21TEN THEATER

by Dawn Sellers - January 13, 2026

In times like these laughter is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. Peter Lundquist’s Nervous Laughter reminds you of that as an invitation to exhale and laugh even when life feels heavy. Come for the laughs, stay for the performance, and leave a little lighter. On stage through January 24th....

by Krista Garver - December 15, 2025

Portland Playhouse’s annual production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL continues to be essential holiday viewing. It’s a gorgeous piece of theatre that honors tradition while finding ways to surprise even its most devoted returnees. Consider me among them, already looking forward to next year....

by Krista Garver - December 05, 2025

Shakespeare's THE WINTER’S TALE is notoriously difficult to do well. One of the Bard's later 'problem plays,' it essentially presents two different theatrical worlds: the first half is a tragedy driven by King Leontes' sudden, irrational jealousy toward his pregnant wife Hermione and his best friend...

by Krista Garver - November 26, 2025

What did our critic think of LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE WOMEN at Portland Center Stage? I had forgotten that Little Women opens at Christmas until I started rereading the book in anticipation of Portland Center Stage's production of Lauren M. Gunderson's new adaptation: LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE WO...

by Krista Garver - November 21, 2025

Not knowing who you are can hollow you out, leaving a space that can too easily get filled with all sorts of dangerous things. Joy Nesbitt's STILT, now making its world premiere at Corrib Theatre under Holly Griffith's direction, takes that primal anxiety about identity and weaves it into something ...

by Krista Garver - November 12, 2025

What did our critic think of RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS at Third Rail Repertory Theatre?...

by Krista Garver - November 05, 2025

What did our critic think of MADONNA OF THE CAT at 21ten Theatre?...

by Krista Garver - October 29, 2025

In times like these, sometimes you just need to turn off your brain and laugh. That's exactly what the national tour of the musical comedy SHUCKED delivers – a few hours of unapologetically silly, pun-saturated fun....

by Krista Garver - October 21, 2025

Samantha Van Der Merwe once again demolishes any idea of conventional theatre with DANCING ON THE SABBATH, her adaptation of 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses,' now running at Shaking the Tree Theatre. It's a story told without audible dialogue, a movement piece without traditional dance, and an immers...

by Krista Garver - October 16, 2025

Dominique Morisseau's PARADISE BLUE, now running at Portland Playhouse, is an intense, beautifully acted noir drama about community, legacy, and the forces that tear both apart. Set at the Paradise Club in Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood in 1949, this jazz-infused play opens with a jolt — a trum...