

10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thu–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Portland Art Museum, $19.99
PAM’s Center for Contemporary Native Art showcases work by two artists: Luzene Hill (Eastern Band Cherokee) examines sexual violence against Native women via large-scale silk hangings, while an installation by Portlander Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation) “addresses ideas of disruption, repair, and renewal.”