LA BELLE: LOST IN THE WORLD OF THE AUTOMATON can hardly be called a play. It is a play, but also so much more - it's also a musical, a puppet show, a clown act, a dance performance, a visual art installation, and an automated wonder.... (more...)
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, which is having its world premiere at Artists Rep, soundly skewers a group of white well-meaning liberals for being so focused on not giving offense that they can't do anything meaningful at all. It's funny, biting, and often much closer to the truth than it's comfortable to a... (more...)
THE MERMAID HOUR is part of a National New Play Network rolling world premiere. The first production opened a few weeks ago in Tucson, AZ, and Milagro's production will be followed by one in Charlotte, NC, and a musical version in Minneapolis, MN.... (more...)
Andrew Hinderaker's THE MAGIC PLAY, now running at Portland Center Stage, combines some truly impressive sleight of hand with achingly raw emotion into a show that is the antidote to cynicism and could touch even the most jaded of hearts.... (more...)
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY is a fascinating look at the complexity of being human and the even greater complexity of forming relationships with other complex humans.... (more...)
There were zero dry eyes and two standing ovations (one during the show) at opening night of SCARLET, Michelle Horgen's excellent new musical adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel The Scarlet Letter.... (more...)
Shaking the Tree's MACBETH is full of terrifying demons and shadows. Director Samantha Van Der Merwe uses cross-gender casting to explore the theme of what it means to be a man.... (more...)
ASTUCIAS POR HEREDAR UN SOBRINA A UN TIO was written in 1789 by Fermin de Reygadas, who was born in Spain and emigrated to Mexico. The play was banned in Mexico for its social commentary, namely it's satirization of the upper class. Milagro's production is the first in almost 230 years.... (more...)
What would you do if you discovered you were ninth in line to be the Earl of Highhurst? Do the other eight in as quickly as possible, of course! That's Monty Navarro's plan in Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak's A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, the madcap Tony Award-winning musical now runnin... (more...)
KODACHROME is a guided tour of Colchester through the eyes, or rather, the lens, of the Photographer, who uses her camera and her stories to capture moments in the lives of the town's denizens.... (more...)
ASTORIA, adapted from Peter Stark's book of the same name, is a broad, very dense history of the expeditions, funded by John Jacob Astor, that led to the founding of Astoria and the expansion of the United States to the west coast.... (more...)
E.M. Lewis's MAGELLANICA, a world premiere now playing at Artists Repertory Theatre, is the theatrical equivalent of a theory of everything. This epic play is about eight people wintering over at the South Pole Research Station in 1986.... (more...)
MURDER FOR TWO is a madcap murder mystery musical by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair. It's full of gags and relies on physical comedy as well as a few plot points that are clearly just for shock value.... (more...)
MATTER IS MOTHER wins my award for most creative show at the festival. SEX WE CAN! explores sex and sexuality in a way that's entertaining, empowering, and, in case you're wondering, very sexy.... (more...)
PARNASSUS ON WHEELS is a positively enchanting play about an almost-40-year-old woman who buys a mobile bookstore and sets off on a grand adventure.... (more...)
Fertile Ground 2018 is in full swing. And, based on what I've seen so far, this is the best year yet! Here are three of the shows I saw opening weekend.... (more...)
Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative's THREE SISTERS is a fascinating bummer, and definitely worth a watch for anyone who may feel like we as a country are stuck in some pretty deep muck, with no clear path out.... (more...)
Nicola McCartney's LIFEBOAT, brilliantly directed by Avital Shira, is an exhilarating and ultimately uplifting play about courage, resilience, and friendship.... (more...)
PETE's UNCLE VANYA is funny and gut-wrenching, and it perfectly captures the anxiety of boredom, the irresistible allure of shiny things, and the hopelessness of realizing that this is it. Plus, there's live music.... (more...)
Lawrence Howard's latest offering, POLAR OPPOSITES: AMUNDSEN, SCOTT, AND THE RACE FOR THE POLE, tells the story of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott's competing journeys to the South Pole.... (more...)
BWW Review: Personal, Political, Powerful: DeLanna Studi's AND SO WE WALKED, at Portland Center Stage
BWW Review: Imago Theatre's LA BELLE: LOST IN THE WORLD OF THE AUTOMATON Overflows with Creativity
BWW Review: Good Intentions Lead You Know Where in Scathing Comedy THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, at Artists Rep
BWW Review: Courtney Freed Channels Freddie Mercury in Dazzling DON'T STOP ME NOW
BWW Review: THE MERMAID HOUR Explores the Complexities of Parenting a Transgender Child, at Milagro Theatre
BWW Review: Give in to Wonder at THE MAGIC PLAY, at Portland Center Stage
BWW Review: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY Exposes the Complexities of Being Human, at Artists Rep
BWW Review: SCARLET Puts a Modern Bent on a Tragically Timeless Story, at Portland Playhouse
BWW Review: Shaking the Tree's MACBETH, Full of Sound and Fury, Signifies Plenty
BWW Review: Milagro Theatre Unearths a Piece of Theatrical History in ASTUCIAS POR HEREDAR UN SOBRINA A UN TIO
BWW Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER is Bloody Good Fun
BWW Review: KODACHROME: A Photographic Journey of Being Human, at Portland Center Stage
BWW Review: triangle productions! Delves into LGBTQ History in THE MADNESS OF LADY BRIGHT and TRANS-FORMATION
BWW Review: The Conclusion of Chris Coleman's Epic ASTORIA
BWW Review: Artists Rep's MAGELLANICA: A Journey to Antarctica in Search of Scientific and Existential Truths
BWW Review: David Saffert Kills It in MURDER FOR TWO at Broadway Rose
Fertile Ground Reviews: MATTER IS MOTHER, SEX WE CAN! AN EROTIC UPRISING
BWW Review: PARNASSUS ON WHEELS is a Delightful Love Letter to Books (and Love!), at Lakewood Theatre
BWW Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON is Back! And This Time, It's Even Better
Fertile Ground Reviews: THE CONTRACT, A WOMAN IN WASHINGTON'S ARMY, THE APE THEATRE COMEDY HOUSE PARTY
Fertile Ground Reviews: PHILIP'S GLASS MENAGERIE, ROSA RED, PERSEPHONE XOA IRIS
BWW Review: In THREE SISTERS, Life is a Long, Disappointing Slog, But You Should Still Totally See the Play, at Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative
BWW Review: A Harrowing True Story and Imaginative Direction a Winning Formula for LIFEBOAT, at Corrib Theatre
Feeling Dissatisfied with Life? Have Some Vodka! And Then Go See Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble's Brilliant UNCLE VANYA
BWW Review: Feel the Thrill of Antarctic Exploration in Portland Story Theater's POLAR OPPOSITES