In the Wabe

Pro: In this “re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass,” local playwright Aaron Allshouse imitates some of the grandly ridiculous and what-was-he-high-on elements in Lewis Carroll’s classics—for instance, Alice is categorized as a “mouse-ist” for her uncouth behavior toward rodents, and a band of shambling pirates hunts down adders (people who can add). Con: Vaguely, Alice is trying to figure out where she is, but the entire production lacks a unifying mission or story, so it feels more like a bizarre series of sketches; it’s hard to root for Alice when you don’t know where she’s from or where she wants to go. Pro: Open Circle Theater is small, personal, and fun. From the skewed checkered background to the scary/funny Cheshire Cat, the acting and staging are clever and entertaining, and everyone involved obviously loves the work. Con: I wasn’t expecting the chandeliers of the Paramount, but the plastic casing around the bare bulb above me actually melted and oozed down spider-web-like onto my head mid-show. Open Circle Theater, 429 Boren Ave. N., 206-382-4250, www.octheater.com. $12. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. March 26 and Sun. April 9. Ends Sat. April 15. SARA NIEGOWSKI

We Are Here. . .

Based on field recordings of the “carnivalesque and liberating” art-protest band Infernal Noise Brigade, from their 1999 WTO-riot street theater to recent globetrotting appearances in Prague, Mexico, and Hong Kong, Robb Kunz’s new performance/installation will infiltrate Westlake Park this weekend. We Are Here To Disrupt, To Disrupt, To Disrupt, To Disrupt (a “Discordant Symphony of Civil Unrest”) requires 16 speakers, some mounted in a large circle, others on wheels; Kunz’s piece will also include human sound-sources, recordings of “strongarmed Seattle Police Department or other law enforcement from around the world over body-mounted loudspeaker units” ready to confront passersby. (It’s okay, folks, he has a grant: from City Artists and 4Culture.) The 40-minute piece will be heard five times daily, each hour on the hour from noon to 4 p.m., enhanced by a live appearance by the INB Saturday and Sunday at 4:30—police interference re the city noise ordinance permitting. Westlake Park, Fourth Avenue and Pine Street. Thurs. March 23-Sun. March 26. GAVIN BORCHERT

Next Stage Dance Theatre

Dancers are usually champions at remembering things, holding the choreography for hours of dancing in their brains and bones, but in their outreach work with older artists, the mature performers of NSDT have danced with people whose connections to the past have slipped away, leaving them in an eternal present. The company is dedicating this weekend’s program to people whose memories are waning; memory is itself a theme for several of the works, including a new solo by visiting artist Dale Merrill about a woman grieving for the loss of a friend. Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway Ave., 206-633-0812 x3, www.nextstagedance.org. $12-16. 8 p.m. Fri. March 24-Sat. March 25, 2 p.m. Sun. March 26. SANDRA KURTZ