PORTLAND THEATER REVIEWS

THURGOOD is a riveting play about the life and career of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to sit on the US Supreme Court....

Wash your cares away! HONKY TONK LAUNDRY is a country music jukebox musical delivering 2 hours of pure delight....

GLORIA, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2015 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, speaks with eerie coincidence to two of the biggest national conversations taking place today....

THE BAND'S VISIT is a gorgeous musical about the transformative power of music....

Though THE CURIOUS INCIDENT… premiered in 2012 and is based on a book published in 2003, it’s difficult to imagine a play better suited to these weird times....

BARBECUE is laugh-out-loud funny while also shining a big bright spotlight on things we’d rather keep hidden. Highly recommended....

The story of Afong Moy, the central character in Lloyd Suh’s THE CHINESE LADY, now running at Artists Rep, so perfectly captures the American tendency to exotify, stereotype, and disparage other cultures that I should not have been surprised to learn that it’s true....

MARTHA BAKES gets to the real story behind the mythology that George Washington freed all his slaves upon his death....

FRIDA...A SELF PORTRAIT is not just a play, but a movement piece and a series of paintings brought vividly to life....

Celine Song's FAMILY is a surreal look at the messy self-perpetuating cycle of violence....

Set in during the Jacobite uprisings of 1745, LOCH LOMOND, which is currently having its world premiere at Broadway Rose, is at once a sweeping musical about desire (for independence, for glory, for love) and an intimate look at the many ties that bind people together....

CAMPFIRE STORES, a joint storytelling production from Back Fence PDX and Artists Rep, provided intimacy at a safe social distance....

Solid performances, sensitive direction, a fabulous new performing arts venue, and what turns out to be an eerily timely play (with music!) combine to make THE OLDEST PROFESSION the strongest show of Profile's season....

ANALOG AND VINYL is the lighthearted, uncomplicated musical we need right now....

Sitting at the intersection of musical and opera, Mark Neikrug's A SONG BY MAHLER combines theatre and music into a new form....

Bisi Adigun’s WHOSE CHILD AM I ANYWAY?, a new audio play now available from Corrib Theatre, is a short family drama that explores the many ways of othering....

If you are a teenage girl, have ever been a teenage girl, or even know a teenage girl, carve out an hour this weekend to watch this show....

Justice favors the rich and powerful, but, eventually, the truth will out. These two maxims are at the center of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s SNOW IN MIDSUMMER, which had its U.S. premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2018 and is now being offered as a streaming production through OSF’s digi...

Broadway Rose’s productions have consistently been among the best virtual theatre options available. THE LAST FIVE years is available for rent through May 16....

Mary Kathryn Nagle’s brilliant MANAHATTA superimposes the 17th century “purchase” of Manahatta (known today as Manhattan) by the Dutch East India Company from the Lenape people with the financial crisis of 2008, in which many people lost their homes as a result of predatory lending practices....

TRIGGERED LIFE: A REQUIEM OF HEALING is an emotional tour de force written by John Oluwole ADEkoje and starring Keith Mascoll now streaming at Portland Playhouse....

THE STORY OF MY LIFE is a sweet, uncomplicated musical about friendship. Available for streaming through Feb. 28....

You have just a few days left to catch the audio production of Lynn Nottage’s LAS MENINAS at Profile Theatre. Don't miss your chance -- it's excellent....

CHRISTMAS MY WAY a much-needed respite -- 90 minutes when to forget about everything else and just enjoy great music sung by talented performers....

PETE's interactive virtual experience WEATHER ROOM runs through this weekend at 7:30 each night....