STAGE

The Adventures of JoJopotamus and his Best Friend Ralphred

Two friends tasked with sitting around all day decide to break the rules and have an adventure, meeting interesting new people and flying airplanes along the way. Sort of like Waiting for Godot meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but for kids. The first show from Ohana SE PDX Children's Theater. The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 205-0715. 8 pm Fridays, 2 and 6 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 14. $10-$15. Map

Alice in Wonderland

Northwest Children's Theatre premieres Sarah Jane Hardy and jazz composer Ezar Weiss' musical adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novel. Jazz singers Marilyn Keller and Shirley Nanette share the role of the Queen of Hearts. NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 222-4480. 7 pm Fridays, 2 and 7 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 15. $12-$20. Map

Apollo

Los Angeles-based playwright and director Nancy Keystone's three-part epic about Nazi scientists, NASA and the civil-rights movement is unapologetically innovative, blending historical documents with fantasy, video projection and dance. Parts one and two, which explore the sinister origins of the U.S. space program in Werner von Braun’s V-2 rocket research and Nazi-hunter Eli Rosenbaum’s investigation of von Braun’s partner in crime, Arthur Rudolph, are mesmerizing, affecting works, with excellent writing and some of the finest moments of stagecraft I’ve ever witnessed. They are essential viewing. In part three (“Liberation”) Keystone reaches too far, attempting to encompass the entire 150-year history of the civil-rights movement. Unlike the first two parts, “Liberation” lacks much in the way of strong characters or compelling stories, fails to cast much light in the murk of America’s shameful past of racial repression. BEN WATERHOUSE. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays, noon Thursdays. Closes Feb. 8. $30-$66.50. Map

Arms and the Man

Twilight Repertory Theatre, formerly the New Group Theatre Company, presents Shaw's wartime rom-com. Like Shaw's wit but hate the preaching? This is the show for you. BEN WATERHOUSE. Shoe Box Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., 312-6789. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes Jan. 24. $12-$15. Map

Bell, Book and Candle

Despite the geriatric audience, this love story contains humor that transcends generation gaps. The play is set in the 1950s, when everyone always needed a drink and New York socialites called each other “dahling” (or so we hear). Gillian Holroyd (played by Jami Chatalas) makes a convincing witch, summoning just the right amount of intrigue and sex appeal. When she casts a spell on her tenant, Shepherd Henderson (actor Spencer Conway), passionate embraces and affectionate repartee ensue. Mix in Gillian’s flamboyant brother and indiscreet aunt, plus an author on a mission to write an exposé on witchcraft, and the show never drags. SAM HERMAN. Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego., 635-3901. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 7 pm Sundays, 2 pm Feb. 22. Closes Feb. 22. $23-$25. Map

Biloxi Blues

Prostitution, racism, homosexuality, guns and fart jokes. There seems to be something for everybody in Profile Theatre’s presentation of Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues. Set in 1943, it’s the story of a young man’s entrance into the Army as World War II looms over him and five other fresh-faced GIs. With themes as prevalent in the ’40s as the oughts, Biloxi Blues is just as relevant today as it would’ve been 66 years ago. Great performances by the entire cast make this play incredibly enjoyable to watch. DANIEL GREEN. Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 242-0080. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 15. $12-$28. Map

Boxes

[FERTILE GROUND] PenPlay and Key Productions present a workshop production of a new play by Portland writer Jessamyn Rae about a queer woman making a last-ditch, Christmastime effort to make her family accept and understand her. Q Center, 4115 N Mississippi Ave., 222-3893. 8 pm Jan. 30. Call 222-3893 for tickets. $10. Map

Brody Theater Grand Opening

Two years after losing its Northwest Portland venue, the Brody gang once again has its own space. This time it's on the edge of Chinatown, in a "cabaret-style" venue offering food and drinks. The Brodys open the new theater with Theatresports on Friday and the Antiques Improv Show on Saturday. The Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway., 224-2227. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Jan. 23-24. $7-$10. Map

