Portland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 13

BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS: Love in Every Universe, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - May 23, 2017

Nick Payne's CONSTELLATIONS is a smart, occasionally funny, and ultimately devastating play about love in the multiverse....

BWW Review: Provocative and Polarized, MISS JULIE is Our Society in Microcosm, at Shaking the Tree
by Krista Garver - May 10, 2017

Shaking the Tree's production of MISS JULIE delves into the human psyche to explore why our society is so polarized right now....

BWW Review: Disappointed Expectations Drive Marital Disaster in THE TALENTED ONES at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - May 08, 2017

THE TALENTED ONES explores the struggles immigrants face in their quest for some version of the American Dream....

BWW Review: MARY'S WEDDING Fails to Strike an Emotional Chord, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - April 28, 2017

Stephen Massicotte's MARY'S WEDDING, now playing at Portland Center Stage, never quite becomes the engrossing tragic historical romance it aspires to....

BWW Review: Artists Rep's Frontier Series Ends with Gripping Contemplation of RODNEY KING
by Krista Garver - April 25, 2017

RODNEY KING is a powerful, highly relevant, piece of theatre/poetry written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith....

BWW Review: A Poignant Search for Family in Andrea Stolowitz's Uber-Meta BERLIN DIARY at Hand2Mouth
by Krista Garver - April 19, 2017

BERLIN DIARY, currently being presented by Hand2Mouth in association with CoHo Productions, is a thoughtful and engrossing meditation on family....

BWW Review: LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Brings Laughter, Tears, and an Identity Crisis to Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 31, 2017

In her new one-woman show, LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, Lauren wrestles with her own demons of infidelity leading to divorce through the perspective of her alter ego Tami Lisa....

BWW Review: Great Music, Powerful Storytelling Fuel WILD AND RECKLESS at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 31, 2017

WILD AND RECKLESS is a futuristic original rock musical born from a collaboration between Portland Center Stage and local indie rock band Blitzen Trapper....

BWW Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES Shows How Far We Haven't Come in 400 Years, at CoHo Productions
by Krista Garver - March 23, 2017

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES is a funny and heartbreaking look at what life was like for a woman in theatre during England's Restoration period. Sadly, it wasn't much different from today....

BWW Review: GOLDA'S BALCONY at Triangle Productions: Read Your History Before You Go
by Krista Garver - March 21, 2017

GOLDA'S BALCONY provides a fascinating look at a turbulent point in world history....

BWW Review: Grief Gets Bloody in Horror Comedy FEATHERS AND TEETH, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - March 20, 2017

FEATHERS AND TEETH is a bloody, campy fun show that's completely different from anything else you'll see at Artists Rep....

BWW Review: Resonance Ensemble Shows Off the Art of Cabaret in Wildly Entertaining DIRTY, STUPID MUSIC
by Krista Garver - February 28, 2017

DIRTY, STUPID MUSIC, Resonance Ensemble's latest cabaret is a little dirty, a little stupid, and a lot of fun....

BWW Review: Race, Religion, Elitism - Just a Few Issues Portland Playhouse Takes on in PEN/MAN/SHIP
by Krista Garver - February 28, 2017

PEN/MAN/SHIP at Portland Playhouse is a moving drama about robbing darkness of its power by bringing it into the light....

BWW Review: Maiesha McQueen Delivers Transcendent Performance in Ethel Waters Portrait HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - February 20, 2017

This Portland theatre season has been delightfully packed with stories about incredible women who have overcome seemingly impossible odds. They've all been stunning, but we've hit a new high with Portland Center Stage's HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW, a biographical portrait of African American stage a...

BWW Review: Hand2Mouth Gives Us a PEP TALK We All Really Need, at CoHo Theatre
by Krista Garver - February 20, 2017

Remember pep talks? Those inspiring speeches your [insert sport here] coach gave to pump up your team before you hit the field. Remember how they made you feel like you could do anything? Could you use one of those right about now?...

BWW Review: MARJORIE PRIME Asks Us to Take an Intimate Look at Our Relationship with Technology, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - February 15, 2017

Think about someone important to you who has died. Now imagine you could make an artificial intelligence (AI) robot who looked and acted exactly like your lost loved one. Would you do it? What if you were elderly and needed care? What if you were lonely? And what would that mean for the nature of hu...

BWW Review: Discover the Fascinating Story of 'The White Queen of Soul' in Triangle Productions' FOREVER DUSTY
by Krista Garver - February 14, 2017

It would be difficult to know less about Dusty Springfield than I did when I walked into the Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza to see triangle productions' FOREVER DUSTY on Thursday. I knew some of her music, and even had an album, but that was it. Frankly, I expected the show to be a loosely knit story of h...

BWW Review: Almost 50 Years Later, COMPANY Is Still Awesome, at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - February 07, 2017

Amazing that a musical from 1970 can still feel so fresh. But that's exactly what Broadway Rose accomplishes with their current production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's COMPANY....

BWW Review: Despite Excellent Performances, Theatre Vertigo's CARNIVORA Never Finds Footing
by Krista Garver - February 02, 2017

I started to get nervous the moment I walked into the Shoebox Theatre to see Theatre Vertigo's CARNIVORA....

BWW Review: ASTORIA Brings the Founding of Oregon's Oldest City Vividly to Life, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - January 27, 2017

I read Peter Stark's Astoria last year on the suggestion of Portland Center Stage Artistic Director Chris Coleman. It's the history of the John Jacob Astor-funded expedition to establish a fur trading post on the Pacific. He sent one party by land and another by sea to Astoria, Oregon, which became ...

BWW Review: Fertile Ground Opening Weekend: ATLANTIS, FREE BOX, THE BABY PROJECT, LEFT HOOK, and WINGS OF FIRE
by Krista Garver - January 23, 2017

Fertile Ground 2017 is in full swing! If you haven't checked it out yet, there's still a full week of new works being premiered around the city. Here's my take on what I've seen so far....

BWW Review: Who Was DB Cooper? We'll Probably Never Know, but at CoHo's db, You'll Have a Great Time Speculating
by Krista Garver - January 19, 2017

In 1971, a man (who the FBI describe as 'nondescript') going by the name Dan Cooper hijacked a plane from Portland to Seattle, negotiated $200K and some parachutes in exchange for the passengers, and then jumped out of the plane as it headed back south. He was never found. He could still be alive. H...

BWW Review: A VERY MERRY PDX-MAS is That Fun, Funny Christmas Musical You've Been Looking For, at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - December 15, 2016

Christmas shows usually come with a moral -- some 'true message of Christmas' about generosity or acceptance that we're supposed to carry in our hearts throughout the year to come. Broadway Rose's A VERY MERRY PDX-MAS has none of that. Your heart won't grow three sizes. There isn't even an overarchi...

BWW Review: Portland Center Stage's IRVING BERLIN is the Must-See Show of the Month
by Krista Garver - December 15, 2016

This month, millions of people across America will gather in squares, theatres, and many other places to sing their favorite seasonal carols. At 99.99% of these gatherings, someone will strike up the tune of 'White Christmas.' Meanwhile, at sporting events across the country, just after the national...

BWW Review: A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS Reaches Back 150 Years to Bring Us a New, More Nuanced Holiday Story, at Artists Rep
by Krista Garver - December 01, 2016

Holiday shows can be pretty cliche -- someone learns the true meaning of Christmas and then everyone breaks into song. Now, don't get me wrong, I look forward to watching Mickey's Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon version) every year. But during a time when new societal fau...