It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall. Don’t worry: it happens every year around this time, and every year Portlanders take refuge by heading inside to the city’s theaters, concert halls and galleries, where they can feed their minds and stay dry at the same time. Things heat up as the temperature cools down, and this week’s calendar’s jumping with new stuff. Since Halloween’s close at hand, a fair amount of it’s a trifle on the … macabre side.
We’ve picked 18 shows for you to check out, including early warning on a slew of promising dance performances opening next week. Make your plans, get your tickets, and don’t get wet.
THEATER
!O Romeo! Milagro artistic director Olga Sanchez’ new bilingual play mashes together the traditions of El Dia de Muertos with a bit of the Bard in “a Latino look at Shakespeare’s dead heroes.” Previews Thursday, opens Friday, through Nov. 9.
110 in the Shade. This may be the only spot in town where it really is still hot. Stumptown Stages revives the musical version of The Rainmaker in the Brunish Theatre. Thursday through Nov. 2.
Bob: A Life in Five Acts. Matt Zrebski directs this comedy about a guy born and abandoned in the bathroom of a White Castle burger joint, and his quest to make more of his life. Theatre Vertigo, opens Friday, through Nov. 15.
All Jane, No Dick. Laughter to the gender-specific degree. Once again, Curious Comedy rounds up some of the best woman stand-up comics in the game and turns ’em loose; no guys butting in. Thursday through Monday.
‘Night, Mother. Gavin Hoffman directs Jacklyn Maddux and Dana Millican in Marsha Norman’s 1983 Pulitzer-winning mother/daughter standoff about life and death and the right to just stop going on (sorry, Samuel Beckett). CoHo Theatre, Thursday through Nov. 8.
Dial ‘M’ for Murder. Suddenly we feel a stabbing pain. Bag&Baggage brings back Frederick Knott’s potboiler, the basis for the legendary Hitchcock movie thriller. If you’ve seen it in 3D, you know about the scissors. Previews Wednesday, opens Thursday, through Nov. 2.
Shackleton’s Antarctic Nightmare: The 1914 Voyage of the Endurance. Portland Story Theatre’s Lawrence Howard throws a little ice into the fire, bringing back his spellbinding tale of ambition and disaster for one night only. We wrote about the tale back in January 2012. Alberta Abbey, Saturday.
VISUAL ART
Michele Russo, The Juggler, 1993, oil on canvas, collection of Arlene and Harold Schnitzer.
In Passionate Pursuit. Portland Art Museum opens its big exhibition drawn from the holdings of the city’s best-known collectors, Arlene and the late Harold Schnitzer. Their tastes were wide and well-informed, and they knew how to buy: for years, Arlene ran the legendary Fountain Gallery. This exhibit is the final show assembled by chief curator Bruce Guenther before his retirement, and should have lots of appeal. Saturday through Jan. 11.
Blue Sky: The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts at 40. On the same day, the art museum opens this look at the four decades of Blue Sky, the adventurous photo center that’s become a must-stop for serious international photography. Saturday through Jan. 11.
Things That Go Bump in the Night. Meanwhile, on a slightly different plane of existence … Peoples Art of Portland presents a show of 100 local artists doing variations on a creepy theme. Along with prints by the acid rock-ish poster artist Zoltran. Downtown at Pioneer Square, Saturday through Nov. 9.
DANCE
OBT@25. Let’s face the music and dance: Oregon Ballet Theatre completes its gala 25th season-opening gala with performances Thursday through Saturday. Martha Ullman West has the lowdown on the program, which opened last weekend. Keller Auditorium.
Michael Clark Company. O glam! O rock! White Bird brings the Brit contemporary dance company for its Portland debut, danced to a soundtrack of Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, David Bowie and others. Thursday through Saturday, Newmark Theatre.
New Now Wow. Northwest Dance Project opens its season with three premieres, by Minh Tran, Yin Yue, and Czech choreographer Jirí Pokorny. It’s giddy times for the contemporary ballet company, which has just announced the site of its new, greatly expanded home, in close-in Northeast PDX at 10th and Davis. Planned move-in is winter 2015. Oct. 23-25, Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU.
Adaptation. A “performance-driven installation” from Studio M13 at Disjecta Contemporary Art, with choreography by Stephanie Lankton and soundscape by Lisa DeGrace. Meshi Chavez and others open. Friday-Saturday and Oct. 24-25.
BloodyVox: Nightmare on Northrup. BodyVox premieres the newest chapter in its series of comic-horror Halloween dance concerts, which are almost always a bloody good time. Oct. 23-Nov. 1
The Word Hand. A promising collaboration among choreographer/dancer Linda Austin and visual artists Linda Hutchins and Pat Boas, who’ll create drawings while Austin dances. These are three genuinely talented artists, and they’ve been working together for a year and a half. Performance Works Northwest, Oct. 23-26.
Like a Sun That Pours Forth Light But Never Warmth. It’s October. You’re expecting 90 degrees? Risk/Reward presents a correspondence across time between choreographer Allie Hankins and the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky. Conduit Dance, Oct. 24-26.
Frida: A Rare Evening of Women in Circus. Pendulum aerial arts flies high with French acrobatic artist Fred Deb’, Paula Kenney, and Laura Stokes of the contemporary circus duo Ricochet. At the Pendulum studio, Oct. 24-26.