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type

(Delivered in the voice of Lars Larson): So today we learn that Oregon Children's Theatre is doing a show about a bunch of cows who don't like the way Farmer Brown is treating them. But do they just kowtow the way any self-respecting American laborer would? No, they write up a list of demands, and when the farmer ignores it, they go on strike. On strike! I know these theater types are all a bunch of pinko homos, but haven't they heard that labor unions are the source of all this country's problems? They're teaching our kids it's OK to fight back against those in power. It's unamerican! By God, we should run this whole bunch of dancing liberals in cow costumes out of town! Newmark Theatre, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, 1111 SW Broadway., 228-9571. 2 and 5 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 15. $13-$24. Map

The Comedy of Errors

[FERTILE GROUND] Bag&Baggage director Scott Palmer's new adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy is set "in an animated world of projected backdrops, painted costumes and physical comedy." The Venetian Theatre, 235 E Main St., Hillsboro., 693-3953. 7:30 Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 8. $18-$22. Map

ComedySportz

[IMPROV] Fast-paced, competitive, family-friendly improv. ComedySportz, 1963 NW Kearney St., 236-8888. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays. $12. Map

Copperheads and Common Women

[FERTILE GROUND] Portland writer Sandra deHelen reads her new one-woman play about growing up in rural Missouri. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., pdxtix.com. 12:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $5. Map

Down and Dirty at 12:30

[FERTILE GROUND] Daily lunchbox readings of short segments of plays in progress. Ellen Kesend's Going Grey, Jan. 28; shorts by Josephine Dix, Jan. 29; David Holloway's Welcome to Portland and Kacheena and the Electric Dwarf, Jan. 30; scenes from Marguerite Scott's Right of Way, Jan. 31; and Gary Rogowski's Pete & Petey and Cody Gunn's Doll Maker, Feb. 1. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., fertilegroundpdx.org. 12:30 pm daily, Jan. 23-Feb. 1. $5. Map

Fat Pig

An intermissionless comedy, of sorts, that begins by making lighthearted fun of a subject that, by the end, you’ll feel guilty laughing about: the tired cliché of American shallowness, with particular attention to what and whom we call beautiful. Tom hooks up with Ellen, a BBW if ever there was one, for which indiscretion he is cruelly picked on by his friends. You may end up questioning your values, what you find attractive, or simply how many minutes are left—Fat Pig tries too hard in some areas, it leaves you wanting in others. The two leads (Erin Shapleigh as Helen, Morgan Lee as Tom) carry an endearing message through Neil Labute’s awkward script, the messy staging and boring sets SARAH JENNINGS. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 205-0715. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Jan. 31. $10. Map

Fertile Ground Kickoff Party

[FERTILE GROUND] Party with the artists of the Fertile Ground festival. Music by Iretsu. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. 8:30 pm Friday, Jan. 23. $5. Map

Fit to Print

[IMPROV] Comedy based on the headlines of the day with John Breen, Stacey Hallal and others. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., curiouscomedy.org. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays. Closes Jan. 24. $10-$12. Map

Foreplay at the Someday

[FERTILE GROUND] An evening of short plays about sex by local playwrights: The Fortune Teller by Ellen West, Fourplay by Molly Best, I Have Herpes? by Will Lund, Kama Sutra Wednesdays by ShaSha Sassone and E.D., the Musical by Gretchen O'Halloran and Barry Glick. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. 4 pm Sunday and 8 pm Monday, Jan. 25-26. $10. Map

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

CoHo Productions and director Antonio Sonera venture into tricky territory with this 1987 romance by Terrence McNally: The actors spend much of the show in varying states of undress, and the emotional back-and-forth could be hopelessly sappy in the wrong hands. But thanks to deft direction and some superb acting, what could have been a train wreck is a sweetly moving evening. Valerie Stevens and Victor Mack play Frankie and Johnny, a pair of lonely, middle-aged restaurant workers who go on a date and end up having some amazing sex. After, Frankie tries to kick Johnny out the door, but he thinks she’s The One, and won’t go. The play is more fairy tale than realism, despite the nude bodies and working sink on stage, but it’s a pleasurable fantasy. Bring a date. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 21. $20-$25. Map

Gracie and the Atom

[FERTILE GROUND] The workshop of a new musical by Portland singer/songwriter/mechanical engineer McKinley, presented by Artists Rep. Gracie's father dies and she ends up in Catholic school, where she is equally fascinated by Christ and chemistry. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 2 pm Saturday, Jan. 31; 7:30 pm Monday, Feb 2. $12. Map

In Love with Mrs. R.

