ARTS&rVrNTS

PORTLAND
CENTER
STAGE
BY ANDREW COLLINS

Where Gerding Theater at the

Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave, 503-4453700; pcs.org
What & When Twist Your Dickens,
Nov. 22-Dec. 24
The Santaland Diaries, Nov. 23-Dec. 28
. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,
Jan. 10-Feb. 8
Threesome, Jan. 24-March 8
Other Desert Cities, Feb. 21-March 22
Billie Buford's
Simple Endings
Series #1. 24" x 24"

What "Nostalgia: An Art Retrospective"

Where Pearl Gallery & Framing, 1017 NW

ON THE MAINSTAGE, in late November-returning after a hugely popular

run in 2013-the hilarious Second City
comedy troupe presents a witty and
side-splitting send-up of a holiday classic
with A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens. Then beginning in eady January,
catch the 2013 Tony-winning Vanya and
Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durang's wild ride, billed intriguingly by PCS as a "hysterical mash-up of
Chekhov's four major plays with Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, Ingmar
Bergman, The Beatles, The Oresteia, and
even a little Maggie Smith thrown in." In
late February, Jon Robin Baitz's muchheralded Other Desert Cities captures
the tension between a conservative, oldschool, Palm Springs retired couple and
their visiting ultraliberal grown children.
Baitz is the creator of TV's Brothers and
Sisters.

Davis St. 503-274-9878, pearlframing.com

When Dec. 4-Feb. 3, First Thursday opening
reception, Dec. 4, 6-9 pm

IN THE 190~SEAT ELLYN BYE

STUDIO THEATER, David Sedaris's

Tucked above a sea of both quirky and classic

picture frames, this quaint gallery is waving
goodbye to 2014 with a RETROSPECTIVE
show of past artists. The exhibit compiles pieces from each of the 13 artists who presented
here in 2014, from Andy Vic Lindblom's natural
photographs printed directly on aluminum to
bright. whimsical paintings by Alejandro Ceballos. Beyond these original works, the gallery
offers vintage maps as well as prints of birds,
botanicals, and local city landscapes-perfect
gift ideas for the holiday season.

sardonic memoir The Santa/and

Diaries runs until the end of December,
offering a very funny look back at the
author's thankless but amusing employment as an elf during the Macy's
holiday season. Then in late January,
PCS presents the world premiere
of Yussef EI Guindi's Threesome, an
amusing but tense recounting of a
couple's experience with what turns
out to be an awkward, but revealing,
menage atrois.

GALLERY SHOWS
& OPENINGS
BY CARl JOHNSON

What Billie Buford, "Simple Endings"

Where Caplan Art Designs, 1323 NW 16th Ave
(entrance is on Pettygrove),
caplanartdesigns.com
When Dec. 4-Jan. 17; First Thursday opening
reception, Dec. 4, 5-8 pm

ILLIE BUFORD'S LATEST COLLECTION,

"Simple Endings," combines elements and
principles of design into thought-provoking,
three-dimensional wood-panel collages that incorporate monotypes, paint. pencil, and thread.
By layering, adding, and subtracting with different textures, this unconventional mixed-media
printmaker ultimately organizes her collages
into a series of abstract pieces. Buford has been
exhibiting her work in Portland since 2002.

What "Plein Air Painting in France and

Europe: 20 Years"
Where Annie Meyer Artwork Gallery, 120 NW
9th Ave, 503-224-3150, anniemeyerartwork.com
When Dec. 4-Dec. 31; First Thursday opening
reception, Dec. 4, 6-9 pm
Each year throughout the month of September, gallery owner ANNIE MEYER sojourns
to France's Sancerre region, in the Loire Valley,
to paint en plein air landscapes. This year's an-

36

nual holiday exhibit celebrates 20 years of this

grand journey-the show also includes a body
of works she painted from Italy's stunning
Alghero beaches, on the northwestern tip
of Sardinia. Meyer's opaque gouache works
blend creamy hues with expansive scenery.
These minimal landscapes use few lines and
details, creating a striking juxtaposition of
open space with color.

WINTER ZOU Z015

explorethepearl.com