Portland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 10

BWW Review: At Broadway Rose, It's A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING Indeed
by Krista Garver - April 02, 2019

A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is a musical review that weaves together songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein's most well-known shows (Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, etc.), as well as some you might be less familiar with (Allegro, Pipe Dream, Me and Juliet). If you like musicals, you'll love it....

BWW Review: ALADDIN Is a Big, Flashy Spectacle Full of Musical Magic, at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - March 30, 2019

The famous magic carpet has landed, or, rather, it has taken off, at Keller Auditorium with the arrival of Disney's ALADDIN. The carpet really does fly, and it really is magical, and it's just one of the stagecraft marvels of this show....

BWW Review: CROWNS Is a Rousing Gospel Musical Treat with Tons of Hattitude, at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - March 27, 2019

Regina Taylor's CROWNS, now playing at Portland Playhouse is a jubilant musical that mixes gospel, jazz, and a little bit of hip hop into a celebration of sisterhood, self-expression, and, most importantly, fabulous hats....

BWW Review: Artists Rep Scores a Knockout with World Premiere of Hansol Jung's WOLF PLAY
by Krista Garver - March 19, 2019

Great theatre takes you out of yourself. It gives you empathy for people who are different from you and helps you understand the world from a perspective that's not your own. That's exactly what WOLF PLAY does....

BWW Review: Torchsong's THE JOLLY RIOT is Both Jolly and Riotous
by Krista Garver - March 15, 2019

THE JOLLY RIOT, from Torchsong Entertainment, is a pirate metal musical featuring swashbuckling music, all your favorite pirate tropes, and plenty of camp....

BWW Review: In STRAIGHT, a New Generation Tackles Tough Questions About Sexuality and Identity, at triangle productions!
by Krista Garver - March 13, 2019

STRAIGHT focuses on Ben, a 26-year-old investment banker with a six-figure income, a devoted girlfriend, and a clandestine relationship with another man. As this relationship deepens, Ben wrestles with how he identifies and what he wants his life to look like....

BWW Review: Eleanor O'Brien Honors the Goddess in HOW TO REALLY...REALLY? REALLY! LOVE A WOMAN
by Krista Garver - March 11, 2019

In her new solo show, HOW TO REALLY...REALLY? REALLY! LOVE A WOMAN, Eleanor O'Brien, the pioneer of sex-positive theatre in Portland, looks at how we can all benefit from bringing back the ancient practice of honoring the Goddess....

BWW Review: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS Reminds Us of the Power of Empathy, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 05, 2019

Portland Center Stage's TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS asks us all to 'imagine what the world would be if we led with love and kindness," and shows us a path to get there....

BWW Review: COME FROM AWAY Celebrates Extraordinary Human Kindness
by Krista Garver - February 28, 2019

COME FROM AWAY is an inspirational, funny, and uplifting musical about a small community in Canada that opened their hearts and homes to 7,000 strangers on 9/11....

BWW Review: Milagro Theatre's LA SEGUA is a Rich and Complex Warning Against Our Obsession with Youth and Beauty
by Krista Garver - February 19, 2019

In LA SEGUA, Alberto Cañas Escalante adapts a Costa Rican legend to provide a sharp critique of our cultural obsession with beauty. This Spanish-language production of this play at Milagro Theatre (subtitled for those of us who don't speak Spanish) is not only a complex exploration of our culture of...

BWW Review: Gender Politics, Marriage, and Equality: A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - February 15, 2019

A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2, now playing at Artists Rep, is smart funny, and raises questions worth grappling with as we work toward gender equality in personal relationships, politics, and society in general....

BWW Review: Depression Haunts an Irish Farm in FOUR LAST THINGS, at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - February 08, 2019

Lisa Tierney-Keogh FOUR LAST THINGS demonstrates the devastating consequences of the isolation and desolation of life in the Irish countryside....