[FERTILE GROUND] A new play by Dorothy Anton about the loves and ambitions of Eleanor Roosevelt. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 205-0715. 6 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $8. Map

Inviting Desire

[FERTILE GROUND] Eleanor O'Brien and the Dance Naked Ensemble premiere a collaborative show about women's sexual fantasies. We're guessing it will be something like Sex and the City, only not written by gay men. The Church, 602 NE Prescott St., 205-0715. 8 pm Jan. 23-24 and 29-31, 7 pm Jan. 25 and Feb. 1. $20. Map

The Light-Fingered Five

[IMPROV] An "Inaugural Anti-Ball" from the local improv champs. Shoe Box Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave., lf5.org. 10 pm Friday, Jan. 23. $8. Map

Murder at the Four Deuces

[DINNER THEATER] An interactive murder mystery by Wild Bill's, set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The Kingstad Center, 15450 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton., 626-6338. 7:30 pm Fridays-Saturdays. Closes March 7. $64 (includes dinner). Map

The Next Smith

[FERTILE GROUND] Two interns engage in a brutal race to become the new Mr. Smith at Inkwell Incorporated when the old Mr. Smith dies. This reading of Andrew Wardenaar's play is presented by the Portland Gallery Playwrights Group. Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., 205-0715. 7:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $5 suggested donation. Map

The Orchard

[FERTILE GROUND] Portland Center Stage's Playgroup reads a Chekovian new play by Althea Hukari about a Finnish-American family in Hood River. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., fertilegroundpdx.org. 7:30 pm Monday, Jan. 26. Free. Map

Pg2 Gets Dysfunctional!

[FERTILE GROUND] A late night of comedic shorts by members of the Portland Gallery Playwrights Group. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 205-0715. 11 pm Friday, Jan. 23. $8. Map

Pg2 Goes Extreme!

[FERTILE GROUND] A late night of comedic shorts by members of the Portland Gallery Playwrights Group. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 205-0715. 11 pm Saturday, Jan. 24. $8. Map

Razzle Dazzle Die!

[DINNER THEATER] Interactive murder-mystery musical dinner theater. Food by Timothy Fuhrman, murder by Eddie May. Pine Street Bistro, 221 SW Pine St., 524-4366. 7:30-9:30 pm Fridays-Saturdays. $69 per person. Map

Romance

Theatre Vertigo goes to court in this David Mamet farce, a legal drama set against the backdrop of a round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in an unnamed American city. Garland Lyons  plays an unhappy, allergy-plagued, pill-popping judge, a textbook Ugly American whose incessant, naive interrogations of the other courtroom characters—the defendant (Tom Moorman), a Jewish chiropractor with violent tendencies; the prosecutor (Gary Norman), an insecure gay man;  and the defense attorney (Nathan Gale), a frustrated Episcopalian suburbanite—are delivered with overwrought pronunciation and much flailing of overmedicated limbs. Mamet, an equal opportunity profaner, has an insult for everyone, straight and queer, Christian and Jew. At a slower pace the litany of abuse might be intolerable, but in this case, under the honorable Lyons, you can’t help but guffaw. BEN WATERHOUSE. Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 306-0870. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes Feb. 21. $15. Map

