Portland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 13

BWW Review: Artists Rep's MAGELLANICA: A Journey to Antarctica in Search of Scientific and Existential Truths
by Krista Garver - February 01, 2018

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....

BWW Review: David Saffert Kills It in MURDER FOR TWO at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - January 31, 2018

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....

Fertile Ground Reviews: MATTER IS MOTHER, SEX WE CAN! AN EROTIC UPRISING
by Krista Garver - January 29, 2018

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....

BWW Review: PARNASSUS ON WHEELS is a Delightful Love Letter to Books (and Love!), at Lakewood Theatre
by Krista Garver - January 29, 2018

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....

BWW Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON is Back! And This Time, It's Even Better
by Krista Garver - January 25, 2018

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Fertile Ground Reviews: THE CONTRACT, A WOMAN IN WASHINGTON'S ARMY, THE APE THEATRE COMEDY HOUSE PARTY
by Krista Garver - January 25, 2018

Fertile Ground 2018 continues to be amazing. Here's what I thought about two staged readings and a comedy show!...

Fertile Ground Reviews: PHILIP'S GLASS MENAGERIE, ROSA RED, PERSEPHONE XOA IRIS
by Krista Garver - January 23, 2018

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....

BWW Review: In THREE SISTERS, Life is a Long, Disappointing Slog, But You Should Still Totally See the Play, at Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative
by Krista Garver - January 18, 2018

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....

BWW Review: A Harrowing True Story and Imaginative Direction a Winning Formula for LIFEBOAT, at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - January 17, 2018

Nicola McCartney's LIFEBOAT, brilliantly directed by Avital Shira, is an exhilarating and ultimately uplifting play about courage, resilience, and friendship....

Feeling Dissatisfied with Life? Have Some Vodka! And Then Go See Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble's Brilliant UNCLE VANYA
by Krista Garver - January 10, 2018

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....

BWW Review: Feel the Thrill of Antarctic Exploration in Portland Story Theater's POLAR OPPOSITES
by Krista Garver - January 10, 2018

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....

BWW Review: TWIST YOUR DICKENS is Back! And That's a Very Good Thing
by Krista Garver - December 15, 2017

There are plenty of wholesome choices for holiday entertainment. And then there's TWIST YOUR DICKENS from Chicago-based comedy troupe The Second City. I am thrilled that this irreverent and hilarious adult version of this holiday favorite is back (and it's better than ever) at Portland Center Stage....

BWW Review: Portland Shakespeare Project's PERICLES WET Well-Timed for the National Conversation About Sexual Harassment and Assault
by Krista Garver - December 12, 2017

Ellen Margolis's excellent PERICLES WET is a story about men taking what they want. Even more than that, it's a story about the people who know horrific things are going on and what they choose to do with that knowledge....

BWW Review: Portland Playhouse's A CHRISTMAS CAROL is the Must-See of the Holiday Season
by Krista Garver - December 09, 2017

This production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL has everything you could want a great script, a superb cast with excellent direction, and plenty of theatre magic to make you feel like a kid at Christmas....

BWW Review: A CHRISTMAS MEMORY/WINTER SONG is a Warm, Wonderful Welcome to Winter
by Krista Garver - December 04, 2017

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY/WINTER SONG is like comfort food -- warm, nourishing, and just exactly what you want on a cold winter's night....

BWW Review: In THE HUMANS, a Holiday Dinner Becomes a Multigenerational Scrimmage at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - December 03, 2017

If you want to see what's new and exciting in American theatre, go see THE HUMANS. It will also give you some good ammunition for your upcoming holiday meals....

BWW Review: Broadway Rose's YOUR HOLIDAY HIT PARADE is the Pitch Perfect Way to Get into the Holiday Spirit
by Krista Garver - November 28, 2017

YOUR HOLIDAY HIT PARADE is two hours of all of your seasonal favorites sung exquisitely, with enough silliness to provide plenty of laughs and enough heart to make you feel all warm inside just like Christmas is supposed to....

BWW Review: Calling All Seekers: Find Your PSYCHIC UTOPIA at Hand2Mouth
by Krista Garver - November 21, 2017

PSYCHIC UTOPIA explores the stories of many people who traveled to Oregon in search of a utopian experience. This is the kind of immersive, visceral experience I go to the theatre for, and Hand2Mouth is uniquely talented at providing it....

BWW Review: Corrib Theatre's BELFAST GIRLS is Full of Fascinating History, Could Use More Emotion
by Krista Garver - November 21, 2017

BELFAST GIRLS, opening Corrib Theatre's 2017-2018 season, tells the story of five women who traveled from Belfast to Australia during the Irish Famine of the mid-1850s....

BWW Review: MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES Brings Greek Tragedy to the Modern Immigrant Experience, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - November 15, 2017

MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES is a painful, very timely play that provides a human context for a lot of things going on in the news right now. Also, Christopher Acebo's set is fabulous....

BWW Review: THE BODYGUARD is All About the Music, and That's Enough
by Krista Garver - November 08, 2017

This Whitney Houston tribute concert with a plot, part of the Broadway in Portland season, is packed with phenomenal performances of the late singer's greatest hits....

BWW Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is as Relevant as Ever, at Lakewood Theatre Company
by Krista Garver - November 07, 2017

Lakewood Theatre Company's production, directed by Brenda Hubbard, is very good and incredibly timely given that this story of racial injustice set in 1935 is disturbingly just as relevant today....

BWW Review: FARNDALE AVENUE...MURDER AT CHECKMATE MANOR is Delightfully Terrible and Hilariously Funny, at Bag&Baggage
by Krista Garver - October 24, 2017

Bag&Baggage's THE FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY'S PRODUCTION OF MURDER AT CHECKMATE MANOR is comedy done right....

BWW Review: Danna Schaeffer's YOU IN MIDAIR Explores Grief and Recovery Following the Loss of a Child
by Krista Garver - October 19, 2017

In YOU IN MIDAIR, Rebecca Schaeffer's mother, Danna Schaeffer, explores her own grief and long path to recovery and also seeks to make sure her daughter's life isn't defined by her death....

BWW Review: Artist Rep's CAUGHT is a Perplexing Puzzle for a Post-Fact World
by Krista Garver - October 16, 2017

Christopher Chen's CAUGHT combines visual art and performance into a whole new type of adventure in live theatre....