Portland Theater Reviews
 


BWW Review: Boost Your Broadway Street Cred with THE FANTASTICKS at Metropolitan Community Theatre Project BWW Review: Boost Your Broadway Street Cred with THE FANTASTICKS at Metropolitan Community Theatre Project
by Krista Garver - August 17, 2017

The Metropolitan Community Theatre Project's THE FANTASTICKS features a strong cast and a whole lotta love.... (more...)
BWW Review: GYPSY Will Entertain You and Make You Smile, at Broadway Rose BWW Review: GYPSY Will Entertain You and Make You Smile, at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - August 11, 2017

GYPSY is often referred to as the 'greatest American musical.' The current production at Broadway Rose has almost all of the right ingredients.... (more...)
BWW Review: Bag&Baggage's ROMEO & JULIET (LAYLA & MAJNUN) Puts a Classic in New Perspective BWW Review: Bag&Baggage's ROMEO & JULIET (LAYLA & MAJNUN) Puts a Classic in New Perspective
by Krista Garver - August 01, 2017

Bag&Baggage's world premiere production of ROMEO & JULIET (LAYLA & MAJNUN) is a mashup of Shakespeare's classic and a Persian tale of doomed young lovers, written centuries earlier by Nizami Ganjavi (and which may very well have served as Shakespeare's inspiration).... (more...)
BWW Review: RED BASTARD: LIE WITH ME Exposes the Lovers and Liars in Us All BWW Review: RED BASTARD: LIE WITH ME Exposes the Lovers and Liars in Us All
by Krista Garver - July 10, 2017

RED BASTARD: LIE WITH ME seeks to understand the complicated rules (and double standards) we have about love and fidelity.... (more...)
BWW Review: Creepy, Kooky, Spooky, Ooky, and So Much Fun! THE ADDAMS FAMILY at Broadway Rose BWW Review: Creepy, Kooky, Spooky, Ooky, and So Much Fun! THE ADDAMS FAMILY at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - July 04, 2017

THE ADDAMS FAMILY brings together all of your favorite kooky characters for a fun, heartfelt show with plenty of theatre magic.... (more...)
BWW Review: Three Influential Women Invite the VP to Dinner in COME TO THE TABLE, MIKE PENCE, at CoHo's Summerfest BWW Review: Three Influential Women Invite the VP to Dinner in COME TO THE TABLE, MIKE PENCE, at CoHo's Summerfest
by Krista Garver - July 01, 2017

In COME TO THE TABLE, MIKE PENCE, Eve, Salome, and Queen Elizabeth I try to convince our VP to sit down for a meal.... (more...)
BWW Review: Kelly Kinsella Serves Up Life Lessons (and Cake!) in HOW TO DO A ONE PERSON SHOW, at CoHo Summerfest BWW Review: Kelly Kinsella Serves Up Life Lessons (and Cake!) in HOW TO DO A ONE PERSON SHOW, at CoHo Summerfest
by Krista Garver - June 23, 2017

Kelly Kinsella's HOW TO DO A ONE PERSON SHOW is part lesson/part act of creation, where you learn the fundamentals of creating a one person show.... (more...)
BWW Review: Two Lonely People Briefly Find Connection in GOOD WITH PEOPLE, Presented by Our Shoes Are Red / The Performance Lab BWW Review: Two Lonely People Briefly Find Connection in GOOD WITH PEOPLE, Presented by Our Shoes Are Red / The Performance Lab
by Krista Garver - June 10, 2017

In David Harrower's two-person drama GOOD WITH PEOPLE, two lonely people, stuck for different reasons in an otherwise empty hotel, manage to bridge many divides and find comfort in one another, at least for a short while.... (more...)
BWW Review: SORDID LIVES Mixes Camp with a Good Dose of Heart, at the OUTwright Theatre Festival BWW Review: SORDID LIVES Mixes Camp with a Good Dose of Heart, at the OUTwright Theatre Festival
by Krista Garver - June 06, 2017

SORDID LIVES is a campy, over-the-top play about sex and acceptance in a Southern town. This production provides plenty of laughs and also highlights the very real struggle many people face just being themselves.... (more...)
BWW Review: In THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE, a Linguist Can't Find the Right Words for Love, at Portland Playhouse BWW Review: In THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE, a Linguist Can't Find the Right Words for Love, at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - May 26, 2017

THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE, the last show in Portland Playhouse's season, explores all of the ways language (spoken, written, nonverbal, even the language of food) both serves and fails us when it comes to human relationships.... (more...)
BWW Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Provides a Good Dose of Welcome Frivolity, at Artists Rep BWW Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Provides a Good Dose of Welcome Frivolity, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - May 24, 2017

With its all-female cast and spectacular hats, Artists Reps production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is just a heck of a lot of fun.... (more...)
BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS: Love in Every Universe, at Portland Center Stage BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS: Love in Every Universe, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - May 23, 2017

