Dex Dixon Paranormal Dick @ Stumptown Stages

"Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick" is doubtlessly the most bizarre show currently running on a Portland stage. I am as yet undecided if it has beaten "Flash Ah-ahhhh" as the weirdest thing I've seen this Season, coincidently both productions are from the truly strange mind of Steve Coker.

"Dex" is a film noir parody musical, sprinkled with vampires, werewolves, and zombies. See? I told you it was one of a kind! As was the case with "Flash-Ahhhh" the show's unconventionality is never used as an excuse to have subpar production values. Both the singers and the several-piece band are impressive. "Dex" is the middle-show of Stumptown's Season, and for me, it holds the top spot.

I have become very fond of Mr. Coker's work, and I cannot wait for his next outing, a musicalization of the Steve Martin comedy "The Three Amigos."

"Golden Boy" @ Lakewood Theatre Company

"Golden Boy" is the best show Lakewood has mounted in all the years I've been attending. The show is a departure from the kind of material Lakewood usually produces, it is the first non-musical non-mystery I have seen there. This is not to say I don't enjoy those kind of shows,  I liked this season's "Unnecessary Farce," and the upcoming "Bullshot Crummond" will also be a return to form, but it is nice to see Lakewood stretch their wings.

"Golden Boy" is a classic Clifford Odets drama. The set is gorgeous and massive. The acting is breathtaking.

I heard mutterings in the lobby during the Opening Night Reception that this choice was a bit of a risk for Lakewood. I sincerely hope that they are richly rewarded.

"The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical" @ Stumptown Stages

"The  Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical" is the holiday show for tweeners, those people who aren't quite ready for the madcap, (and sometimes abruptly dark) "Twist Your Dickens" , and yet want something more irreverent than "A Taffeta Christmas" ."Trailer Park" is profane and raunchy, but it is rather unique in the way that it manages to be that way without losing its Christmas Spirit. Sure, "Fuck it, it's Christmas" (my favorite number) will never be heard alongside "Frosty the Snowman", but that doesn't make it any less festive.

No,  "Trailer Park" is not for everybody. In fact, some of the tweeners may be lured away by "The Santaland Diaries" , but I will say this: It is the most fun of all three options.

"The Miracle Worker" at Artists Rep

Artists Rep continues exploring disability in its shows,  first with ""Tribes" and now with "The Miracle Worker." Both plays deal with deafness.

Granted, it has been many years since I saw Arthur Penn's film version,  but I do not recall a lot  of humor in it. The play has a surprising amount of comedy in it. Mostly between Helen Keller and her tutor Anne Sullivan, but also between Captain and Mrs. Keller..

Agatha Olson and Val Landrum are a perfect pair. Olson displays astonishing abilities, made all the more remarkable considering her youth. "The Miracle Worker" would be a wonderful introduction to theatre for young audiences,  or adults who want to begin theatre-going, and maybe especially those who want a respite from holiday fare. But, really, I recommend that you go if your heart is beating.

"A Taffeta Christmas" @Broadway Rose

"A Taffeta Christmas" is a proudly upbeat holiday show. This makes it unique among the other seasonal fare on local stages, which are all the opposite. There's PCS' revivals of "Twist Your Dickens" and "The Santaland Diaries" and the upcoming "Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical" at Stumptown Stages. So, we are very much in need of a show unafraid of a little yuletide cheer. "A Taffeta Christmas" follows the harmonizing girl-group The Taffetas, as they return home to Muncie, Indiana for a Christmas television show.

While "A Taffeta Christmas" is mostly a revue, that doesn't mean there isn't room for comedy. My favorite moment was when The Taffetas dragged a man who looked to be truly unsuspecting, on stage to join them in song as their Cousin Warren. As we've come to expect from Broadway Rose, "A Taffeta Christmas" has extraordinary singers and a talented band. For those of you who wholeheartedly reject the Scrooginess of the other offerings,  "A Taffeta Christmas" is your cup of cocoa.

Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy's "We've Been Thinkin' Tour" @Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

I've been very fortunate to have now seen all four members of "Blue Collar Comedy." The first two were at Spirit Mountain Casino, Ron White  and Bill Engvall. I've waited many years to see Larry the Cable Guy, after he suddenly cancelled a solo show at the Schnitz. Well, good things come to those who wait, because I was invited to a Meet and Greet with both Larry and Jeff on this tour.  Oh, and while waiting to be escorted to the official one I was able to meet them both at the stage-door lobby. It was a fantastic show. There is no such thing as too much toilet humor, and both comedians made the most of that truism. Among my favorites was Foxworthy's telling of his battle with a kidney stone.

Larry the Cable Guy's set was hilarious, though I must confess I was just slightly disappointed that his "I was madder than...." joke didn't end with "a two-fingered cripple tryin' to send a text message," a line I've used countless times. To be fair, the way he did finish the line was in the same vein, "Ronnie Milsap in a corn-maze."

The Schnitzer is a wonderful, beautiful, venue with excellent wheelchair seating. This show was the realization of a dream.

"Flash Ah-Ahhh" @ The Hostess

"Flash Ah-Ahhh" is the most delightfully weird thing I have ever seen. It really can only be described as an oxymoron. "Brilliantly bad", maybe? It is a musical based on the 1980 "camp classic" "Flash Gordon" The movie's apparently iconic theme song is by Queen, and the rest of the musical's score is carefully selected Queen songs, that somehow actually fit.  I am a little late to the party with regard to the movie, but mention its title to anyone who has seen it and you will get an imitation of the falsetto chorus from which the musical takes its name.

There are two polar-opposite reasons that the musical succeeds as unbelievably well as it does. One is the unexpectedly fantastic band and singing. Their name is "Mercury Rising, AKA School of Rock," but for the purpose of this production, might I suggest that they change their name to "Flying Blind on a Rocket-Cycle." As soon as I heard that line in the film I thought, "That's a perfect name for a band!" The other is the hilariously low-tech props. Whether it be the villain's stuffed cat, or the "moon rock" rendered as a crumpled paper bag.

It turns out that the man behind "Flash Ah-Ahhh", Steve Coker is also behind "Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick" which I am eagerly awaiting at Stump Town Stages. I think he is a bright voice in Portland's theatre scene.

The Hostess

538 SE Ash

"Sylvia" @ Clackamas Community College

Molly Bowman. Remember that name. Her performance as Sylvia the dog in Clackamas Community College's current production of "Sylvia" is of the kind that makes a viewer know she has a bright future. Suffice it to say, she jumps in with all four feet. In fact, when Sylvia is revealed in a portrait at the end of the show, I was somewhat disappointed because I had pictured a much bigger animal. It's a role that's full of surprises. There's this scene which at first seems obligatory, a dog's encounter with a cat, but the scene is so unexpectedly, unrelentingly profane that it actually manages to become shocking, especially if one is sitting in the front row, as I was. There is quite a bit of "other woman" symbolism  in "Sylvia" which was at times humorous, but everything, everything  is overshadowed by Ms. Bowman's fully committed performance. There are times when one thinks, "My God, she must feel so silly!" And yet, she holds it together somehow. To keep from laughing must be a Herculean feat. It also must be noted that it is the only real comedy playing on area stages at the moment. A few are billed as such, but they have elements which color them as somewhat melancholy. Go to "Sylvia" and enjoy pure laughter.

"Present Laughter" at Lakewood Thetre

"Present Laughter" is a truly well-acted show.  Gary Powell is a wonderful Noel Coward stand-in, as the matinee-idol Garry Essendine. But, the character I enjoyed most was the stuttering, motor-mouthed aspiring playwright Roland Maule. (Jake Simmons) Most of Coward's wit is dry, but the Maule character provides the easier laughs.  It's a light show, but with traces of melancholy. A tale of love, friendship, and theatre.

"Broomstick"

Vana O'Brien's performance in "Broomstick" is truly phenomenal. Nearly 90 minutes of just her on the evocatively decorated set, reciting a rhyming poem. She makes a wonderful witch. The strength of her performance could almost justify "Broomstick" becoming a Halloween perennial, solely on its merits, but a few moments in John Biguenet's script are just a shade too dark to be comfortably rendered in rhyme. Another way to describe it would be as an occasionally off-putting tonal mismatch. But again, Vana O'Brien's performance is frightfully good.