Krista Garver - Page 13

MAMMA MIA! is a silly musical, but it's perfect fun for a carefree summer day.

Clackamas Rep's SENSE & SENSIBILITY features creative direction and a great cast for a delightfully fun time.

Remember the movie 9 to 5? Now picture it with chainsaws. Add in a very heavy dose of internalized sexism, and you'll come close to having THE SECRETARIES, written by the comedy troupe Five Lesbian Brothers, aka Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron.

If you're up for something experimental and would like to see a new take on storytelling and performance from a group of up-and-coming theatre artists, check it VERY POORLY INDEED by the Institute of Contemporary Performance.

The national tour of Cameron MacKintosh's revamped LES MIS hits it out of the park.

BROKEN BONE BATHTUB is based on Siobhan O'Loughlin's experience of breaking her hand in a bike accident. Whatever you may be feeling about the state of the world, or even your day, this award-winning solo piece will give you hope and you'll walk out a happier and more compassionate person than you walked in.

Packed with great music and featuring an incredible performance by Deidrie Henry as Billie Holiday, LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL is an absolute must-see.

Lauren Gunderson's I AND YOU is a beautiful meditation on the universality of human experience and connection.

Rich Rubin's LEFT HOOK is a powerful play about the displacement of Portland's African American community from Albina in the 1970s.

Fuse Theatre Ensemble's CABARET, directed by Rusty Tennant, adds a few layers of pain and desperation. The result is a CABARET that makes a lot of sense, especially given the disturbing parallels between the play's setting and America today. It was fantastic.

Directed by Lou Bellamy and starring members of Penumbra Theatre, Portland Playhouse's FENCES is a must-see.

JOHN HUGHES HIGH: THE 1980's TEEN MUSICAL, now getting its world premiere, is a most excellent tribute to the best decade ever, featuring a cast of incredibly talented young performers from Staged!

SALT is a collection of installations (including performance pieces) about civil disobedience inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March speech. It's one of those unique events that makes the Portland theatre scene so dynamic.

MAJOR BARBARA tackles the age-old question of how best to help someone: Do you give them a fish or a job fishing? It's an interesting play to be putting on right now, but I think the material -- and the audience -- would have benefitted from a slightly less dusty, even if that meant less opulent, production.

One summer day in 1974 in a pub in Belfast, Ian and Jimmy's lives changed forever. Now, at age 52, the men arrange to meet in the same pub where a horrific event occurred. After 36 years, can they see each other as anything but enemies? Is any amount of forgiveness possible? These are the questions at the heart of QUIETLY, Owen McCafferty's haunting play currently running at New Expressive Works care of Corrib Theatre.

ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE is more than a vehicle for Cline's classic music. It's a funny, touching account of the night a superfan's dream came true and a reminder of the magic that can happen when we get up the courage to reach out to another human being.

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.

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 admit.