The Seafarer

Please remember, as you take your seats for Artists Rep’s laudable production of Conor McPherson’s Christmas with the devil: For this playwright, ghosts and demons are no mere literary device. In McPherson’s plays, the paranormal exists not as a metaphor, but as concrete reality. Maybe it’s because he’s Catholic (the Church still affirms the existence of demonic possession, after all) or because he’s Irish (all that mist), but McPherson’s is a haunted world. Never before, though, has the haunting had such substantial presence as in this boozy 2006 play. It’s Christmas Eve, and Sharky (Bill Geisslinger) has returned from a short-lived chauffeuring gig to care for his ailing, blind older brother, Richard (Tobias Andersen). Their alcoholic friend Ivan (Todd Van Voris) is also about, having lost his glasses while drinking heavily the night before. Then Nicky (Leif Norby), a preening git and the new husband of Sharky’s ex, shows up for a few drinks and a game of cards, bringing with him the dapper and apparently good-humored Mr. Lockhart (Denis Arndt). Lockhart is far more devilish than he seems, however—and he’s playing for keeps. Van Voris and Norby are two of this town's finest actors, but here they are completely outgunned by their older colleagues. Andersen goes big, spitting, hacking and swearing away as the totalitarian and self-obsessed (but very funny) Richard, but it’s Geisslinger’s performance that really makes the show. Sharky at first seems all but dead inside, and Geisslinger, an 18-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, lets his tremendous internal torment show bit by terrible bit. For all that, and the cosmic stakes, The Seafarer is a heartwarming show. Richard sums it up: “We all know you’re an alcoholic and your life is in tatters and you’re an awful fucking gobshite. But you know what? You’re alive, aren’t you?” BEN WATERHOUSE. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Sundays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 15. $25-$47. Map

Shackleton's Antarctic Nightmare

Portland Story Theater revives Lawrence Howard's solo show about Ernest Shackleton's disastrous expedition to the South Pole. Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., 793-5484. 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, through Jan. 31. $12. Map

The Sketchbook of Tommy Twimble

[FERTILE GROUND] Thomas Schroyer's "new vaudeville" routine involves hat manipulation, mime, clowning, burlesque, music and lots of physical comedy. Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., pdxtix.net/tommytwimble. 2 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $10. Map

Stone Love

[FERTILE GROUND] A staged reading of William S. Gregory's play about Don Juan's dinner party with a statue. 'Cause all parties are better when the guests can't talk. Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., ptwks.org. 7 pm Monday, Jan. 26. Free. Map

String of Pearls

A single pearl necklace, presented to a New Jersey housewife by her husband as a thank-you after she allows him to ejaculate on her neck, goes on to touch the lives of 20-some women, all played by four actresses (Elizabeth Huffman, Sarah Lucht, Vana O’Brien and Amaya Villazan), in various touching and inspiring ways. This recent addition to the traveling-inanimate-object genre (see The Red Violin, The Red Shoes, etc.), though cheesy, isn’t nearly as repugnant as it sounds thanks to some over-the-top silliness (an obese lesbian gravedigger figures prominently) and a couple genuinely affecting episodes. As heartwarming plays about the interconnectedness of us all go, it could be a lot worse. The performances are competent but uninspired except for Lucht, who conveys some real emotional conflict as, in order, a divorced mother of two, a depressed mother missing her architecture career and a financier with a cruel mother. BEN WATERHOUSE. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays. Closes March 8. $25-$47. Map

Upon Waking

[FERTILE GROUND] A staged reading of Claire Willett's new play about a disturbed poet who goes missing and the reporter who sets out to find him, discovering a tale of death, secrets and mental illness. Vanport Square Studio, 5229 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Suite 102., 205-0715. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Jan. 23-24. $8. Map

