"The Mystery of Irma Vep"

Third Rail Repertory Theatre always has top-notch, polished productions even back in the days when they were just starting out and were tenants in a converted firehouse, and "Irma Vep" is no exception. The first thing that strikes you is the dazzling set, complete with lightning effects. I had not looked at my playbill before the show, so it took me a second to realize that the cast consists of only two members, two male actors. It didn't take long for "Irma Vep" to turn into a quick-change romp. It is a laugh-riot. And the twist at the end is completely unexpected. The most concise, spoiler-free thing I can say is: If you're looking for something different, this is it.

"Blithe Spirit" @ Artists Rep

"Blithe Spirit" is Artist Rep's "non-holiday holiday show".  So those of you who already have holiday fatigue can use this show as an oasis. Still, I can't help but wonder why they didn't position it closer to Halloween because it's a ghost story comedy. My favorite scenes involved the ghost and her rapidly changing location, with the other characters trying to avoid sitting on her, like a child's imaginary friend.

Michael Mendelson is his usual animated self, his performance is worth going for all my itself.  Also noteworthy is Vana O'Brien as Madam Arcati, the scatterbrained psychic.

A Christmas Survival Guide @ Broadway Rose

"A Christmas Survival Guide" is -despite its title- the cheeriest Christmas show in town. Sure, there's nods to various sadnesses around the holidays: loneliness,  a frazzled adult asking Santa for a litany of unmet needs, a jaunty little number called "The Twelve Steps of Christmas," but even with all of those light whacks at the season, "Survival Guide" cannot hide its yuletide enthusiasm. "All Those Christmas Cliches" in Act I sums-up the spirit of the show, even though we may tire of some of the rituals of the holidays, we still long for them in their absence. My favorite number by far was the Big Finale "A Walk Through Bethlehem."  So, go! (you know you want to, don't hide it.) There are still plenty of us with Christmas joy to spare, some of you decorated right after Halloween, didn't you? This is a show for those people, and they should drag along a few Scrooges to hasten along that Christmas epiphany.

"A Christmas Survival Guide"

Broadway Rose New Stage

Broadwayrose.org

"Santaland Diaries" @ Portland Center Stage

I haven't seen  David Sedaris' "Santaland Diaries" for many years, Portland Center Stage was in its old home as a tenant of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, it was the final year before "Santaland" took a long hiatus. A few things are different in this incarnation: On the positive side, my personal view was much improved, (the front of the Elleyn Bye Studio vs. the rear of the Newmark.) On the negative side,  PCS originally paired "Santaland" with Truman Capote's "Christmas Memory" and the contrast of Capote's melancholy with Sedaris' sardonic wit was sorely missed. Here's hoping that they revive the double-bill soon. I do not recall who played the role of Crumpet the Elf in the original production, but Darius Pierce, a local favorite of mine all the way back to his days with Theatre Vertigo is wonderful in the role. In fact, the reason I made sure to see "Santaland" this year was because I was reminded of how much I missed his unique stage-presence after seeing him in Third Rail's "Middletown".  I can see why "Santaland" has been a PCS tradition for so many years, the tale of Sedaris' brief stint as a department store elf is just the thing for those who wish to laugh knowingly at forced holiday cheer.

Penn and Teller at Spirit Mountain Casino

The quirky Vegas magicians Penn and Teller brought their totally wacky show to Spirit Mountain Saturday night It was equal parts Big Magic, comedy, and Teller's masterful sleight-of-hand magic. The opening trick had an audience member's cellphone appear inside a sealed box, which would be impressive enough, but inside the box was a fish, and the phone was inside the fish.  They dubbed the trick "cell-fish" and promised that the audience member's camera will have caught the secret of the trick.

The duo also performed their famous American Flag trick in which a flag appears to be burned, and reappears on its pole, a bit that was once telecast on an episode of "The West Wing" Another stand-out was a deliberately failed card-trick that meant Teller could not not be released from a giant tank of water.

Penn and Teller put on a fantastic show, and as always, Spirit Mountain is a delightful venue. It is exceptionally wheelchair-friendly, if you haven't been, you must go.  

"The Paino Lesson" @ Portland Playhouse

I am honored to add my voice to the chorus of praise for Portland Playhouse's latest August Wilson production, "The Piano Lesson". It is truly amazing how much this comparatively very small theatre can do with Wilson's sweeping works. In fact, it was their first Wilson production, "Radio Golf" that made me face the prospect of being lugged-up their stairs once again, only to find that they had installed a ramp.  "The Piano Lesson" is story about overcoming the ghosts of the past, sometimes literally. My favorite moments were the musical interludes. The play won Wilson a second Pulitzer Prize, and tickets to Portland Playhouse's production are selling quickly. Get your tickets now, the show must close on Nov. 16.

'Night Mother @ Coho Productions

My first exposure to " 'Night Mother" was the film with Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft and I remember thinking, "I bet this is so much better on stage." As director Gavin Hoffman says in his notes " 'Night Mother" is an oft-talked about, but rarely seen play." And so, how very fortunate we are that it is being staged in the intimate CoHo Theater. I won't give away the central plot point, but I will say that as I sat there with my white-knuckled hands against my ears at the end, I was not self-conscious. If I had to pick one show that is currently running as a "must-see" it is " 'Night Mother" hands-down. And hurry, it is a brief run, which ends Nov. 8th.  If one of the two actresses does not win a Drammy for her work, something is very wrong.

Thelma: Jacklyn Maddux

Jessie: Dana Millican

CoHo

2257 NW Raleigh St 

Portland, OR 97210 

(503) 220-2646

coco@cohoproductions.org

"The Typographer's Dream" @ PCS

Adam Bock must have had one hell of an office job at one time. His work reflects the tedium and monotony like no one else. While "The Receptionist" was much darker, "The Typographer's Dream" might be just slightly more incisive. I would have never thought that the nature of your job could subconsciously influence how you speak in your leisure time. I'm sure the repetitiveness of the narrative is intentional, but for this reason you may be glad that the show is a lean seventy-five minutes. There is however a unexpected and brilliantly goofy dance by Laura Faye Smith that breaks things up nicely, in fact it's worth the price of admission all by itself.

"Middletown" @ Third Rail Rep

Darius Pierce's performance of a breathless monologue at the beginning of "Middletown" is reason enough to see the show. He has the best moments in the show. His delivery of a line as a tourist telling a guide "let me take a picture of you being wrong" is priceless. "Middletown"'s funniest humor comes from lines like that, another stand-out is when a nurse remarks, "I always thought 'Botulism' sounded like a philosophy of poor choices."  Be warned that the play is very odd, I'm not sure I understood it all, but for some people "odd" is a selling-point. But, once again, the biggest draw for me was Darius Pierce, I hadn't realized how much I have missed his totally unique stage-presence.

"Exiles" @ Artists Rep

"Exiles" is the story of Cubans fleeing their country for Miami during a mass exodus known as The Mariel Boatlift. The projections in the show are beautiful, and Bobby Bernea absolutely steals the show as "The Lunatic", a character representing the many criminals and mental patients released by Castro to embarrass the United States.

There was one minor disappointment with the projections: "The Lunatic" has a flashback scene describing the political cartoons which made him run afoul of the government. There is a verbal description of one involving Castro and a pineapple, and judging by the laughter from the roughly one-fourth of the audience who could see it, I felt like I missed something important.

"Exiles" is a lean and tense drama that is worth seeing, especially for Bermea's performance, which is sure to rank among the best of the season.