Books & Talks

Kory Stamper

7:30 p.m. Thu, Powell's City of Books, FREE
Listen up, logophiles. Merriam-Webster’s lead lexicographer will read from Word by Word, which documents Stamper’s difficult duty developing definitions for one of America’s most distinguished dictionaries.

Comedy

The Best of the Second City

7 p.m. Fri, Newmark Theatre, $20.50–25.50
Besides an impressive history of keeping audiences chortling for 58 years, this improv troupe has also launched the careers of many hotshot Hollywood humorists (i.e. Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell) and countless Saturday Night Live superstars (Amy Poehler, Bill Murray, and Gildna Ratner, to name just a few). Skip it, and you just might miss seeing America’s next great comedian grace the Newmark stage.

Trevor Noah

8 p.m. Sat, Moda Center, $75
When this South African 34-year-old first took over The Daily Show, Americans were skeptical. But he’s won fans with his straight-talk skewering of systemic racism, gun violence, and our 45th president.

Music

Superorganism

9 p.m. Thu, Doug Fir Lounge, $12–14
What is this kooky eight-person ear-worm pop production unit with a teenage singer who exudes a paradoxically zippy ennui? Find out at the Doug Fir.

Joseph

8 p.m. Sat, Revolution Hall, $32–35
These three Portland siblings (big sis Natalie and twins Allison and Meegan) bring energy and attitude to bear on their folk-pop sensibilities. Joseph—named for a grandfather born in that Eastern Oregon town—hit the national radar thanks to a 2016 appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight show.

Titus Andronicus

9 p.m. Sat, Mississippi Studios, $15
From a rock opera about manic depression to a concept album inspired by the Civil War, the fiery New Jersey punk band is one of the more ambitious—and occasionally exhausting—groups out there. The group’s latest, the ballad-centric A Productive Cough, dropped earlier this month.

The Oh Hellos

9 p.m. Sat, Roseland Theater, $18
Since 2011, this Southern singer-songwriter sibling duo and their close-knit circle of musically inclined friends have been crafting a distinct and eclectic style of folk rock. The band’s latest EP, Eurus (named after the Greek god of the eastern wind), is the second in a series of four pieces that spotlight the band’s soulful, soothing melodies.

Theater

Hamilton

7:30 p.m. Thu–Fri, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sun, Keller Auditorium, $80+
Commence freakout: Lin-Manuel's hip-hop musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton (aka the theater event of the millennium) has landed in Portland. Good luck scoring tickets.

OPENING The Three Sisters of Weehawken

8 p.m. Fri–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, Siren Theater, $15–20
After several years of putting sketch comedy, improv, and stand-up onstage, the Siren Theater branches into the world of scripted theater. Up first: Deborah Zoe Laufer’s dark comedy about three sisters who long for Manhattan from their dull New Jersey home (paging Anton Chekhov).

CLOSING Men on Boats

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, Imago Theatre, $25–45
Based on John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition through the Grand Canyon, Jaclyn Backhaus’s gender-bending play sends up social constructs of masculinity while taking audiences on a “rollicking history pageant,” according to the New York Times. Maureen Porter directs this Third Rail Rep production.

CLOSING Death and the Maiden

7:30 p.m. Thu–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, Vault Theater, $25–30
How does a country come to terms with an oppressive regime and transition back to democracy? Ariel Dorfman’s 1991 play may be set in a post-Pinochet Chile, but there’s plenty of relevance to 2018 America. Bag & Baggage’s new associate artistic director Cassie Greer makes her solo directorial debut with this tale of private revenge and public reckoning. 

Visual Art

CLOSING Portland in Color

Noon–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Una Gallery, FREE
Since last summer, Celeste Noche has photographed more than a dozen Portland artists and activists of color, from Ori Gallery co-founder Maya Vivas to sexuality educator Ev’yan Whitney. This exhibit features Noche’s photographs alongside workshops and live performances. We talked with Noche a few weeks back.

Kingdom Animalia

10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thu–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Portland Art Museum, $19.99
This exhibit of prints, drawings, and posters—from Dürer and Picasso to regional artists Beth Van Hoesen and Frank Boyden—spans 500 years, showing animals as specimen, symbol, and everything in between.

Special Events

Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thu–Sat, noon–5 p.m. Sun, Oregon Historical Society, FREE–$11
The Oregon Black Pioneers—a nonprofit dedicated to African American history—curate a new exhibit about the ’60s and ’70s in this state, from protest movements to clashes with police to housing and employment discrimination.