BWW Review: Life's Layovers Become Permanent in THE DELAYS, at Theatre Vertigo
by Krista Garver - February 07, 2019

Most of our cultural stories (plays, movies, news stories) are about the first group. In THE DELAYS, now in its world premiere at Theatre Vertigo, Sara Jean Accuardi gives us a look into the lives of some people in the second group. It's a moving, well-crafted play that shows how easy it is to get t...

BWW Review: BUYER & CELLAR Is a Fabulous Journey to Fantasyland, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - February 04, 2019

Nick Cearley stars in Jonathan Tolins' delightful one-person play BUYER & CELLAR, now playing at Portland Center Stage....

BWW Review: Fertile Ground Musicals: VORTEX 1, DISCONNECTED: A FRANKENSTEIN MUSICAL, SIRENS OF COOS BAY
by Krista Garver - February 02, 2019

The 10th Anniversary Fertile Ground Festival has reached its final weekend. This year, there was not only a smorgasbord of new works, but several of them were musicals! Last week, I saw three (watch for themes: local Oregon stories, revamps of classics, and 90s throwbacks)....

BWW Review: Great Cast Makes NUNSENSE Funsense, at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - February 01, 2019

NUNSENSE is a musical based on a cabaret show based on a greeting card line.The whole thing is pretty silly, so its success depends on an amazing cast, who can land the jokes and the songs. Fortunately, that's exactly what Broadway Rose has....

BWW Review: Fertile Ground: JUICEBOX
by Krista Garver - January 29, 2019

JUICEBOX is a painfully funny tribute to 90s teenagerdom....

BWW Review: Fertile Ground: THE UNDERTAKING and ART OF AGING PROJECT
by Krista Garver - January 29, 2019

THE UNDERTAKING and ART OF AGING PROJECT, two new pieces now in performance together as part of the 10th Anniversary Fertile Ground Festival, seek to spark a new conversation around aging and death, as well as provide space for seniors' voices....

BWW Review: Bedlam's SENSE & SENSIBILITY Flies onto Portland Center Stage (Warning: May Cause Dizziness)
by Krista Garver - January 24, 2019

Directed by Eric Tucker and with sets by John McDermott, Portland Center Stage's production of Kate Hamill's SENSE & SENSIBILITY is close to the Bedlam original....

BWW Review: A Community Copes with Trauma in World Premiere of NO CANDY, at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - January 24, 2019

Directed by Tea Alagic, Emma Stanton's NO CANDY reveals the power and fortitude of the human spirit. At times, it gave me chills. At times, it's also quite funny....

BWW Review: Fertile Ground: WITCH HUNT
by Krista Garver - January 23, 2019

WITCH HUNT (featuring Sascha Blocker, Jeff Desautels, Amica Hunter, Emily Newton, and Maureen Porter), draws on Arthur Miller's The Crucible, along with the McCarthy hearings, the Federalist papers, the Puritan work ethic, and current events, to explore our cultural obsession with finger-pointing vi...

BWW Review: Fertile Ground: TETHER, I AM AN ACTRESS, UNDE+EC+ABLE
by Krista Garver - January 23, 2019

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BWW Review: TEENAGE DICK, at Artists Rep, Explores Social Dynamics in One of World's Harshest Environments: High School
by Krista Garver - January 18, 2019

TEENAGE DICK is a high school adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, a play about lust for power and revenge written during a time when a physical disability was thought to indicate a moral failing. There's a lot to unpack here, so to get straight to the point: Don't let the fact that it's set in ...

BWW Review: THE KING AND I Is Gorgeous, But Falls a Little Flat, at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - January 10, 2019

The national tour of THE KING AND I has all of the makings of a perfect classic musical production -- lavish sets, gorgeous costumes, excellent performances, and, of course, great music. But despite having the right ingredients, it doesn't quite rise to its full emotional potential....

BWW Review: Experience a Christmas Classic in a Whole New Way with Artists Rep's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
by Krista Garver - December 15, 2018

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY is a wonderful way to experience this time-honored classic -- great holiday fun for the whole family!...