Thank you White Bird for all that you do! They are very big into community involvement and most…read moreshows have very few open seats. I do squeeze in at the last minute here and there though and their ticket prices are wonderful. They have most shows at Newmark, Arlene Schnitzer and the Lincoln Performance Hall which have great views from any seat in the theater. They also do not jack up the prices with crazy handling fees etc. I always walk away after a performance changed and just get more excited for each new opportunity. What a local treasure!!

I can't say I've enjoyed every dance performance. Sometimes they just aren't for me. But, I've…read morenever regretted going to one. It's never been time wasted. Sometimes it's really entertaining. It also never feels like a repeated event. I think that White Bird curates interesting and culturally relevant dance troupes. I appreciate that they offer ticket prices at varying levels. I also think it's pretty neat that many of the dance groups give back to the community while they're in Portland. I recommend checking them out.

Brunish Theatre, right across the street from the Arlene Schnitzer concert hall is such a beautiful…read moreplace. The building houses a few theatres, with Brunish being one of them. Brunish theatre is on the 4th floor. It's a small theatre where you are right in front of the stage. I went there to see the fabulous play, Thoughts of a Colored Man. It was excellent. All of the staff were friendly. As they saw me taking pictures, they suggested great photo ops. Only downside is the chairs feel very uncomfortable after about an hour and a half. There are elevators, accessible bathrooms, and high price drinks and snacks.

Wow... Light Opera of Portland is doing a performance of The Gondoliers. I am severely disabled and…read morehave a pretty limited income. I try hard to stay going out, being supportive best I can of the arts. Light Opera of Portland is listed as offering Arts for All and to contact them for ticket arrangement. I emailed and received an email back they were passing my information on to someone so they could arrange a ticket. After 2 weeks, the event was getting closer. I emailed again stating that I had heard anything... crickets... I was going to the symphony next door at Arlene Schnitzer. I figured I would just go to the box office... however, they informed me that Arts for All tickets were not available, per Light Opera of Portland until 2 hours before the show. She also said she just turned away another disabled person for the same things. She said LOOP what's aware that the only seats remaining for the shows were ADA, that those exact seats were $27 versus $5 and that they realize those of us with disabilities are not able to jump through the gauntlet of crowded will call lines or get to a show 2 hours ahead to sit around very unfriendly seats, praying we can get a seat to a show... maybe or if the trek of trying to find parking downtown or walking blocks from public transportation just to get into the venue. Those of us with disorders like MS, Lupus and a long list of varying tissue disorders swell and suffer from pain when stresssed. The arts are healing but not when we are made to feel this unwelcome. If you are not going to actually offer Arts for All tickets, please don't. Do not sign up stating that you are welcoming to people with disabilities, including income when it is clear, very clear that you are not welcoming.

I made it through day 1 of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival 2009, and my only regret so far is that I…read moredidn't ,do any ab crunches in advance to get properly trained for the event. 5 hours of somewhat continuous laughter can put a hurtin' on some un-trained (yet rock-solid washboard) abs. ;) Now in it's second year, and double in size from last year, the BCF is happening this weekend all over SE Hawthorne from the evening hours until late night. The venues include the Baghdad, Hawthorne Theater, BOG, Tanker, FOE Lodge, and Mt. Tabor Legacy. From end-to-end, that could be a bit of a haul on foot, but with the Hawthorne Theatre stop in the middle, it's not too bad. The shows are staggered throughout the evenings with groups of comedians performing in hour to hour-and-a-half long chunks. I got me an all-festival pass, making it easier to just drop in on shows I want to see... and there are a lot. Funny, funny folks that regularly perform all over the country and have appeared in movies/on tv are gracing Portland's SE Hawth theaters all weekend - and making people laugh their asses off. I posted up at the Hawthorne Theatre last night from open until close, and saw tons of great locally and nationally known comics doing their thing... in an intimate setting... that's NOT HARVEY's. Here, it's all about the comedy, and stand-up is happening in every direction you turn. I'll be hitting this up all weekend, but day 1 was a blast. Highlight of the night? Watching Janeane Garofalo put the smack down on some camera crew that decided to film her act without asking. That was almost funnier than her actual routine. Other great acts I witnessed: Brent Weinbach, Matt Peters, Chris Hardwick, Natasha Leggero, Matt Braunger and Will Franken. All had me doubled over. Too funny.

