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The great September arts revival has begun

By Barry Johnson
September 1, 2011
Culture, Featured
The late Bonnie Bronson’s work will be displayed this month at PNCA.

September is a large month for the arts in Portland. Maybe not the rotundity of October, but still… large. So, yes, too many events to list one one fell swoop, but maybe we can give you a framework at least.

We’ll see you out there!

Oregon Symphony at Waterfront Park, 7 p.m. Sept. 1 — The pre-concert features the estimable Portland Youth Philharmonic from 5-6 p.m., and then the Oregon Symphony digs into some spirited outdoor fare (Wagner, a Gershwin medley, Mozart) before firing the big guns of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Free.

Bonnie Bronson: Works 1960-1990, Sept. 1–Oct. 9, Pacific Northwest College of Art, 1241 NW Johnson — This is the first major showing of the late Bronson’s work in nearly two decades,  and it includes some never-shown wall sculptures and works on paper. It also adds luste rto September’s First Thursday gallery walk, which is full of art goodness, including Nikki McClure’s intricate papercuts at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, Carrie Iverson’s “Correspondence” at Bullseye Gallery and Frank A. Rinehart’s vintage platinum prints of Native Americans made during the Indian Congress of 1898 in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, at the Charles A. Hartman Gallery.

“God of Carnage,”  Sept. 6-Oct. 9, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder — In Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony winner, two sets of parents get together to discuss a bullying incident, and things disintegrate from there. As director Denis Arndt says, “Parents behaving badly can be lots of fun.”

“The Real Americans,” Sept. 6-Nov. 6, Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th — Bay Area comedian Dan Hoyle took a trip through the American heartland, looking for examples of what 2008 VP candidate Sarah Palin called “real Americans.”  The surprising — and funny — results are in this one-man show.

Time-Based Art Festival (TBA), Sept. 8-18, various locations — The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s total immersion in avant-garde art of all sorts, TBA opens at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 at Washington High School with its visual arts exhibitions, some performance art and then the first night of the festival’s series of after-party performances at The Works. From then on it’s a mad rush through the perplexing, the amazing and the deeply satisfying. (Much more on this one soon.)

Oregon Symphony with Pink Martini, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11-13, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall — Pink Martini pianist Thomas Lauderdale and his impossible-to-categorize band (think beaches, quasi-Latin rhythms, fanciful digressions, fabulous arrangements) have  encountered the Oregon Symphony frequently, and this time they are bringing along a tropical storm, namely, Storm Large, who can rock with the best of them and starred in Portland Center Stage’s “Cabaret,” too. (PDX trumpeter Chris Botti plays with the symphony the night before, if your needs are jazzier.)

Portland Vocal Consort, 4 p.m. Sept. 11, The Grotto, 8840 NE Skidmore — In a free tribute to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the choral ensemble will sing some of history’s most moving requiems by Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, Samuel Barber, and patriotic songs.

Grier Edmundson, Sept. 11-Oct. 22, Fourteen30 Contemporary, 922 SE Ankeny — Employing appropriated and often iconic images, Edmundson’s oil paintings oscillate in an indefinite space between representation and abstraction.

La Luna Nueva, Sept. 16-Oct. 1, Miracle Theatre — Miracle celebrates Hispanic Heritage month with a festival of dance, theater, music, poetry, visual arts and family friendly activities. I’m particularly drawn to two of the dance performances detailing new developments in Latin hip-hop and flamenco, but really, the schedule is full of enticements.

Uri Caine, 8 p.m. Sept. 20, Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside —  The programming of Portland Piano International’s PDX Piano Series explores the edgier side of contemporary keyboard performance, and Caine, who was composer in residence for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 2006-2009, operates along the border between classical and jazz.

“Oklahoma!,” Sept. 20-Oct. 30, Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th — In recent years, Portland Center Stage has opened it Main Stage season with a musical, and this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is its most ambitious undertaking in this vein so far.  It comes with a twist: The cast is African American, which honors the large number of African-American cowboys who worked the Great Plains and settled dozens of towns in the Oklahoma Territory.

Uncommon Threads: The Handicrafts in Book Arts, Sept. 23–Oct. 29, 23 Sandy Gallery, 623 NE 23rd — Traditional handicrafts including embroidery, quilting, beading, and felting meet various materials in this group exhibition of unconventional artist’s books.

Portland Opera, Big Night gala, 7 p.m. Sept. 24, Keller Auditorium — The opera season starts with a gala of arias and duets starring Maria Kankyova and Richard Crawley to support the Portland Opera’s education and outreach department.

“Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” Sept. 28-Oct. 23, Profile Theatre, 3430 SE Belmont — Usually, Profile adopts a playwright for an entire year, but for this 15th anniversary season, the company revisits the work of its previous playwrights, beginning with this wrenching Terrence McNally play, which happens to be a favorite of mine.

“Horizontal Leanings,” Sept. 29-Oct. 15, BodyVox,  1201 NW 17th — October is going to be dance month in the city, and BodyVox is getting a few days head start with this show, which finds them in the more serious territory of relationships and urban issues than the more humorous neighborhood where they usually hang. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some laughs in there, too.

Ramsey Embick Trio w/ Devin Phillips, Joe Zawinul tribute, 8 p.m. Sept. 29, PDX Jazz, Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan — The late Zawinul was the Austrian-born, classical trained pianist instrumental in inventing jazz fusion, first with Miles Davis on “Bitches Brew” and then with the band he co-founded, Weather Report. Embick Trio drummer Damian Erskine is the nephew of long-time Zawinul drummer Peter Erskine, and the set list is likely to contain Zawinul compositions from his days with Cannonball Adderley, as well as his compositions for Davis and Weather Report.

— Lisa Radon, Brett Campbell and Barry Johnson contributed to this calendar

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