"We Hold These Truths" @ Portland Center Stage
One of the thnigs I love most about art-and perhaps theatre in particular-is its ability to distill otherwise complex subjects into personal stories. Our textbooks tell us of the overall subject of...
View Article"American Hero" @ Artists's Rep
Artists's Rep shows so far this Season were two of the strangest I can remember. First was "Trevor" about an amiable wash-up showbiz chimp, a character so engaging that one easily forgets the dark,...
View ArticleCrybaby Live! Stageworksink @Clinton Street Theater
"Crybaby Live!" is the latest from Stageworks Ink, the company behind some of the weirdest productions in Portland, such as "Flash-Ahhh-ahhh" and "Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick.""Crybaby" provides...
View Article"The Nether" @ Third Rail Rep
I first encountered the work of Jennifer Haley in "Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom" Like that show, this production is set in the world of virtual-reality. "The Nether" is a place so real that most...
View ArticleMarc Broussard @ The Aladdin Theater 10/16/16
Music is a powerful thing. This truth was on full-display on Sunday night at Marc Broussard's show at the Aladdin. I had been in horrific pain in the days leading up to the show and the days following,...
View Article"The Oregon Trail" at PCS
"The Oregon Trail" computer-game was a staple of childhood in this state. For the Nostalgia-Factor alone, "The Oregon Trail" stage-play would be worth the price of admission for students of a certain...
View Article"A Civil War Christmas" @ Artists Rep
Playwright Paula Vogel must have some issues with Christmas. The seeming mismatch of "War,""Christmas" and "Musical" reminded me of another Vogel play, which was dark and serious, but still managed to...
View Article"A Very Merry PDX-mas" @ Broadway Rose
Broadway Rose continues its tradition of being the local theatre 100% unafraid to be in the Christmas Spirit. I just finished praising Artists Rep's holiday-offering precisely for its strangeness, but...
View ArticleHershey Felder as Irving Berlin @ PCS
I must confess to some initial hesitation toward "Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin." I assumed it would essentially be a one-man jukebox musical, and it is, but it also has quite a lot of unexpected...
View Article"Murder on the Nile" at Lakewood
My favorite Lakewood productions have been mysteries, and "Murder on the Nile" fits in well with what I would call by now the "Lakewood Tradition". It is an Agatha Christie play, so it's not as brisk...
View Article"Marjorie Prime" @ Artists Rep
Well, at least I'm not the only one. Prior to curtain at Opening Night at "Majorie Prime" I chatted as I often do with an usher. She mentioned that the play was a strange-read, and mused that perhaps...
View Article"His Eye is on the Sparrow" @ PCS
"His Eye is on the Sparrow" is a an ambitious, likely grueling endeavor for Maiesha McQueen. It is a one-woman biography of Ethel Waters.I will briefly compare and contrast it with "Hershey Felder as...
View Article"Feathers and Teeth" @ Artist's Rep.
"Feathers and Teeth" is a strange show, to put it mildly. Darius Pierce has long made a home in strange shows, but it is still disconcerting to see Agatha Olson in darker roles, having first become...
View Article"Wild & Reckless" @ PCS
"Wild & Reckless" is a collaboration between Blitzen Trapper and Portland Center Stage. They term it a "concert event," and it is indeed a good concert, but I did find myself thinking that its...
View Article"Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore" @ PCS
Lauren Weedman's first show at PCS was "The People's Republic of Portland" and I remember enjoying it, but thinking that it could've used more structure. Ms. Weedman's new show, "Lauren Weedman Doesn't...
View Article"Rodney King" @ Artist Repertory Theatre
I am just a little too young to truly remember the Rodney King Beating. My first vivid recollection of it was its presence in the opening-title sequence of Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" That is somewhat...
View Article"Beehive" @ Broadway Rose
I spent most of my childhood obsessed with the Oldies station, so "Beehive" is right up my alley. It's a '60s Musical Revue, veering just slightly into the Seventies. There is just enough "book" to...
View ArticleCrippled Critic Interview: Marc Cohn
Today marks my first celebrity interview, with singer-songwriter Marc Cohn. His new album is "Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities." The album is entirely comprised of outtakes from his...
View Article"Mary's Wedding" @ Portland Center Stage
There are plenty of plays with only two characters. I've even seen a few in which one actor plays multiple roles. I've also seen plays with time-shifting aspects, and devices akin to dream-sequences....
View Article"The Talented Ones" @ Artists Rep
I was first introduced to the work of playwright Yussef El Guindi by Portland Center Stage's "Threesome" You'll notice the extreme brevity of that review. Act I was one long, disgustingly unprintable,...
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