Things to Do: Musical theater in Portland and SoPo, Topsham Fair begins
Aug. 1—'Smoke on the Mountain'
7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Through Aug. 28. Portland Stage, 25A Forest Ave., Portland, $25 to $75. portlandstage.org
Portland Stage and Maine State Music Theatre are co-presenting a bluegrass-themed musical that tells the humorous and big-hearted story about a Saturday Night Gospel Sing that happens in a country church in North Carolina's Smoky Mountain in the late '30s. The cast includes musicians and actors who portray a traveling group called the Sanders Family. You'll also meet Pastor Oglethorpe of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church who is trying to keep his congregation current with the times. Two dozen songs will be performed as life event stories are shared and unexpected truths are revealed. Expect plenty of toe-tapping and knee-slapping during this feel-good show.
'Assembly' opening reception
5-8 p.m. Friday. Space Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland. space538.org
Space Gallery is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a nonprofit arts organization, and the festivities include a new exhibit called "Assembly," on view through Sept. 17, that emphasizes experimental artistry. Swing by the opening reception during Portland's First Friday Art Walk where you'll find artist Emily Cassis-Duncan spinning tunes with musician Corey Duncan. There will also be pop-up performances and a decade-old Godzilla Attacks sculpture front and center in the Space window. Satisfy your sweet tooth with birthday cakes from Victoria Nam-Sonenstein and Cake Elizabeth.
'We Will Rock You'
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Portland Players, 420 Cottage Road, South Portland, $20, $18 seniors, $15 students and kids. portlandplayers.org
Get the mud off your face and be a champion by grabbing tickets to "We Will Rock You." The show tells the tale of a future without musical instruments. Rock rebels the Bohemians rail against the evil company Globalsoft and its leader, the Killer Queen. There will be so many Queen songs, it'll send shivers down your spine. This is, however, the last weekend it runs, so you're under pressure to catch it before it bites the dust.
'Lyrical'
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St., Portland, $20, $10 for 12 and under. vividmotion.org
Vivid Motion Dance presents a weekend of performances with choreography based on the power of the written word. "Lyrical" draws inspiration from single words like metamorphosis and full pieces by writers Emily Dickinson, Rumi, Robert Louis Stevenson, A.A. Milne and T.S. Eliot. Choreography is also inspired by the music of The Rolling Stones and Daughter Darling. Additionally, "Lyrical" centers a piece around a quote from Rebecca Solnit and the ancient poem Epic of Gilgamesh.
Topsham Fair
Noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Aug. 9-12; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13 and 14. Topsham Fairgrounds, 54 Elm St., $15, $5 on Tuesday and Sunday for seniors. topshamfair.net
The Topsham Fair has been happening for 168 years, so you can count on it being a well-rounded, classic Maine fair that celebrates agriculture and is a whole lot of fun. Events and activities include harness racing, animal demos including ox pulling and goat milking, ATV mud runs, live music, a whoopie pie contest, entertainment including Steve the Juggler, pig scrambles, a whole lot of quintessential fair food and, of course, the ride-packed midway.
