March 22. 2006
Page B2
Focus
Bugsy M alone J r . - A young
mob o f prohibition-era gangsters
recreate the 1920 film classic at
the Northwest C h ild ren 's T he
ater. Perform ances are Saturday
and Sunday m atinees at 2 p.m.
through A pril 18 at the NW
N eighborhood Cultural Center,
1819 N.W. Everett St. Special
Spring Break matinees March 28-
31 at 2 p.m. For tickets call 503-
222-4480or visit w w w . n wcts.qrg.
Jackson Stays
Put in B ahrain
The entrance to
Michael
Jackson 's
sprawling
Neverland
Ranch estate.
(AP photo)
Michael Jackson
Closes ranch house
in California
(AP) - M ichael Jackson hasclosed the house
on his Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, Calif,
and laid off some o f the em ployees there but
has not com pletely shuttered the sprawling
estate, the pop star’s spokesm an said.
“ It is public know ledge that Mr. Jackson
currently resides in the M iddle Eastern coun
try o f B a h ra in ,” Ja ck so n sp o k esw o m an
Ray mone K. Bain said late Thursday in a state
ment. “He therefore decided to close his house
and reduce his w ork force.”
The action cam e a day after state labor
officials announced that Jackson had agreed
to pay his N everland Ranch em ployees hun
dreds o f thousands o f dollars in back wages,
avoiding a lawsuit by the C alifornia D epart
ment of Industrial Relations.
Em ployees who received their back pay
Thursday w ere told they were being laid off
because Jackson had shut dow n the ranch, the
syndicated television new s magazine “ Enter
tainm ent T onight” reported.
But Bain indicated the ranch was still oper
ating, at least on a lim ited basis.
California labor officials issued a stop-w ork
order for the ranch last w eek after learning that
w orkers com pensation insurance for the 2,600
acre estate’s em ployees had been allow ed to
lapse.
On a back pay issue, authorities told J ackson ’ s
representatives they had received complaints
from at least 30 workers who had not been paid
since Dec. 19 and were ow ed $306,000 in back
wages. Jackson also was told he would have to
pay about $ 100,000 in penalties.
su rg ic a lly p la n n e d sie g e , a n d th e 50 p a tro n s
an d s ta ff b e c o m e u n w ittin g p a w n s in an
a irtig h t h e ist.
A s th e d an g e ro u s c a t an d m o u se g am e
unfolds, a w ild card em erges: Jodie F oster
acts as so p h isticated p o w er b ro k er w ith a
hidden agenda, injecting ev en m ore instability
ton is a tough cop w ho m atches w its w ith a
clev er calculating b ank robber, C live O w en, in
G ew irtz and p roduced by A cadem y A w ard
w in n er Brian G razer, Inside M an m arks the
F riday at theaters nationw ide.
It all sta rts o u t sim p ly e n o u g h : fo u r p e o p le
fourth co llab o ratio n betw een W ash in g to n and
d re sse d in p a in te r s ’ o u tfits m a rc h in to the
b u sy lo b b y o f M a n h a tta n T ru s t, a c o r n e r
and follow ed by M alcolm X (1992) and He
sto n e W all S tre e t b ran c h o f a w o rld w id e
fin a n c ia l in stitu tio n . W ith in se c o n d s, the
.c o stu m e d ro b b e rs p la c e th e b an k u n d e r a
Lee, b eg in n in g w ith M o ’ B etter B lues (1990)
He G ot G am e (1998). A ccording to Lee,
Inside M an is the h ig h est budg eted film o f his
career. L ee is celeb ratin g 20 years as a film
m aker.
Faith and C om ing O ut - The Portland G ay M en’s Chorus presents
“M etam orphosis,” an expansive choral and orchestral song cycle, about
the com ing out process for those in com m unities o f faith. Perform ances
are Saturday, M arch 25 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, M arch 26 at 2 p.m., at Reed
C ollege’s Kaul A uditorium . Tickets are $ 15 to $25 at the box office. For
more information, call 503-226-2588.
Old Church Jazz Sundays - The Old The play ‘Crowns'
Church at Southw est 1 l ,h Ave and
Clay hosts a Sunday Jazz concert, M arch 2 6 at 4 p.m. featuring Bebop and
D estruction with Marc Fendel. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for
students, available at TicketsW est and the door. For more inform ation.
call 503-222-2031.
into an already volatile clim ate.
D irected by S pike L ee, w ritten by R ussell
the tense hostage d ram a “Inside M an” opening
H ip C h ick s Benefit - A benefit for In O ther
W ords and Rock Power for G irls features three
bands - Cocks in the H enhouse, Excuse M e Sir and Little Sue, plus fire
dancing and puppets at Hip Chicks, 4510 S.E. 23rd Ave. All ages w elcom e;
tickets are $5 to $50 on a sliding scale and available at 503-232-6003 or
teresa@ rockandread.org.
