on stage
Agnieszka Laska Dancers presents The
Terror That Is Named the Flight of Time
June 19-21 at Imago Theatre. 17:30 pm. 17 SE
Eighth Ave. $15-$25 from 503-715-1866.)
Bouand DanceCompany presents the in
novative new works of three choreographers
June 27 and 28 at Portland State University's
Lincoln Hall. (7:30 pm Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm
Saturday. 1620 SW Park Ave. $16.50-$20
from 503-725-3307.)
theater types and music innovators (includ
ing queer musician Atole) to the stage—
June 27 and 28 at Someday Lounge. (7 pm-
midnight. 125 NW Fifth Ave. $11 at the door,
$9 in advance from 503-235-5284.)
Imago Theatre presents the premiere of The
Dinner, in which unexpected guests crash
a party for an unnamed "famous writer,'
through June 14. (8 pm. 17 SE Eighth Ave.
$18-$22 from TicketsWest.)
Broadway Rose Theatre Company presents
Les Misérables, in which relentless police
man Javert pursues escaped convict Jean
Valjean over decades through the turmoil
of revolutionary France, June 27-July 20 at
Deb Fennell Auditorium in Tigard. (Call for
times. 9000 SW Durham Road. $20-$30 from
503-620-5262.)
Integrity Productions presents Eloise 8 Ray,
a lyrical, bittersweet tale about a 16-year-old
girl who figures out who she is and where
she stands in the scheme of things, through
June 28 at Theater Theatre. (8 pm Thursday-
Saturday, 4 pm Sunday. 3430 SE Belmont St.
$15 from 503-286-3456; Thursdays are "pay
what you will.")
CoHo Productions and Cygnet Productions
present the one-woman show 9 Parts of De
sire, a conversation across time and space
among women of Iraqi heritage, through
June 14. (8 pm. 2257 NW Raleigh St. $20-
$23 from 503-220-2646.)
Jewish Theatre Collaborative premieres its
first season with a staged reading of Israel
@ 60 Onstage! —using humor and drama to
expose audiences to a complex tapestry of
modern Israeli experience—June 24-July 15
at Portland State University's Lincoln Hall.
(7 pm Tuesday. 1620 SW Park Ave. $8 do
nation from 503-810-5408.)
CoHo Productions presents 24 Hour
Plays —in which 30 actors and four writers
are locked in CoHo Theatre for 24 hours to
cast, direct and perform four original one-act
plays—June 29. (8 pm. 2257 NW Raleigh
St. $20 from 503-220-2646.)
Fever Theater presents New Believers,
a look at the philosophy of belief, the ethics
of belief and the different kinds of relation
ships that humans have with belief, through
July 5 at The Casket. (8 pm Thursday-Sat
urday. 403 NW Fifth Ave. $10-$ 15 sliding
scale from 503-381-6814; Thursdays are
"pay what you can. ”)
Hand2Mouth Theatre presents Risk/Re-
ward —a performance incubator that invites
several genre-bending performers, dancers,
Northwest Classical Theatre Company
presents Much Ado About Nothing, William
Shakespeare's comedic masterpiece on the
war between men and women, through
June 15 at Shoe Box Theater. (7 pm Friday
and Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. 2110 SE 10th
Ave. $12-$ 18 from 971-244-3740.)
Portland Actors Ensemble presents the first
of its two Shakespeare in the Park produc
tions, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, June 26-
July 19 in Washington Park. (For times and
directions visit www.portlandactors.org.)
Portland Center Stage presents gay play
wright Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog
Laughed, a social satire about a closeted
Les Mis Comes to Tigard
It is a chance some actors dream about: After ducking in and
out of Broadway and touring productions of Les Misérables for
the past 10 years, actor/director Rob Hunt now gets to direct his
very own production, his way.
And he’s doing it in Tigard, with Broadway Rose Theatre
Company.
“I would certainly hope they’re not intimidated by me,” Hunt
quips by phone from New York. Although he plays the leading
role of Javert on Broadway, the thought had never occurred to
him. His design team has already wowed him, and of the actors,
he was “amazed by the talent that showed up in Oregon.”
Despite New York auditions, Les Misérables is a mostly local
cast. Hunt’s Javert, Leif Norby, shared the stage with Hunt in
Broadway Rose’s 2004 production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
University of Oregon Opera Theater director Douglas Webster
will play the leading role of Valjean. Webster, like Hunt, has
appeared in Les Misérables both on Broadway and on tour.
If you’ve already seen either of those incarnations, expect the
Integrity Productions stages Eloise ft Ray through June 28.
young movie actor who wants to tell the
world about his affair with a rent boy, ex
tended through June 29 in Gerding Theater
at the Armory. (Call for times. 128 NW 11th
Ave. $16.50-$43.50 from 503-445-3700.)
Portland Center Stage presents Pulit
zer Prize and Tony Award winner Doubt,
a provocative play about a by-the-book nun
accusing a laid-back priest of inappropriate
behavior toward a student, through June 15
in Gerding Theater at the Armory. (Call for
times. 128 NW 11th Ave. $16.50-$43.50
from 503-445-3700.)
Portland
Opera's
Broadway
Across
America presents Avenue Q— a Tony-
winning musical about real life in New York
City, as told by a cast of people and pup
pets—June 24-29 at Keller Auditorium. (Call
for times. 222 SW Clay St. $23-$63 from box
office or Ticketmaster.)
Profile Theatre Project concludes its John
Guare season with The House of Blue Leaves,
an antic farce that posits that the family
home and the mental institution are more
alike than we might think, through June 15
at Theater Theatre. (Call for times. 3430 SE
Belmont St. $10-$28 from 503-242-0080.)
Stumptown Stages presents The Last Five
unexpected this time. Hunt is open to new ideas and hungry for
collaboration. After helping many directors highlight different
themes in the show, one thing he’s sure of—besides how to
execute three wig changes in three minutes, as the show calls
for—is that Les Misérables plays on a universal level. But beyond
the obvious musical theater appeal, does Les Mis offer anything to
homo audiences?
“We always love to hear the diva singers,” Hunt offers with
a laugh.
But he admits it goes deeper than that. Paraphrasing Les
Misérables novelist Victor Hugo, Hunt articulates the main
character’s struggle he believes queers may connect with: “In the
soul of Valjean there is a spark that is indestructible.”
He continues: “The hero has a different point of view of God
and the world than anyone else of that time. And he is oppressed
for something so minor, but he chooses to perceive God as
forgiving, instead of unyielding and punishing. It’s about how we
choose our own elemental truth.”
—Jessica Wallenfels
Years, a compelling musical about a nice
Jewish boy and a good Irish Catholic girl
who fall in love, get married and grow apart,
through June 28 at Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center. (8 pm Friday and Saturday,
2 pm Sunday. 5340 N Interstate Ave. $25-
$27 from 503-381-8686.)
Triangle Productions revives The J.A.P.
Show, in which two Jewish female comics
salute the trailblazing and treasured pioneers
of comedy with their own zany stories and
hilarious standup, June 19-July 19 at CoHo
Theatre. (Call for times. 2257 NW Raleigh St.
$18-$23 from 503-239-5919.)
Director Rob Hunt believes queers may connect with the main
character's struggle in Les Misérables.
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