Holy LOL! Why can't every weekend be Bridgetown Comedy Festival?…read more If you're a comedy fan, get a weekend pass! There are no ifs ands of buts about this statement. A big show will run about $20 and if you want to see of few of those, you're pretty much there. Sure you might only be recognize a handful of people on the bill but it's half the fun finding new comics. I spent my Bridgetown bouncing around to from stage to stage catching performances. The great part about the wrist band is you can just catch shows willy-nilly and find some really great acts you weren't expecting. Did I see any truly bad performances. Yes, but it was the minority. Most everything I saw was wonderful. For the bigger shows, come early to make sure you get in. I waited in a few hefty lines but managed to get into everything I wanted. Logistically, Bridgetown can be a tad on the disorganized side. My understanding is that the event is put together mostly by volunteers. Due to this things can get sticky in lines and with ticketing. For example, they posted on Facebook when wristbands would be available at a certain time/place..and they weren't. To that I have but one thing to say - no big deal. Relax. You're going to see a fun show, all the hic-ups I saw were resolved and went on to go smoothly. If Bridgetown were going on every single weekend I would go. I had an amazing time and they brought in some truly great talent. Can't wait till next year!

Portland Institute For Contemporary Art hosted an event called Cardiac Organ - A Gothic Cabaret…read morewhich was from start to finish a great time! It was sold out and packed but yet there was space - they did not cram everyone together and they reserved seats for me and my friend in ADA. We had a swank table in the perfect spot. We met some great people throughout the night and I discovered a drink that is apparently "a thing".... called Red Rabbit which is Cabernet Sauvignon with Coke and ice. I ordered it on accident because there is a great local wine (McMenamins) called Red Rabbit which is a fav of mine and delicious. This was actually wonderful though seriously and the only time I have enjoyed Cabernet Sauvignon. The performance was fun, funny and just a really great time with some great music. We were loving the real red roses at each of the tables and all the amazing decorations. Such a unique and lovely evening reminding me of past and also appreciating the present. I cannot imagine this event in a better space - such a great arrangement. This area is great also since there is plenty of parking nearby. If you are taking a rideshare it is perfect and straightforward for the drop off and even public transportation is an easy time.

We've just seen "Girl in the red corner," which was a great experience, I highly recommend to visit…read moreDefunkt Theatre! My husband found an ad in a newspaper, so we decided to give it a shot. We are very pleased with this show! The whole production was simply amazing. At the beginning, we were unsure what to expect. Once the show started though, it was great to see actors so invested in the play. Believable emotions, character transformation, an inspirational story that has many view points on the contemporary society and its problems made this play to stand out. Elizabeth Jackson, who plays the main character-Halo, a young woman who starts to learn professional fighting. However, she manages to find something bigger than her with Gina's, Mamie Colombero, help. Page Rogers, Diane Kondrat, Nathan Dunkin help to add depth to the play, showing the intertwined relationships in a messy life that we often fear of. Directed by Paul Angelo, who was honored with a PAMTA for special achievement in direction for his body of work, as a director, on Portland 05-17. Paul is a proud member of The Stage Director an Choreography Society (SDC). Defunkt Theatre has a "pay what you can" policy because they believe theater should be accessible to everyone at all times. With help of sponsors, donors, and volunteers this beautiful idea is possible. I highly recommend Defunkt Theatre for their tireless work at a simple drama that will make you laugh and cry. P.S. Special thanks for Light Design by Ian Anderson-Priddy and Sound Design by Gordon Romei.

