Phil Johnson News

George Bailey, Clarence, and the Bedford Falls community will come to life at Portland Center Stage this holiday season, in a fresh, inventive reimagining of the beloved holiday story. It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will begin preview performances on November 19, open on November 25, and run through December 24 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage. Tickets are on sale now.

THE REMARKABLE MISTER HOLMES isn’t meant for the purists. Nor is it remarkable. An audience has to slog through a tiring array of blowhards and buffoonery shot through with a tonal sensibility that treads a line between broad comedy and offensiveness.

THE REMARKABLE MISTER HOLMES previews begin Wednesday, July 20 at North Coast Rep. Opening Night on Saturday, July 23. Check out first look photos here!

THE REMARKABLE MISTER HOLMES previews begin Wednesday, July 20. Opening Night on Saturday, July 23. There will be a talkback with actors and director on July 29 after the performance. 

It’s London in the 1890s. The city is besieged with a series of baffling crimes that only the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes and his new assistant can solve. Not only do they sleuth and scrutinize – they also sing! 

Scripps Ranch Theatre continues Season 42 with the comedy I HATE HAMLET by Paul Rudnick, directed by Phil Johnson. The production runs May 27 - June 12 on the campus of Alliant International University. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. There will be a preview performance on May 27th. Patrons can purchase Tickets online at https://scrippsranchtheatre.org/tickets/ or contact SRT Patron Services Manager, Dani DeCarlo, at 858-395-0573.

Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning rock musical Rent takes over Portland Center Stage hot off its 25th anniversary. Rent will be directed by PCS's Associate Artistic Director Chip Miller. It begins previews on May 21, opens on May 27, and runs through July 10 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage. The production, originally slated to run through June 26, has already been extended due to strong ticket sales.

GEM OF THE OCEAN is one of the last plays August Wilson wrote, but it’s the first chronologically in his Century Cycle. Set in the 1900s, GEM OF THE OCEAN deals with questions of freedom and the balance between morality and law.

Second Stage Reading Series presents The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, written by Charles Busch, produced by Phil Johnson, directed by Kim Strassburger.

This is the last chance to vote for the 2021 BroadwayWorld San Diego Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld San Diego Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

If you’re looking for some comedy to cut through the holiday sweetness that takes over this season, then FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS with its talented cast presenting short comedic playlets are sure to entertain.  FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS by The Roustabouts Theatre Cois running through December 4th.

​​​​​​​Scripps Ranch Theatre, located on the campus of Alliant Int'l University in Scripps Ranch announced the reopening of their theatre. They will kick off with a Welcome Back Celebration! on December 4th at 7:30pm featuring musical and theatrical performances by some of their community's favorite performers - and have announced their 2022 Season which will start in January, 2022. 

The Tank announced today the return of their eco-forward festivals, TrashFest and DarkFest, from Friday July 30 – Monday August 9, 2021. For years, The Tank has hosted DarkFest - a week of shows that does not use conventional theatrical lighting in an effort to reexamine how we can make theater more sustainable.

The latest release from the PCS Remix: Original Works series is a venture into the world of audio, with the Afro-futurist, sci-fi thriller PROTOCOL: Episode 1. Conceived and created by Portland-based, multi-disciplinary artist Phil Johnson, the project is a pilot episode for a podcast series Johnson plans to release at a later date. 

The Roustabouts Theatre Co. is presenting the world premiere of Roosevelt: Charge the Bear by Marni Freedman and Phil Johnson, starring Mr. Johnson in a virtual filmed presentation as part of their fourth season.

The Roustabouts Theatre Co. continues its successful Main Stage streaming season with the world premiere of NO WAY BACK, winner of the company’s 2018 Solo Show Contest.

Review of ROOSEVELT: CHARGE THE BEAR at The Roustabouts Theatre Co streaming through November 2nd

Today (September 21) Latinx voices unite for the Broadway for Biden phone bank, Judy Kuhn sings with Seth Rudetsky, and so much more!

The San Diego Tribune has reported that a group of local theater leaders who had been meeting weekly on Zoom to share ideas about getting through the pandemic, has now been formally made into a permanent organization entitled The Theatre Alliance, under the umbrella of the San Diego Performing Arts League.