Nick Payne's CONSTELLATIONS is a smart, occasionally funny, and ultimately devastating play about love in the multiverse.... (more...)
BWW Review: Provocative and Polarized, MISS JULIE is Our Society in Microcosm, at Shaking the Tree BWW Review: Provocative and Polarized, MISS JULIE is Our Society in Microcosm, at Shaking the Tree
by Krista Garver - May 10, 2017

Shaking the Tree's production of MISS JULIE delves into the human psyche to explore why our society is so polarized right now.... (more...)
BWW Review: Disappointed Expectations Drive Marital Disaster in THE TALENTED ONES at Artists Rep BWW Review: Disappointed Expectations Drive Marital Disaster in THE TALENTED ONES at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - May 08, 2017

THE TALENTED ONES explores the struggles immigrants face in their quest for some version of the American Dream.... (more...)
BWW Review: MARY'S WEDDING Fails to Strike an Emotional Chord, at Portland Center Stage BWW Review: MARY'S WEDDING Fails to Strike an Emotional Chord, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - April 28, 2017

Stephen Massicotte's MARY'S WEDDING, now playing at Portland Center Stage, never quite becomes the engrossing tragic historical romance it aspires to.... (more...)
BWW Review: Artists Rep's Frontier Series Ends with Gripping Contemplation of RODNEY KING BWW Review: Artists Rep's Frontier Series Ends with Gripping Contemplation of RODNEY KING
by Krista Garver - April 25, 2017

RODNEY KING is a powerful, highly relevant, piece of theatre/poetry written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith.... (more...)
BWW Review: A Poignant Search for Family in Andrea Stolowitz's Uber-Meta BERLIN DIARY at Hand2Mouth BWW Review: A Poignant Search for Family in Andrea Stolowitz's Uber-Meta BERLIN DIARY at Hand2Mouth
by Krista Garver - April 19, 2017

BERLIN DIARY, currently being presented by Hand2Mouth in association with CoHo Productions, is a thoughtful and engrossing meditation on family.... (more...)
BWW Review: Great Music, Powerful Storytelling Fuel WILD AND RECKLESS at Portland Center Stage BWW Review: Great Music, Powerful Storytelling Fuel WILD AND RECKLESS at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 31, 2017

WILD AND RECKLESS is a futuristic original rock musical born from a collaboration between Portland Center Stage and local indie rock band Blitzen Trapper.... (more...)
BWW Review: LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Brings Laughter, Tears, and an Identity Crisis to Portland Center Stage BWW Review: LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Brings Laughter, Tears, and an Identity Crisis to Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 31, 2017

In her new one-woman show, LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, Lauren wrestles with her own demons of infidelity leading to divorce through the perspective of her alter ego Tami Lisa.... (more...)
BWW Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES Shows How Far We Haven't Come in 400 Years, at CoHo Productions BWW Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES Shows How Far We Haven't Come in 400 Years, at CoHo Productions
by Krista Garver - March 23, 2017

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES is a funny and heartbreaking look at what life was like for a woman in theatre during England's Restoration period. Sadly, it wasn't much different from today.... (more...)
BWW Review: GOLDA'S BALCONY at Triangle Productions: Read Your History Before You Go BWW Review: GOLDA'S BALCONY at Triangle Productions: Read Your History Before You Go
by Krista Garver - March 21, 2017

GOLDA'S BALCONY provides a fascinating look at a turbulent point in world history.... (more...)
BWW Review: Grief Gets Bloody in Horror Comedy FEATHERS AND TEETH, at Artists Rep BWW Review: Grief Gets Bloody in Horror Comedy FEATHERS AND TEETH, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - March 20, 2017

FEATHERS AND TEETH is a bloody, campy fun show that's completely different from anything else you'll see at Artists Rep.... (more...)
BWW Review: Race, Religion, Elitism - Just a Few Issues Portland Playhouse Takes on in PEN/MAN/SHIP BWW Review: Race, Religion, Elitism - Just a Few Issues Portland Playhouse Takes on in PEN/MAN/SHIP
by Krista Garver - February 28, 2017

PEN/MAN/SHIP at Portland Playhouse is a moving drama about robbing darkness of its power by bringing it into the light.... (more...)
BWW Review: Resonance Ensemble Shows Off the Art of Cabaret in Wildly Entertaining DIRTY, STUPID MUSIC BWW Review: Resonance Ensemble Shows Off the Art of Cabaret in Wildly Entertaining DIRTY, STUPID MUSIC
by Krista Garver - February 28, 2017

DIRTY, STUPID MUSIC, Resonance Ensemble's latest cabaret is a little dirty, a little stupid, and a lot of fun.... (more...)
BWW Review: Hand2Mouth Gives Us a PEP TALK We All Really Need, at CoHo Theatre BWW Review: Hand2Mouth Gives Us a PEP TALK We All Really Need, at CoHo Theatre
by Krista Garver - February 20, 2017

Remember pep talks? Those inspiring speeches your [insert sport here] coach gave to pump up your team before you hit the field. Remember how they made you feel like you could do anything? Could you use one of those right about now?... (more...)