A friend and I saw "Insignificance" at Defunkt last night and we loved it. If you like local…read moretheater come see a show! It's in the back of a coffee shop and the whole experience is fun and unique.

I have been to many of the performances presented by and performed by this group of musicians. Each…read moreexperience was such a treat from chamber performances bordering on traditional, to very new and unique flavors like a performance where the musicians played different pieces of actual 2 x 4s. The evening was, very appropriately called 'Timber'. I will leave their website write up, as it gives a far better description than I would: "We are a collective of musicians who come together to celebrate great chamber music with intimate artistic experiences. Passion for great music is what defines us and Portland is our stage. Since 2009, 45th Parallel has happily demolished distinctions between old and new chamber music, bluegrass and jazz, fiddle and folk. By bringing fragmented audiences together, 45th Parallel reflects Portland's surging creative communities in fresh and imaginative ways. Founded by Greg Ewer, a violinist of insatiable curiosity, 45th Parallel stands apart from the city's other chamber groups by its borderless and unbounded innovation. Call it 360-degree programming. The city's finest musicians weave Bach and Beethoven into adventurous programs of "forbidden" music, or violin wizardry by virtuosos such as Gilles Apap and Kevin Burke. Their far-reaching collaborations also include gospel singers and Persian musicians, embracing Portland's growing diversity. But, programming aside, the performers, themselves, bring the highest levels of skill and commitment to each performance. Teaching the next generation of musicians is also critical to the group's mission. An experiment to give music lessons to students who couldn't afford them has blossomed into an urban success story, fostering confidence, community and an appreciation of beauty from both teachers and students. In the end, it boils down to this: 45th Parallel offers something both simple and complex: Music is nothing less than a marvel of human expression."

It was magical what happened on stage at the Clinton Street Theater at…read more8:00PM on June 4. In the indispensable company of the French novelist-poet Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Maurice Ravel came to life. Jena Viemeister is the founder of --- and driving force behind --- the recently established Divergent Opera Theater, which was responsible for the magic. Collaborating with co-artistic director Kristin Heller and performing with a remarkable cast of exceptional performers assembled for the occasion --- with most of them singing more than one role --- Jena presented what amounted to a theatrically enhanced 'concert version' of Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. Typical Ravel, the work is every bit as challenging as it is ingenious. Divergent Opera shone brightly. An English-language narrative relating the action, scene, by scene, made the performance very agreeably accessible. L'Enfant et les Sortilèges ('The Child and the Magic Spells') is an hour-long one-act opera in French that is certainly a jewel of its kind and possibly a masterpiece of its genre --- presenting an intimate, thoughtfully comedic look into a day in the life of a privileged young lad who hates his schoolwork and impatiently awaits his opportunities to wreak havoc. Viewers look on with an unsettling brew-jumble of amusement and horror to observe the boy indulging mischievous impulses; playing pranks on the toys and his pets and the furniture --- even the wallpaper. They then witness his 'paying for his pleasures' after his mother has resigned herself to her son's defiance and left --- and all his surroundings awaken into a life of their own to torment him in return. Viemeister personally enacted the role of 'l'enfant' with real panache --- imparting the initial spark as the first character to sing and establishing an interpretive momentum that seemed to catch fire in earnest and to be assimilated by each subsequent performer. Notwithstanding the limitations of 'acting' understandably restricted to facial expressions (often extravagantly successful) and a very few props, all the singers seemed to 'reside' in their respective roles. The words and music lived and breathed. Countertenor Loren Masanque was an imposing presence in the dual roles of the child's mother and also of a local herdsman, ably scaling the not inconsiderable heights of the roles that he sang with impressive clarity. His performance was expressively matched by the one delivered by tenor Eric Asakwa in the triple roles of 'The Teapot,' 'Old Man,' and 'Frog.' In both cases the music was clearly so well in hand on the part of its respective performers as to allow the characters to emerge à pleine force. No less successful in her triple roles as 'The Cup,' 'Dragonfly,' and 'Squirrel' was mezzo-soprano Haley Maddox, whose arresting facial features provide her the unmistakable appearance of having been 'born for the stage.' Sopranos Erin Walker ('The Fire') and Lindsay Reed ('The Shepherdess' and 'The Bat') both turned in performances not short of stunning as each showed herself a wonder of agility and finesse in negotiating roles hovering high in the vocal ionosphere. Vakare Petroliunaite, as the last to make her appearance, was, as always, well worth waiting for. She performed the roles of 'The Princess' and 'Nightingale' --- and creamed them both. Chorus members for the production included Karsten Montgomery, Emily Skeen, Jared Young, and Nick Detorre. Of indispensable foundational significance to the excellent performance was outstanding piano accompaniment provided by Rebecca Stager. Conducting for the occasion was Lisa Lipton. Where the Clinton Street Theater itself is concerned, it is altogether tempting to conceptualize the historically invaluable 1925 venue --- with the ambience of the far-from-fully-realized reclamation it continues to need --- as a 'public gathering-space counterpart' of a nineteenth-century Parisian garret. In short, the venue provides an atmosphere very much in the casual tradition of 'come as you are' --- as one can imagine the friends of La Bohème's 'Rodolfo,' 'Colline,' and 'Schaunard' showing up at any hour of the night or day at the garret the trio shares --- flasks in hand, stories to tell; philosophies to discuss a few flights up off the sidewalks of Paris; 'Mimi's' to meet. And look what came out of the kind of garrets exactly like those immortalized in a great deal of nineteenth-century opera --- artists and poets and musicians aplenty. Who knows where 'Divergent Opera' will be showing up in the perhaps not-too-distant future. It says something that Colette and Ravel surely enough came to life on June fourth, and there has very possibly not manifested an apparition more gratifying to witness since Jesus woke Lazarus. Miracles are alive and well in Portland today. Applause, applause. --- RL Remmel

