Comedy

Brian Regan

8 p.m. Fri, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $40–70
History’s favorite “clean comedian,” with that one 1997 live album your parents always played in the car, hits the Schnitz on his current U.S. tour. Fresh off a Netflix sketch series and one of two Seinfeld-produced specials, Regan’s having something of a moment right now.

Film

Cage Uncaged

Various Times Fri–Mon, Hollywood Theatre, $7–9 per screening
The Hollywood heralds the arrival of Nicolas Cage's new H.P. Lovecraft adaptation with a sampling of his wildest early performances, from Wild at Heart to The Vampire's Kiss. An important history lesson for the generation who processes Nic Cage as The Guy Who Stole the Declaration of Independence, but (I'll say it), where is the Werner Herzog Bad Lieutenant?

Music

Portland's Folk Festival

Various times Jan 10–11, Crystal Ballroom, $25–40
Vortex mag and local record label Fluff & Gravy team up for the third fiddle-filled folk fest at the Crystal Ballroom. Portland staples like Horse Feathers join promising newcomers like Maita, whose single “Japanese Waitress” loomed large on our fall playlists. 

Your Smith

9 p.m. Sat, Doug Fir Lounge, $13
The Minneapolis-born, HAIM-y up-and-comer hits Portland to support her latest EP Wild Wild Woman. Expect hushed harmonies and snappy bass lines, and show up early enough to catch opener Chelsea Jade—her semi-hit “Laugh It Off” is a marvel. 

Special Events

We the People

8 a.m.–5 p.m. Thurs–Sun, Beaverton City Library, FREE
The folks at the Immigrant Story share two exhibitions at Beaverton City Library. Who We Are collects responses from Muslim women about the 2017 Portland MAX attack, and What We Carried showcases photographs of objects taken by Iraqi and Syrian refugees as they fled political violence at home.

Theater

OPENING: Beckett Women

7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, Reed College Performing Arts Building, $20–30
The Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble weaves together four rarely produced, female-led shorts from the Irish master. Not to set the bar too high, but the ensemble’s last show (2019’s knockout Our Ruined House) transformed a suburban living room into a Russian submarine and served free chocolate babka from Trader Joe’s at every performance. 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

11 a.m. Thurs, 7:30 p.m. Thurs–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, Portland Center Stage, $42.50–85
In a word ... duh. John Cameron Mitchell’s glitter-streaked masterwork, as funny and moving and mind-bending now as it was 20 years ago, will always, always (always) be worth seeing. Portland Center Stage’s production lifts the script from the 2014 Broadway revival, complete with bookable onstage tables and new (good) jokes about Hurt Locker: The Musical.

Visual Art

Arvie Smith

12–5 p.m. Fri–Sun, Disjecta, FREE
Portland painter Arvie Smith’s provocative, many-hued show 2 Up and 2 Back is on at Disjecta through the beginning of February. One of the city’s sharpest talents, Smith explores bias, racism, cultural consumption and more, with welcome humor and breathtaking skill.

Donna Gottschalk

12–5 p.m. Thurs–Sun, Blue Sky Gallery, FREE
Gottschalk’s black-and-white photography, by turns tender and furious, documents the day-to-day life of radical lesbian organizers in ’70s California and New York. This retrospective collection includes images from Gottschalk’s 50-year personal archive, with a special focus on early work.

Hannah Altman

12–5 p.m. Thurs–Sun, Blue Sky Gallery, FREE
Altman, a Jewish-American photographer from New Jersey, explores memory and lineage through the lens of Jewish thought in her latest exhibition. Dreamy, surreal images mix with straightforward portraits, all of them lit with startling directness. She’ll hold an artist talk on January 4th at 3 o’clock.