Imago Theatre

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With its dilapidated warehouses and crisscrossing railroad tracks, this neighborhood can feel like a working-class ghost town. (read more) But that same undiscovered, after-hours vibe is spawning lots of trendy new growth. Like AudioCinema (226 SE Madison St., 467-4554), a schizophrenic converted warehouse huddled under the Hawthorne Bridge that rents studio and rehearsal space when it’s not hosting art and performance events (like intimate encounters with Ghostface Killah and Cat Power at last year’s Musicfest NW). If you’re saddled with kiddies, try the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (1945 SE Water Ave., 797-6674, omsi.edu), which boasts rotating exhibits, laser light shows, an IMAX theater and its own naval submarine. Afterward, recharge at the Bakery Bar (1028 SE Water Ave., 546-8110) with lattes and decadent chocolate coconut cream puffs. Kidless? Swill Cuba libres at Slow Bar (533 SE Grand Ave., 230-7767) over the molar-rattling, punk-heavy jukebox that belies the bar’s handle. If you’re broke, The Maiden (previously Maiden in the Mist) (639 SE Morrison St., 232-5553) offers inexpensive happy-hour eats. And what else do broke Portlanders love? Bikes, of course. Enter River City Bicycles (706 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 233-5973) and Next Adventure (426 SE Grand Ave., 233-0706), which can cover all your gear needs. Test your wheels out on the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, a 1.5-mile riverfront strip, with a bronze statue of the former mayor beatifically smiling down on the city. —Amanda Waldroupe.

• Biwa Food
• House Spirits Food
• Madison's East Wing Stage
• Shoe Box Theater Stage
• El Centro Milagro Stage
• Imago Theatre Stage
• 1120 SE Main St., Suite #102 Stage
• River City Bicycles Outdoors
• Back 2 Back Cafe CLOSED Live Music
• Bossanova Live Music
• Chelsea Ballroom Live Music
• CLOSED CO7 Gallery Live Music
• Duff's Garage Live Music
• Holocene Live Music
• Paul Green School of Rock Live Music

Events Today

Saturday November 7

STAGE

No Exit

Jerry Mouawad’s Tilt-A-Whirl production gives Sartre’s dreary drama of divine punishment a powerful visual metaphor—the room in which the sinners are imprisoned is suspended, balanced at the center point, and lurches up and down with their every movement—and equally powerful physicality, turning the turgid existential lecture into a gleefully strange black comedy. The current production, Imago’s fourth run in Portland, benefits from the talents of Tim True (Garcin), JoAnn Johnson (Inez), Maureen Porter (Estelle) and the delightfully weird Bryce Flint-Somerville as the Valet. True and Porter are as strong as they are uncomfortable, awkward and angry, but neither of them can match Johnson’s energy as she flings herself hither and yon, sending the stage yawing wildly, shrieking like a harpy, taking jumbo-sized bites out of the scenery. The three damned souls, all of them guilty of terrible cruelty toward those who loved them, run one another ragged. You might almost feel sorry for them, but not quite—they deserve to be confined together, in this lurching room, forever. No Exit is a dull play, but, between its ingenious concept and gale-force performances, this production is anything but. BEN WATERHOUSE. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., 231-3959. 7 pm Thursdays, 7:30 pm Fridays, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 15. $28-$39.

Upcoming Events

Sunday November 8

STAGE

No Exit

Jerry Mouawad’s Tilt-A-Whirl production gives Sartre’s dreary drama of divine punishment a powerful visual metaphor—the room in which the sinners are imprisoned is suspended, balanced at the center point, and lurches up and down with their every movement—and equally powerful physicality, turning the turgid existential lecture into a gleefully strange black comedy. The current production, Imago’s fourth run in Portland, benefits from the talents of Tim True (Garcin), JoAnn Johnson (Inez), Maureen Porter (Estelle) and the delightfully weird Bryce Flint-Somerville as the Valet. True and Porter are as strong as they are uncomfortable, awkward and angry, but neither of them can match Johnson’s energy as she flings herself hither and yon, sending the stage yawing wildly, shrieking like a harpy, taking jumbo-sized bites out of the scenery. The three damned souls, all of them guilty of terrible cruelty toward those who loved them, run one another ragged. You might almost feel sorry for them, but not quite—they deserve to be confined together, in this lurching room, forever. No Exit is a dull play, but, between its ingenious concept and gale-force performances, this production is anything but. BEN WATERHOUSE. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., 231-3959. 7 pm Thursdays, 7:30 pm Fridays, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 15. $28-$39.