Two local theater productions wrap up their runs this weekend, and other Salem venues are hosting live music, comedy and roller derby.
Here’s your guide to events the weekend of Friday, Feb. 23, through Sunday, Feb. 25 – plus a peek at what’s coming up on Salem stages.
Note: At publication time, Willamette University’s website was having network issues, meaning several ticket and event pages on the university’s website are not functioning.
Live comedy and music
Hit Machine takes the stage Friday at Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre, 191 High St. N.E. The seven piece band covers hit music from AC/DC to Prince and Taio Cruz. Show at 8 p.m., doors at 7 p.m. Tickets $25 general admission.
Willamette University’s winter choral concert will be at 4 p.m. Sunday in Hudson Concert Hall at Rogers Music Center, 297 12th St. S.E. Free admission.
Infinity Room has two live music and comedy shows this weekend.
On Friday, Hutch Harris & Friends perform an evening of music and comedy starting at 8 p.m. Harris is lead singer of post-pop-punk band “The Thermals” and brings four friends onstage to perform with him.
On Saturday, catch a show from M69’s (a rock band from Salem), Dry County Crooks (northwest country from Portland) and Bazillionaire (punk band from Portland). The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets to shows range from $12-15 in advance, and $15-20 at the door. The venue is at 210 Liberty St. S.E. and has a kitchen and bar offering food and drinks during the show. Learn more or buy tickets here.
Roller derby
Cherry City Roller Derby takes on Coyote Country Roller Derby, visiting from Pullman, Washington. The triple-header event on Saturday features two adult bouts and the Cherry Blossoms juniors team. Games begin at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 presale or $15 at the door. The event will be at 1335 Madison St N.E. More information and tickets here.
See the stars
Chemeketa Community College’s planetarium continues its run of “Eclipse: The Sun Revealed” at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The event is timely, as a total solar eclipse will be visible in North America April 8. “Join us as we journey through the historical and cultural view of eclipses, the geometry that permits them to occur, and safety hints on how to see this rare event. All shows include a brief introduction that explores the night time sky over Salem during this season of the year,” an event listing said.
Subsequent shows are on March 1, 8 and 15 at the planetarium, Chemeketa’s Salem campus, 4000 Lancaster Dr. N.E., in Building 2, Room 171. Seating is first-come, first-served with a cap of 60 people. Tickets are $5, or $4 for children and Chemeketa students. Admission is cash only. Learn more about the shows on the planetarium website.
Theater
Willamette University’s production of “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” wraps up this weekend at the M. Lee Pelton theater on the Willamette campus, 900 State St.
“Each performance is different, an ever-changing menu of 30 short plays, all chosen at random by the audience,” a description says. The show “pits the artists against a 60-minute timer and the whims of the audience.” Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. General admission $15, with discounts for students, seniors and season ticket holders. Learn more or buy tickets here. The show runs through Sunday, Feb. 25.
Keizer Homegrown Theatre’s production of “Boeing, Boeing” tells “the farcical tale of Bernard, an American living in Paris who is engaged to 3 women, all flight attendants on different airlines. Bernard has their schedules set so only 1 is with him at a time, until it all goes wrong,” according to a description.
Shows are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Sunday, Feb. 25. General admission $15, or free for Oregon Trail cardholders and their dependents. The theater is at the Keizer Heritage Center, 980 Chemawa Rd N.E. Get tickets here.
Coming up
- Contemporary Christian artist Amy Grant performs at the Elsinore Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $62.
- South Salem High School’s production of “The Alibis” opens Thursday, Feb. 29, in the school’s black box theater. The show is a one-act crime comedy. Follow the Saxons Drama Facebook page for more information.
- Oregon pianist Jeffrey Kahane and his son Gabriel Kahane will perform their first joint recital in a decade as part of Willamette University’s Grace Goudy Distinguished Artists Series. Saturday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. in Willamette University’s Rogers Music Center. Tickets are $25 general, $5 for seniors, free for students.
- McKay High School’s orchestra is holding a fundraiser concert Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m. with Marilyn de Oliveira and Trevor Fitzpatrick of the Oregon Symphony. The performance features Vivaldi’s Double Cello Concerto and is in Willamette University’s Smith Auditorium. Tickets are $25 general admission, $5 for students.
- Chemeketa Community College presents Ukrainian world music quartet DakhaBrakha on Friday, March 22, at 7:30pm. Tickets are $15 for students, $20 for seniors and $30 or adults.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