Vitriol and Violets

[FERTILE GROUND] I didn’t see the original, nonmusical incarnation of this semi-documentary play by Shelly Lipkin, Louanne Moldvan and Sherry Lamoreaux about the writers and artists of the Algonquin Round Table, which ran with great success in 2003 and 2005. This version, with the addition of a number of admirably witty songs by Dave Frishberg, is something of a mixed bag: The recorded quips of this gang of literati, whose regular lunches at the Algonquin Hotel have become the stuff of legend, are entertaining, though the nonstop assault of cleverness grows oppressive by the second act; Adair Chappell (Dorothy Parker), Joe Thiessen (Alexander Woollcott) and Ted Rosium (Luigi, the waiter who serves the cackling bunch) deliver fine performances, musical and otherwise, but some others in the nine-member cast are occasionally off-key, off-beat or both. While there are plenty of laughs and a tear or two, very few moments of the show stick in the mind the morning after. Scottish Rite Center, 1512 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 8 pm Fridays, 2 and 8 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Feb. 1. $25-$40. Map

Wall

[FERTILE GROUND] A terrorist attack on a border checkpoint forces guards and commuters to make some tough decisions. This reading of Song Kim's play is presented by IFCC's New Faces Series. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 205-0715. 7 pm Monday, Jan. 26. $10. Map

When Justice Throws the Second Stone

[FERTILE GROUND] Eddie Crankshaw is the prime suspect in his wife's murder because of a past transgression—until the twist. This reading of Raymond Cornelius Alexander's drama is presented by IFCC's New Faces Series. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 205-0715. 7 pm Sunday Jan. 25. $10. Map

CLASSICAL

Bravo Concert Series

Chamber music by Mozart (the delectable quintet for piano and winds and clarinet trio), Prokofiev, Zemlinsky, Bloch and Morton Gould. BRETT CAMPBELL. St. Joseph Church, 400 S Andresen Road, Vancouver., 360-906-0441. 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $20. Map

Classical Revolution PDX/The Superman Orchestra

If you missed last fall’s live performance at the Hollywood Theatre, here’s another chance to hear live performances of new orchestral music by emerging composers from Oregon and elsewhere, accompanying classic 1940s Superman cartoons, with dialogue spiffily narrated by members of Faces for Radio Theatre. With the exception of Scott Ordway’s score, the music’s not especially distinctive, but it’s all good fun and delightfully matches the onscreen action. BRETT CAMPBELL. Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., nwfilm.org. 7 pm Friday, 2 pm Saturday, Jan. 23-24. $10-$14. Map

FourScore

The city’s inventive new classical manband (Brian Francis, Ben Kinkley, Ben Landsverk and Stephen Marc Beaudoin) plays two different Sunday shows, each spotlighting its very contemporary mashup of classical, postclassical, pop and more. The afternoon concert at First Pres features protest songs from various eras and styles, including field songs, hymns, spirituals and music by Kurt Weill, Franz Schubert, William Byrd, Meredith Monk and Henry Purcell on up to MIA, Holly Near and Courtney Love. For the evening show at Doug Fir, the quartet is joined by the Ahs, the distaff singers of Roxy Consort and members of the Portland Cello Project. BRETT CAMPBELL. First Presbyterian Church, 1200 SW Alder St., 228-7331. 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. 8 pm Sunday at Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., dougfirlounge.com. $10. Map

J.P. Jenkins, Drew Adams, Peter Karman

The Portland New Music Society’s first show at its new home features Jenkins’ guitar and electronics, Karman’s bubbly, beat-oriented computer music and Adams’s (of Santa Cruz, Calif.'s, Zdrastvootie) jazzy avant rock. BRETT CAMPBELL. Enterbeing, 1603 NE Alberta St., 808-0385. 8 pm Thursday, Jan. 22. Donation. Map

Oregon Sinfonietta

The chamber orchestra plays Haydn’s magnificent last symphony and rarely heard music by Gade, Appert and David, the last a trombone concertino featuring the winner of the Chamber Music Society of Oregon’s concerto competition. BRETT CAMPBELL. Sunnyside Adventist Church, 10501 SE Market St., 285-762. 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. Free. Map

Oregon Symphony

The pops concert features Broadway hits ranging from George M. Cohan, Jerome Kern and Victor Herbert to Sondheim, Bernstein and more. BRETT CAMPBELL. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway., 248-4335. 7:30 pm Saturday and 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 24-25. $15-$92. Map

