STAGE

Blood Brothers

Willy Russell's tragic musical about fraternal twins, separated at birth, who grow up on opposite sides of the tracks. The London production is now in its 20th straight year. Arts Equity at the Main Street Theater, 606 Main St., 360-695-3770. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Dec. 16. Closes Dec. 16. $10-$24.

Collected Stories

Zowie! Vana and Eleanor O'Brien—Portland's prolific mother-daughter team, fresh off Artists Rep's run of House & Garden—pull out all the stops for Maureen Towey's production of Donald Margulies' tightly written exploration of the relationship between two writers. BEN WATERHOUSE. CoHo Productions at the CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Dec. 1. $20-$23.

The Dinner Party

A Neil Simon comedy about a mysterious soiree. Think Ten Little Indians with divorce instead of murder. Lakewood Theatre at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 635-3901. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 pm Sundays, 7 pm Dec. 9. Closes Dec. 9. $25, $23 students and seniors.

Godspell

If you don't care for Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak's musical passion play, this well-sung but otherwise unpleasantly raucous and frenetic production is unlikely to change your mind; if you are a fan, it might make you break down in tears. Although Ammon Morris makes a likable Jesus, he's mostly drowned out by two hours of childish horseplay, embarrassingly bad rapping and tasteless allusions to Arrested Development. BEN WATERHOUSE. Stumptown Stages at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., stumptownstages.com. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Dec. 1. $15-$27.

Mars on Life

Susanna Mars is one part old-school diva, one part Martha Stewart and one part indie comedian. It's a bizarre combination for a "holiday cabaret," but Mars' multiple personas bring something for everyone. Sometimes she's graceful and sublime, perfectly polished in four-inch heels and a well-lacquered hairdo; the next minute she's prancing around in a potato latke costume, or singing "for Betty Crocker I'd go gay." These unabashedly weird moments are the real treat of the show, but Mars brings a refreshing candidness to the more traditional songs as well. A guest artist accompanies Mars during each performance. STACY RIGER. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Dec. 23. $20-$47.

Pinocchio

[CLOSES SUNDAY] This disjointed and nonsensical but otherwise charming staging of the Italian folk tale is as much about the puppeteers (Dr. Fox and Professor Cat, natch) as the puppets. The 50-minute production skips over some important plot points, but leaves enough to keep the kids interested and makes up for its brevity in bells and whistles. BEN WATERHOUSE. Tears of Joy Theatre at the Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 248-0557. 7:30 pm Friday, 11 am Saturday, 2 and 4 pm Sunday. Closes Nov. 25. $16, $13 children.

Streamers

David Rabe's laid-back comedy about race and sexuality in the army at the beginning of the Vietnam war is—oh, Christ, what was that? Did he just.... Oh, so much blood! Why? Why? Yeah, this is one bizarre script, which starts with a slashed wrist and ends with a prolonged scream, but there's some great material in between. Sowelu's production makes excellent use of the Back Door Theatre's concrete confines, but the acting is frustratingly uneven, ranging from excellent to embarrassing. One of the is former Nasir Najieb (Roger), a truly excellent actor whose Portland performances are altogether too rare, and who almost carries the show on his own. BEN WATERHOUSE. Sowelu Theatre at the Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 730-9066. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 4 pm Sundays. Closes Dec. 15. $12-$15.

The Underpants

In his rewrite of a formulaic German sex farce, Steve Martin flies through philosophical and political questions as if he has a "serious topics" quota to fill. "Have I mentioned anti-Semitism? Adultery? OK! More dick jokes!" The resulting "comedy" is too ponderous to be funny and too rushed to be interesting. BEN WATERHOUSE. The Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturdays-Sundays, noon Thursdays. Closes Dec. 2. $16.50-$43.50.

COMEDY

The Liberators, improv

John Breen's improv comedy team shares the stage with singer-songwriter Ed Haynes. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 7:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 25. $7.

Puppetz vs. People, improv

Tears of Joy Theatre and Comedysportz go head to wooden head in a battle of improvised wits. The Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 248-0557. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-34. $13-$16.

CLASSICAL

Natalie Gunn & Janet Coleman in Recital

An intriguing-sounding new work forms the spine of this noonday recital by two stalwart Portland musicians. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 222-2031. Noon Wednesday, Nov. 21. Free.

Trio Mediaeval

This is one of the most electric ensembles performing anything anywhere today. Three short-cropped Nordic beauties make up this anything-goes vocal trio, known as much for their dazzling onstage couture as for their dizzying vocalism. Friends of Chamber Music presents them in a concert celebrating their latest release on ECM, Folk Songs, with coolly calibrated performances of traditional Norwegian folk tunes. Get tickets. Now. St. Philip Neri Church, 2408 SE 16th Ave., 725-3307. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 27. $14-$37.

DANCE

So You Think You Can Dance

For the past 15 years, Great Performances and MTV have been about the only two places to find dance on TV. So we ought to be grateful for So You Think You Can Dance (and for that matter, Dancing With the Stars). Big-name video choreographers like Shane Sparks and Wade Robson have signed on and most of the participants really can dance—in multiple styles, even. Unfortunately, the ugly realities of reality-show TV—vapid hosts, irritating judges, fabricated drama, inane patter, commercials—really detract from the viewing pleasure. Which makes the So You Think You Can Dance tour worth considering: Wouldn't it be nice to see top-10 finalists, including Sabra, Jaimie, Lauren and (cue high-pitched teen shrieking) Neil, strut their hip-hop/foxtrot/salsa stuff without all that other junk? Rose Garden, Rose Quarter, 1 Center Court, 877-789-7673. 8 pm Tuesday, Nov. 27. $35+.