Books & Talks

Claudia Rankine

7:30 p.m. Thu, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $29
The acclaimed poet, perhaps best known for 2014′s Citizen: An American Lyric—“brilliant, disabusing,” wrote the New Yorker—comes to the Schnitz as part of Literary Arts’ Portland Arts & Lectures series.

Comedy

Kurt Braunohler

8 p.m. Thu, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Fri–Sun, Helium Comedy Club, $17–30
Well-known on the late-night circuit, Braunohler doesn’t limit his stand-up schtick to the stage—he continues the act in real life, like that time he blindfolded a bunch of comedy fans and drove them to Council Crest during the Bridgetown Comedy Festival.

Amy Miller

7:30 p.m. Sun, Helium Comedy Club, $12–16
The one-time Portlander juggles self-deprecation, ferocity, and compassion in her stand-up (and we never tire of hearing stories of her wackadoo childhood).

Dance

Skinner/Kirk Dance Ensemble

7:30 p.m. Thu–Fri, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat, BodyVox Dance Center, $30–64
For 20 years, Portlanders Eric Skinner and Daniel Kirk have been making emotionally rich contemporary dance. For this program, their ensemble performs two restaged pieces, as well as a new duet by Skinner, set to Verdi and Charpentier, that explores "the relationship between a dancer’s youth and maturity.”

Film

Portland Black Film Festival

7:30 p.m. Thu and Sun, Hollywood Theatre, $9
With a goal to shine a light on both the black experience and the achievements of African American performers and directors, the Portland Black Film Festival this year features a special appearance by Joe Morton. Morton—whom you might know as Eli Pope from Scandal or Miles Dyson from Terminator 2—starred in 1984′s The Brother from Another Planet, and he’ll attend a screening of that film. Also on the agenda: a 35 mm print of The Spook Who Sat by the Door, a 20th anniversary screening of Blade, and a spotlight on Afrofuturism.

Music

Kimbra

8 p.m. Thu, Wonder Ballroom, $25–30
You probably first heard this Australian soul-pop singer on Gotye’s 2012 earworm, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Her third album, Primal Heart, drops in April.

Under the Covers

9 p.m. Fri, Doug Fir Lounge, $10–12
Grab your boo and get in the Valentine's Day spirit at this special show, featuring a slew of Portland musicians—Lost Lander, Lenore, Melville, and more—performing covers of your favorite love songs, from the campy to the oh-so-serious.

Dan Auerbach

8:30 p.m. Sun, Crystal Ballroom, $35–37
The Black Keys front man hits the road with artists from his Nashville-based record label, Easy Eye Sound. His most recent album, 2017′s Waiting on a Song, was praised by NPR as “immaculate, indelible pop.”

Theater

CLOSING 2.5 Minute Ride

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, Artists Repertory Theatre, $20–38
Profile Theatre normally devotes its seasons to a single playwright. This time, the company tweaks the formula: two writers, Lisa Kron and Anna Deavere Smith, will share the next 18 months. Up first is Kron’s Obie-winning solo show, which straddles several family trips, including one to an Ohio amusement park and another to Auschwitz, where Kron’s grandparents were killed.

OPENING Kodachrome

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sun, Gerding Theater, $25–57
Adam Szymkowicz’s world-premiere play follows Suzanne, a small-town photographer, who allows us a glimpse into her neighbors’ love lives.

OPENING The Pride

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sun, Back Door Theater, $20 suggested
In Alexi Kaye Campbell’s portrait of homosexuality during different eras, three actors play two sets of characters with identical names, 60 years apart. The Olivier Award-winning play is presented here by Defunkt, which often grapples with LGBTQ issues onstage.

Longing Lasts Longer

7:30 p.m. Thu–Fri, PICA, $12–30
A New York queen of the underground, performance artist Penny Arcade gives a fiercely feminist take on “the post-gentrification landscape,” riffing on everything from millennials to cupcake shops.

Visual Art

Agent Orange

9 a.m.–5 p.m. Thu–Fri, Wieden & Kennedy, FREE
Cuban-American artist Edel Rodriguez has created some of the most piercing art about Donald Trump, including several illustrations that have graced the covers of Time and Der Spiegel. His politically charged work is collected here in a new exhibit—check out our slide show for a peek.

In the Beginning: Minor White’s Oregon Photographs

10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thu–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Portland Art Museum, $19.99
In 1938, the Works Progress Administration hired 30-year-old Minor White to photograph the architecture of downtown Portland. Some images—expect about 70 in this exhibit—show grand façades, while others reveal the effects of the Great Depression: run-down buildings soon to be demolished, or men huddled outside a junk shop, hoping to make a sale.