Oregon Ballet Theatre presents the only West Coast performances of George Balanchine's quintessential
The Nutcracker Dec. 8-24.
the year. The 16-piece big band will have you
dancing to your favorite tunes of the swing era. j
Come early for lessons by Daniel Hutchison of
Out Dancing. (7 pm lessons, 8 pm dance.
300 NE Multnomah St $18 at the door, $15 in
advance from wwwrcgfb.org.)
Confluence: The Willamette Valley Mixed
GALA Chorus presents its holiday concert
through Dec. 9 at Salem's First Congregational
Church and Corvallis' Unitarian Fellowship Behold
the Star! will feature festive songs such as "Glona
Deo,” "Scarlet Ribbons" and "Calypso Noel" as
well as an audience sing-along of familiar
Christmas carols. (7:30pm Saturday, 700 Marion
St. NE 4 pm Sunday, 2940 NW Circle Blvd.
$12-$15 from www.confluencechorus.org.)
Mississippi Pizza Pub presents The Shondes,
Tara Jane O'Neil and SGs featuring Sarah
Gottesdiener and Sarah Dougher. (8 pm. 3552 N
Mississippi Ave $5.)
UnderUAMen presents a special holiday stocking-
stuffer extravaganza, Underwear Party 2007, at
C.C. Slaughters. Win a modeling contract or
underwear for a year! Proceeds benefit Basic
Rights Oregon. (9 pm. 219 NW Davis St $7 at
the door, $5 in advance from UnderU4Men.)
Girl4Girl Portland throws a Winter White
Holiday Bash - with DJ Shortee at Wonder
Ballroom. (9 pm-2 am. 128 NE Russell St. $10
from www.girl4girlportland.com.)
SUN • DEC. 9
The Imperial Sovereign Rose Court presents
a new twist on the Emperor's Tree Hunt, start
ing with breakfast and ornament making at
Joq's, followed by tree decorating at Q Center.
Donations benefit Our House of Portland.
(10 am 2512 NE Broadway.)
Q Center presents NoHo Trans/Genderqueer
Gay-owned Muse Art and Design exhibits Hickory Mertsching's intriguing representational---------- ------
still lifes through Jan. 5, 2008.
The HollyTo
Group, for folks who are not on hormones,
every second Sunday. (2-4 pm. 69 SE Taylor St.)
Keshet presents a potluck dinner and Hanukkah
party with a white elephant gift exchange,
latkes and applesauce! (5 pm. RSVP to
mike@seeingresults. com.)
Gay-owned Vino Paradiso presents a six-course
German wine dinner with pairings personally
selected by Ewald Moseler, a premier distribu
tor of German wines in the Northwest. (6 pm.
417 NW 10th Ave. $75 from 503-295-9536.)
i
Darcelle XV Showplace presents the sixth annu
al Community Holiday Show featuring cabaret
acts from the bear, leather and drag communi
ties; an auction hosted by Poison Waters; a raf
fle; and Polaroids with Santa Bear for $5.
Proceeds benefit Esther's Pantry and Central City
Concern. (6 pm 208 NW Third Ave. $5 or an
equivalent amount of nonperishable items.)
The Turn of the Scrooge
This holiday season the Portland theater company Public
Playhouse takes the dick out of Dickens hy rounding up an all
female cast for its production of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol.
In this revisionist version of the yuletide staple, actor and
playwright Tom Mula steals the spotlight from Ehenezer Scrooge
and shines it on the chained ghost of Jacob Marley. Mula per
formed the show solo when it premiered in Chicago in 1998, and
later he rewrote it as an ensemble piece for four actors.
In Public Playhouse's girl power rendition, the company’s
executive director, Jolin Milberg, stars as Jacob Marley, and
pansexual actress Kate Mura plays the role of Scrooge.
In Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Mura says: “The focus
turns to how Marley has to bring about Scrooge’s redemption.
Now we know his backstory and why he needs Scrooge to be
redeemed."
Mura, 28, grew up in New Jersey and studied acting at DePaul
University in Chicago. Rather than unleash yet another portray
al of Scrooge as a one-dimensional crotchety old man, she’s
employing an acting technique called RasaBoxes. The tech
nique—which is inspired by Hindu philosophy—allows actors to
explore a wide range of emotional states when preparing for
a role. “It gives me a broader palette to work with,” says Mura.
Mura is energetic and articulate, and she offered some engag
ing tales about her childhixxl and her sexuality. According to her
mother, she had her heart set on show business before she was
even bom. “When my mother was nine months pregnant,” she
says, “my parents went to an opera. 1 kicked on different sides of
the womb depending on whether the altos or sopranos were
singing. My mom knew I’d be a performer."