Portland Symphonic Girlchoir

Composer and song leader Nick Page leads various combinations of school and church choirs and other singers. BRETT CAMPBELL. Zion Lutheran Church, 1015 SW 18th Ave., 320-2075. 6 pm Tuesday, Jan. 27. Free. Map

Third Angle

After three decades, Steve Reich’s 1976 epic Music for 18 Musicians has ascended to the status of one of the 20th century’s essential compositions, on that exalted level with The Rite of Spring, A Love Supreme, Pet Sounds, and not many others. Experiencing it live can be a transcendent experience; a San Francisco performance I saw by Reich’s band a decade ago remains at the top of my list of live shots. Most of the conservative academic classical music establishment loathed Reich’s tonal, pulsating sounds, but they attracted millions of music lovers from the jazz, rock and pop music worlds, set the stage for much electronic dance and ambient music, deeply influenced succeeding generations of composers and finally even won over some critics. Reich’s recent 70th birthday celebrations around the country and especially in his native New York City occasioned the kind of hosannas reserved for only the greatest living artists. And his mesmerizing music still has the power to touch the heart. At last summer’s legendary Ojai Festival of New Music, I joined hundreds of other ecstatic audience members in a 15-minute standing ovation after a spellbinding, hour-long performance of his other mega-minimalist masterwork, Drumming, featuring Reich, his longtime collaborators, Nexus, and the young So Percussion ensemble. This will be Third Angle’s second performance of 18; the composer coached and praised their previous take in 2000. This time, the vocal soloists come from Cappella Romana. The concert also includes a flute duet by Reich’s erstwhile partner and fellow minimalist pioneer, Philip Glass, and The New Math by the celebrated indie filmmaker Hal Hartley with Third Angle playing the original score by leading Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, whose minimalism is jazzier and more aggressive than Reich’s meditative style. BRETT CAMPBELL. Kaul Auditorium at Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 331-0301. 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 23. $25-$30. Map

ViVoce

The 13-member a cappella women’s ensemble, a mainstay of the Portland Revels, performs folk, contemporary and traditional music about animals at its winter concert. On Sunday, it’ll join other Portland Revelers at a pub sing of Scottish traditional music celebrating Robert Burns’ birthday and raising money for next year’s Revels. BRETT CAMPBELL. St. Michael and All Angels Church, 1704 NE 43rd Ave., 274-4654. 7:30 pm Saturday and Monday, Jan. 24 and 26. 6 pm Sunday, Jan. 25 at the Lucky Lab, 195 NW Quimby St. $10-$20. Map

DANCE

Kick/Ball/Change

[FERTILE GROUND] The most common phrase in jazz dance, after “A 5-6-7-8,” is “kick-ball-change.” So it’s fitting a Portland dance showcase featuring jazz and various other genres should call itself Kick/Ball/Change. Performances include bump ’n’ grind from Beefcake Burlesque, hip-hop from All of the Above, athletic improv from KO&Co. and what’s described as “campy hilarity” from Catittude Dance Ensemble. Who couldn’t use a little of that these days? Noah Mickens emcees. HEATHER WISNER. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 205-0715. 9 pm Sunday, Jan. 25. $10-$15. Map

Universe and Theory1:Peregrinate

Celebrate the aging of Aquarians at a birthday party and performance by Linda Austin Dance. On the occasion of her 55th, Austin is throwing a little shindig to raise funds for her February performance and residency at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center in New York. There are two pieces on tonight’s bill: One is a sneak preview of Universe, one part of an experimental, evening-length work in progress, performed by Austin, Kaj-Anne Pepper and Stephanie Lanckton. In the spirit of Deborah Hay’s task-based performance, Austin engages in a few tasks of her own, some of which may involve dental floss. The evening’s other selection is Theory1: Peregrinate, a cross-country collaboration among Tracy Broyles, Meshi Chavez and Lanckton, who thought about time, space, travel and distance while they took walks in different places at the same time; they’ll come together here to perform it. The evening ends with the post-show party. HEATHER WISNER. Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave., 777-1907. 7:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 24. $15-$50. Map