Krista Garver

A jukebox musical based on the music of ABBA, MAMMA MIA! knows exactly what it is and makes absolutely no apologies for it. It’s fun!

What did our critic think of KRISTINA WONG, #FOODBANKINFLUENCER at Portland Center Stage?

With music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS is a comedic musical romp based on the fairy tale 'The Princess and the Pea.' The kingdom is in crisis: Queen Aggravain has decreed that no one may marry until her son, the sweet but hapless Prince Dauntless, weds first. And she has been sabotaging every princess who comes to court.

X is not the type of show you sit back and enjoy. It will put you on edge, drag you into dark places, and leave you thinking for days. If you're the kind of theatergoer who considers that a feature rather than a bug, this one's for you.

Now onstage at 100 Lives Repertory, THE PAVILION is a play about time – the Narrator will tell you so at the outset. It’s also a play about scope. Craig Wright's poetic script opens with the creation of the universe and narrows, with breathtaking precision, to the story of two people at their 20th high school reunion in Minnesota.

When I saw Portland Playhouse's 2025–2026 season announced, the show I was most irrationally excited about was THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL. I’m far from an expert on the SpongeBob SquarePants universe, but I've watched enough episodes to have completely fallen for the little yellow sponge in square pants and a tie whose greatest ambition in life is to be the best fry cook at the Krusty Krab.

You don't often get the chance to see DOCTOR FAUSTUS on stage. Christopher Marlowe's early 1600s masterwork is the ur-text of the Faustian bargain, the template for everything from the musical Damn Yankees to the Al Pacino-Keanu Reeves film The Devil's Advocate. And yet it rarely gets produced. Thankfully, Canon Shakespeare Company has brought this classic to stage in an evocative, well-acted production.

Nearly 40 years after its Broadway premiere, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues to cast its spell. I saw proof of that everywhere at the packed Keller Auditorium, including a young girl clutching a teddy bear wearing a tiny Phantom mask. The now and future PHANTOM fandom is in excellent hands.

Confession time: I saw the original production of FAT HAM on Broadway, and I thought “meh.” Clearly, I just didn’t get it. Now, after seeing this stunning co-production between Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse, directed by Charles Grant, I finally understand.

Fertile Ground 2026 wrapped up last weekend, and on the whole, it was fantastic. I saw 17 shows, which included readings of plays by well-known local playwrights, new works by rising stars, and some fun genre-bending original performances. Here are my notes about the final set. If you missed my first two review roundups, find them here and here.

On my way to Shaking the Tree Theatre to see Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE, I realized I had seen more comical adaptations of the play, ranging from gently ribbing to outright farcical, than actual productions of it.

What did our critic think of FERTILE GROUND 2026 - REVIEW ROUNDUP #2 at Various?

This year’s Fertile Ground Festival started last Friday. As in years past, I’ll be posting short reviews of everything I see. Here’s the first set.

What did our critic think of APPLE HUNTERS! at Artists Rep?

There's a particular kind of melancholy that settles over you like a damp wool coat: heavy, familiar, not entirely unpleasant, often surprisingly funny. John Patrick Shanley's Tony-nominated play OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, now running at Corrib Theatre under Holly Griffith's direction, is soaked in it.

The 2026 Fertile Ground Festival kicks off on April 10. This annual grab bag of new works is my favorite time in Portland’s theatre calendar because it gives us a chance to see works at various stages of development, from early readings to fully staged world premieres.

Boublil and Schönberg's LES MISÉRABLES stormed back to the Keller Auditorium last night. I went in wondering how a show about a failed anti-monarchist uprising in 1832 might land differently now, on the heels of the third national 'No Kings' protest, than it did when it was last here in 2018. 

DEAR EVAN HANSEN, now running at Broadway Rose, is a multiple Tony Award-winning musical about an anxious, depressed, and profoundly lonely high schooler who gets swept into an extraordinary situation when a classmate named Connor Murphy dies by suicide.

ATHENA, now running at the tiny but mighty 21ten Theatre, is a keenly observed comedy about two high schoolers training for the Junior Olympics. They are, by turns, practice partners, rivals, and almost-friends. Gracie Gardner's play understands that the last of those is by far the most difficult challenge.

When seeing a new-to-me play, I typically try to walk in knowing as little as possible. I love the joy of discovery. That approach has never served me better than it did for A MIRROR, Sam Holcroft's gripping play now running at Third Rail Repertory Theatre.