Comedy

All Jane Comedy Festival

Various Times Thurs–Sun, Curious Comedy Theater, $10–100
Now in its sixth year, the all-female All Jane Comedy Festival consistently draws some of the funniest acts in the country. Willamette Week’s 2019 Favorite Comedian Jenna Vesper hosts the opening show, which features an all-PNW lineup. Subsequent nights include sets by former Stephen Colbert staff writer Emmy Blotnick, Patriot Act multi-talent Joyelle Nicole Johnson, and queer BFF duo Two Dykes and a Mic. 

Dance

OBT Roar(s)

7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, Keller Auditorium, $29–115
Oregon Ballet Theatre kicks off its 30th anniversary season with a trio of visionary works from decades past: In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, William Forsythe’s fiercely off-kilter 1987 piece; Stravinsky Violin Concerto, George Balanchine’s abstract, introspective work from 1972; and the revival of Dennis Spaight’s Scheherazade, the first ballet choreographed for OBT. 

Portland Dance Film Festival

7 p.m. Thurs–Sat, Whitsell Auditorium, $12/day
The third annual Portland Dance Film Festival will screen 25 films from six different continents alongside a series of filmmaking workshops. Titles range from the surreal to the bluntly personal, and this year sees the festival relocating from the Clinton Street Theater to the NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. 

Theater

CLOSING: 1984

7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, 2 p.m. Sat–Sun, Imago Theatre, $10–60
George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece is given the stage treatment with this adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. The novel celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and Artists Rep's production underlines its modern parallels without shouting them. It's a well-paced, hideously violent, ultimately successful production, even though the structure of Icke and Macmillan's script sometimes confuses.

Eclipsed

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, New Expressive Works, $20–30
Corrib, Portland’s contemporary Irish theatre company, takes on Patricia Burke Brogan’s Eclipsed. Set in the 1960s at a Magdalene laundry in a fictional Irish town, Eclipsed examines the treatment of unwed mothers under the Catholic church's misogynistic mantle. Corrib's is a fierce and deeply felt (if uneven) production that examines cruelty and solidarity among women pushed the fray. 

In the Heights

7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, The Armory, $25–80
When Quiara Alegría Hudes (who since went on to win a Pulitzer) teamed up with Lin Manuel Miranda (you may have heard of him), the rhythmic, salsa-steeped result was In the Heights, a musical set in Washington Heights which bagged them four Tonys and has been produced all over the world, from Tokyo to Melbourne to Lima. Now PCS brings it to Portland in a high energy, sweetly affecting production. 

Macbeth

7:30 p.m. Sat–Sun, The Armory, $21–42
Former Profile artistic director Adriana Baer directs a reworked, all-female version of The Scottish Play, edited by buzzy New York Obie winner Lee Sunday Evans. Evans’s script has been produced before, and the New York Times called it an “irreducibe, transcendent” adaptation that “commands engagement.” Tickets are running low, but most performances still have several seats available.

OPENING: Mother, Come Home

7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, CoHo Theatre, $15–25
When his mom dies, 7-year-old Thomas finds solace in a fantasy world. His dad, meanwhile, spirals into delusion. That’s the premise of Paul Hornschemeier’s Mother, Come Home, a graphic novel published in 2003 by Portland’s Dark Horse Comics. Now, Third Rail delivers a multimedia adaptation to the stage.

Visual Art

Italian Excellence

10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thurs–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Portland Art Museum, $20
Set to coincide with the upcoming Portland Book Festival, the new PAM exhibit is a celebration of famed Italian children’s author Gianni Rodari, on the occasion of what would be his 100th birthday. Rodari’s playful illustrations and stories will be on display alongside work from other 20th century Italian artists like Bruno Munari and Emanuele Luzzati.

Portland Biennial

12–5 p.m., Thurs–Sun, Disjecta, FREE
The Portland Biennial showcases the work of visual and performing artists from across Oregon—consider it an eye-popping opportunity to check the pulse of contemporary art in our state. Expect 18 artists at different stages in their careers, with work taking on indigenous identity, black life in Portland, traffic sound, and more.