"The People's Republic of Portland" is a one-woman show by "The Daily Show" alum Lauren Weedman. It has the feel of a stand-up routine, or a small-group conversation with a knowing audience. The intimate Ellyn Bye Studio is a perfect fit. One of funniest bits comes at the beginning of the show when Weedman recalls overhearing a conversation where the group was complaining about our city's portrayal on the similar "Portlandia" television show. She then notes that-as if on cue- a cavalcade of the residents who "Keep Portland Weird" show up outside the coffee shop window, including a machete-wielding uni-cyclist..
Other choice moments include: Weeman's observation that residents of The Pearl are far more tolerant of dogs than children, a joke which is both probably true, as well as a gutsy one to make at a theatre situated in the heart of The Pearl District.
Taking a class with a name so New-Age I can't even recall it, hosted by none other than our homegrown streaker who dared to strip naked in protest of the TSA.
And Weedman's likely warranted self-consciousness about letting her 3 year-old watch a movie on a portable device while several other children were engaged in more interactive pastimes. She tells of draping the poor kid with her coat, to avoid the judgmental gaze of Portland Parents.
If you can appreciate our city's eccentricities, and unlike the ladies at the coffee shop, can tolerate an outsider pointing them out, you will enjoy "The People's Republic of Portland."
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