C ro w n s - A play exploring the rela
tionship between black w om en and
the hats they w ear continues through
April 9 at Portland C enter for the Per
form ing Arts N ew m ark Theatre, 1111
S. W . Broadway. Tickets are $ 15 to $56,
and can be purchased at the box office
or by calling 503-274-6588.
D enzeland Spike Join Forces Again
Suspense Thriller
‘Inside Man’
Opens Friday
A cadem y A w ard-w inner D enzel W ash in g
Ardiente Paciencia (Burning Patience) - The
all-Spanish language Bellas Artes Production
com es to the M ilagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark St.
O pening night is Friday, April 7, and continues
through April 29, on Fridays and Saturdays at
8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and T hursdaysat 7:30
p.m. English supertitles at Thursday and S un
day perform ances. Tickets are $ 13 to $ 18 and
can be purchased at the box office, 503-236-
7253orw w w .m ilagro.org.
Denzel Washington is a tough cop
in the suspense thriller ‘Inside Man '
opening Friday in area theaters.
Smooth Jazz Is Here!
Live music every night — Kick o ff your week with live jazz every Sunday
at 9 p.m. at The Blue Monk (3 3 4 1 SE Belmont). Participate in a mixed-media
open mic night each M onday at the Back to Back Café (614 East
Burnside). The Thorn City Im prov, featuring m em bers o f O ldom inion,
Qui vah, The Chosen and The Black Notes, perf orm at C onan’s (3862 S.E.
Haw thorne) every Tuesday at 10 p.m. C elebrate Hump Day at The Red
Sea (381 S.W . 3rd A ve) after work on W ednesdays, from 5 to 9 p.m. Inch
tow ard the w eekend at the Candlelight Room (2032 SW 5th Ave) with the
Black Notes, perform ing each T hursday. C elebrate Friday with Mel
Brown, who plays jazz at Salty’s on the Colum bia every Friday and
Saturday, and Jim m y M ak ’s on T uesdays and Thursdays. Round off
your week with live Reggae on Fridays and Saturdays at M ontego Bay,
(1239 S.W. Jefferson).
In n o v atio n S tatio n — Kids will have a ball at O M S I’s new Innovation
Station by exploring the human side o f technology. For more inform ation,
visitw w w .om si.edu.
On the R adio — G ro o v e to soul and hip -h o p w ith K evin B erry from
7 to 9 p.m . M ondays at 9 0.7 F M /K B O O . C heck out the C o m m u n ity
P otpourri talk show from 7 to 8 a.m . M ondays, W ednesday and
F rid ay s at 1480 A M /K B M S . C o u n t y o u r b lessin g s w ith M elo d ies
from H eaven from 6 to 10 p.m. M ondays through F ridays at 1290 A M /
KKSL. T une in to A frican A m erican H ealth R adio W ednesday nights
on 1290A M /K K SL .
M urder In S how biz—“Musical C om
edy M urders o f 1940" pokes fun at
Holly wrxxJ thri I lers during the genre's
heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. The
mix up o f m urder, m adness and m ay
hem is now playing through April 9,
on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8
p.m. and Sunday m atinees at 2 p.m. at
the Lake wood C enter for the Arts, 368
State St. in Lake O sw ego. Tickets are
$24 for adults and $22 for students and
seniors, available at the Lakew ood
Theatre box office at 503-635-3901 or
w w w . lakewood-center.org.
Call to Artists - Local artists are encouraged to show o ff their talent by
becom ing a Portland Open Studios Artist. Each year, 96 artists are chosen
from the m etro area to open their studios and become part o f an exciting
regional art event. Visit portlandopenstudios.com for more inform ation.
T rip pin ’ through Town — T ake a trip through tim e to find the hottest
poetry, hip-hop and soul influencing Portland on W ednesdays at the
Ohm. $7 cover. 31 N.W . First Ave.
Belly D ance C lasses - Caravan Studios offers classes in belly dance,
A frican dance and more. Visit w w w .gypsycaravan.us.
T im e to J a m — Jam Night, Portland’s ever-popular com edy and variety
show is at Christian Perform ing Arts Center, 8131 N. D enver Ave. Show s
continue every Friday night starting at 9 p.m. with dinner by M ondem aj
Catering next door to the show at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
M u ltic u ltu ra l Film F estival — Jefferson High School hosts a free
m ulticultural film festival each first M onday of the month through May
from 6 to 8:30 p.m. For more inform ation, call J. Doncan at 503-916-5180.
Portland's Only Smooth Jazz Station
k ijz.c o m
n
S esam e S tre e t In te ra c tio n —The Port land C hildren's M useum presents
“Can You Tell Me How to Ge, T o Sesam e Street,” using television's
chrom a-key technology so local kids can see them selves on TV along
side their favorite M uppet characters. For information, call 5O3-223-65(X)
or visit w w w .portlandchildrensm useum .org.
Hip-hop D ance C lasses — V ancouver-C lark Parks and Recreation is
hosting family friendly hip-hop dance classes for ages 5 to 18. Various
lessons teach rhythm , technique, coordination, agility, com binations
and team w ork through urban dance m oves. For more inform ation, call
360696-8236.