{"id":14683,"date":"2018-03-15T18:46:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T22:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=14683"},"modified":"2018-03-15T18:46:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T22:46:42","slug":"the-lowhigh-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/the-lowhigh-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Low\/High Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 2018 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Like toasting with Champagne<\/strong> over greasy Chinese takeout, life is best enjoyed as a mix of the indulgent<\/strong> and the budget<\/strong>. A night out in Portland is no different.<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Madison Andrews<\/span><\/p>\n

\"APR18-After-Dark\"\u201cPeople do end up in their underwear,\u201d Brian Allen says. Allen is the artistic director for Good Theater<\/strong> on Munjoy Hill. The theater\u2019s upcoming play, A Comedy of Tenors<\/em>, runs through April 29. \u201cIt\u2019s a madcap comedy, with mistaken identity and door-slamming and lunacy. Written by Ken Ludwig, the story is set in Paris in the 1930s. Performed by a modest cast of seven, A Comedy of Tenor<\/em>s explores the explosive dynamic between \u201ca producer, an aging Italian superstar, and his hot-blooded wife.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I dress for the show with Paris in mind. A mid-length, deep blue number does the trick. April in Maine is fickle, so I throw on a dusty, cinched trench coat. This cosmopolitan occasion calls for heels, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now in its sixteenth year, Good Theater is a cozy playhouse in the St. Lawrence Arts Center at 76 Congress Street. \u201cIt\u2019s a terrific venue, very comfortable,\u201d says Allen. \u201cAnd our prices are moderate.\u201d A Saturday evening show of A Comedy of Tenors<\/em> runs $32.<\/span><\/p>\n

A friend and I meet up in front of the theater and decide to skip dinner in favor of a drink during the performance. \u201cPeople get to drink while they watch our shows,\u201d Allen says. \u201cWe have a really good time. We\u2019re really funny! And we all need to laugh these days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the stage empties and the lights flicker back on, the customary post-show nightcap is next on our agenda. No need to call a cab if Munjoy Hill Tavern<\/strong> is the destination. A six-minute walk southwest on Congress Street takes us straight to the watering hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Good Theater had us strolling through Paris, Munjoy Hill Tavern steers us back to American soil. A glance at the decor reveals a glowing Pabst Blue Ribbon clock and a large whiteboard advertising Jell-O shots. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a game on at the Cross Center,\u201d my companion says. He rolls up his sleeves as he orders us both a Miller Lite, discounted to $2 each on game days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re usually the last stop for people as they come back up the hill,\u201d Kate, the bartender, says. \u201cWe\u2019re open until 1 a.m., later than most places up here.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The real game-changer at this joint proves to be the myriad of late-night snacks. It\u2019s tough to settle for just one, so we order mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and onion rings, Paris now a fond but faint memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Opera and Darts in the Old Port<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

After another Saturday night spent drinking cheap beer at my regular dive, I\u2019m craving something more refined, Portland Symphony Orchestra<\/strong>. Imagining myself among the soft red seats and arching golden ceiling at Merrill Auditorium, I dress to the nines. Tonight, we travel to The Blue Danube.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A glass of champagne keeps us warm as we make the two-minute walk from Petite Jacqueline to the auditorium. With longtime music director Robert Moody stepping down at the end of the 2017-18 season, attending Portland Symphony Orchestra concerts is very much an interactive spectator sport, as audience members have the opportunity to help name his successor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of people asking who it\u2019s going to be,\u201d says Elle Sleeper of PSO. \u201cAs of now, there\u2019s no clear front runner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tonight\u2019s director, Eckard Preu, is a finalist. Another, Daniel Meyer, will direct the highly-anticipated \u201cRodgers & Hammerstein on Broadway\u201d on April 21, which features showstoppers from The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady,<\/em> and Oklahoma!<\/em> The demand for Broadway music in Portland is high. \u201cIt\u2019s so popular that we have another Broadway-themed concert scheduled\u201d for next season, Sleeper says. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the show, we buzz with energy. With my heels wedging between cobblestones, I\u2019m relieved when we stumble upon a familiar favorite. At Rosie\u2019s<\/strong>,<\/em> a tall Miller High Life is $1.50, popcorn is flowing and free, and\u2013at least tonight\u2013there\u2019s no wait to play darts. Music to my ears.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe should get tickets for the Broadway thing,\u201d I say, dart in hand, aiming for the bullseye. I throw and miss.<\/span><\/p>\n

From up in the stars to down-to-earth.\u00a0 <\/span>I won\u2019t soon forget the brilliance of what we\u2019ve witnessed at Merrill Auditorium, but this\u2013the sticky bar, sound of darts, popcorn-littered floor\u2013feels like coming home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cocktails and Cash Bars\u00a0 <\/span>on the West End<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re at Top of the East<\/strong>, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows and gazing over our glittering city. Someone at the table near to us receives an order of lobster sliders (with lemon herb aioli, $17), and we immediately follow suit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is amazing,\u201d my friend says of his Mexican Stand-Off, an expert mix of tequila, agave, lime, and pineapple juice ($14). He takes another sip and makes a pained expression\u2013it\u2019s so good it hurts. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I ignore him and concentrate on my drink, a Ye Olde Fashioned ($14). I knew I\u2019d made the right call when I watched our \u201cmixologist\u201d add a flamed orange peel to the glass.<\/span><\/p>\n

A hot-spot for celebrations of any kind, Top of the East offers us panoramas of the shimmering skyline from the apex of the Eastland Hotel, built in 1927. The legendary bar and lounge pairs showstopper views with Instagram-approved cocktails and small plates.<\/span><\/p>\n

The higher you are, the greater the fall. Slightly buzzed and tremendously broke, we saunter off the elevator and into the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t fathom swiping my credit card again for the foreseeable future, so a cash-only place hits the spot. Pizza Villa <\/strong>near the Greyhound bus station is designed to give you the bang for your buck. We elude the bar and slide into a booth by the windows underneath a rosy neon sign. Here, we don\u2019t need menus. Fifteen dollars has us eating (pizza) and drinking (a pitcher of frothy beer) like kings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seafood & Shipyard Drafts\u00a0 <\/span>on Forest Avenue <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Woodford Food & Beverage<\/strong> mixes trends with nostalgia. The airy, brightly lit space is grounded by moody green booths and glossy tabletops. I admire shiny glass wine carafes, black leather barstools, a golden deer\u2019s head atop a cocktail shaker, and each painstakingly plated dish.<\/span><\/p>\n

On our tabletop is a heaping pile of mussels, gleaming with butter and steam (the Casco Bay Mussels and Fries ($16) is listed as a \u201cHouse Favorite\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\n

Fortified, we drive five minutes further along Forest Avenue. In pursuit of one last drink before we call it a night, we spontaneously hit the brakes and enter Samuel\u2019s Bar and Grill.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Samuel\u2019s is unassuming from an outside glimpse. We\u2019re intrigued by its sign\u2013a dog snout-deep in a mug of beer\u2013so we venture inside. It\u2019s Tuesday, which means Shipyard drafts are half-price. Dimly lit, crowded, and full of beer-sponsored paraphernalia, Samuel\u2019s is a dive\u2019s dive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnother one?\u201d I ask, settling in for
\nthe night.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 2018
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