I adore PBO and go to their performances as often as I can. Most recently a friend and I had the…read morebest time at the Kaul Auditorium seeing Portland Baroque Orchestra performing the premiere of Dinner with Handel. What a truly unique experience. I'd never seen an opera pasticcio before. This is where a lyricist creates an opera pinning together pieces of music from various composers and writes a dialogue. These were performed in parlors for smaller audiences as a to do. How amazing this was to hear with a harpsichord and baroque instruments for the performance! It was like being in an 18th century drawing room the way these performances were done. From Librettist Stephen Pettit and my favorite piece of music was the kiss of Vivaldi. Reed College has such gorgeous grounds and thankfully they repaired some of the ADA parking so that we did not have to do the insane walks across campus I have had to do for several musical performances I have been to here previously.

I have had the privilege of enjoying several performances from the Portland Baroque Orchestra over…read morethe past several years. I have greatly enjoyed every single minute of them. They bring me to tears every time. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to them for their passion for preserving and celebrating this wonderful music and their dedication to excellence. I have attended year after year and year after year they continue to shine. And the First Baptist church is such a wonderful venue for these performances. It's intimate and cozy. Not a bad seat in the house! Perhaps what I appreciate most about PBO is how they continue to perform with excellence while remaining approachable and unpretentious. They perform so skillfully (I know there must be thousands of grueling hours of practice behind all this) and yet they also perform with smiles on their faces, add a bit of humor along the way, and are not afraid to admit to the audience that a violin string just broke but we got this, we'll recover (as happened tonight, twice!). And I love to see the smiles on their faces when they bring a movement to a resounding finish. Mozart knew how to rock! It's so cool to see them enjoy their performance as much as we did. So they perform with excellence and chill. They are so quintessentially Portland. :) PBO is a local treasure. A Treasure. I am so grateful that they are here and I get to enjoy their performances on a regular basis. They are the epitome of how Art is essential to life. Y'all bring joy to life. Please keep it coming! I'm thrilled that I was able to catch the last performance of the season tonight. I'm already planning my tickets for next season. Can't wait!