Growing up near Manhattan gave Mura an opportunity to see
queer-themed plays like Falsettos and Angels in America at an ear
ly age. But of all things it was the animated film The Last Unicom
that inspired her to explore her sexuality to its fullest. “The
prince says, ‘I love whom I love,’ ’’ Mura recalls, “and it helped
me realize I could love people regardless of their sex or gender.”
Holocene presents Pop Tart for bois, dykes,
ladies and the like every second Sunday. (7pm-
1 am. 1001 SE Morrison St. $5.)
MON • DEC. 10
The Human Rights Campaign, which advo
cates for queer issues, holds a volunteer meet- ;
ing every second Monday at Q Center. Get
involved! (7-9 pm. 69 SE Taylor St.)
TUE • DEC. 11
*
Old Wives' Tales hosts the Bisexual Women's
Discussion Group. (6:30 pm. 1300 E Bumside St.
RSVP by Dec. 10 to pdxbiwomen@gmail.com.)
^Go\ In Other Words presents a night of
collaborative storytelling, performance
and readings by the Brontosaurus
Word Processing Exchange Rendezvous with
this queer writing collective's special combina
tion of exposed, hilarious and courageous
words. (6:30pm. 8 NE Killings worth St. $3-$10
donation.)
Kregg Arntson. Shake up the holidays with
a cabaret full of frosty, frothy tunes that capture
the spirit of the season. Repeats Dec. 18
and 19. (7:30 pm. 800 NW Sixth Ave. $ 15 from
503-223-0070.)
PBS' Independent Leps series presents The
Paper, which goes behind the scenes of Penn
State's The Daily Collegian as it faces a major cri
sis after deciding to cover a gay rights kiss-in and
publish a homophobic response letter. The contro
versy that erupts both inside and outside the
newsroom has far-reaching social consequences,
and the event forces the young editors to reflect
on news choices they've made. (10pm.)
WED • DEC. 12
The Adventure Group takes a moderate snow
shoe hike above Government Camp. Meet out
side Starbucks at Hollywood Fred Meyer. (9 am.
3030 NE Weidler St. Ron 503-284-3345.)
THU • DEC. 13
Aura Restaurant 8 Lounge hosts Salon Q,
a monthly mixer for men and women to social
ize in a smoke-free environment. (7 pm.
1035 SW Stark St )
Elder Resource Alliance invites older members
of the sexual minorities community to meet each
other, share common interests and enjoy fun
conversation every second Thursday at Niki's
Restaurant. (1-3 pm. 736 SE Grand Ave.)
Wilf's Restaurant and Bar presents The
HollyTones...on Ice! featuring gay performer
Have you gotten your flu shot? The Men's
Wellness Center presents Vaccination Night
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Kate Mura (right) faces off with Jolin Milberg in Jacob
Marley's Christmas Carol.
Apart from her Portland acting credits—which include
a recent role in 8 Views Toward Center by Integrity Productions—
Mura has worked on sets and costumes for Third Rail Repertory
and Northwest Children’s Theater. In addition, she recently
acted in the local film The Messiah Complex.
Public Playhouse presents Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol
through Dec. 22 at CoHo Theatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St.
Tickets are $14-$ 16 from 503-922-0532.
—Stephen Blair
Following on the heels of his critically lauded work-in-
progress performance of Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest
at September’s Time-Based Art Festival, queer neo-folkie musician
Holcombe Waller will celebrate the release of a limited, local-only
live DVD of that entire performance, as well as a compilation CD
of live recordings from that and other performances.
The gig is scheduled for 9 p.m. Dec. 18 at Doug Fir Lounge,
830 E. Burnside St. Brooklyn artist Chris Garneau opens. Tickets
are $10 from TicketsWest.
Waller will be joined by his backing ensemble, The Healers,
featuring Ben Landsverk, Kelly Meyer, Tim DuRoche, Galan
Cohen and Steve Kennon. Proceeds from merchandise sales will
finance a self-produced theatrical version of Into the Dark
Unknown to be presented next year in Portland and San Francisco.
The show has already been selected for presentation at the “On
the Boards” mainstage during Seattle’s New Works Northwest
Festival next May.
This represents a new foray into the performance art world for
Waller, who has been writing and recording music for about 15
years. In addition, he is preparing his next studio album, taking
modem dance classes and developing a sequel to his solo clown
performance piece, Mihael Sagalovesky and the Tragic Torments of
Patty Heart Townes, based on the songs of Buffie-Sainte Marie.
Holcombe and the Healers will also be featured at this month’s
taping of the OPB variety show Live Wire[8 p.m. Dec. 14 at
Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. Tickets are $15 at the
door or $ 12 in advance from the box office or Ticketmaster.
Holcombe Waller is releas
DVD of his acclaimed TBA
Unknown: The Hope Ches