Portland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 8

BWW Review: JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN Exposes the Fragile Relationship Between Law and Justice, at CoHo Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 08, 2019

Commit the crime, do the time. It seems so simple, and so logical. But, as Stephen Adly Guirgis's JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN so superbly shows, nothing about our criminal justice system is that simple, or that logical. If you don't have your tickets yet, get them now....

BWW Review: Love Knows No Borders in Sonya Kelly's Comedy HOW TO KEEP AN ALIEN, at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - April 15, 2019

In Sonya Kelly's HOW TO KEEP AN ALIEN, now playing at Corrib Theatre, Irish Sonya falls in love with Australian Kate. The play tells their story -- a tale of two people literally going to the ends of the earth to be together. It's funny, quirky, and the perfect romantic antidote to the dreary Portla...

BWW Review: PassinArt's THE NO PLAY Hits a Nerve
by Krista Garver - April 10, 2019

THE NO PLAY tells the story of the relationship between the Cheeks, an African American family, and Yaveni Aaronsohn, a Jewish scholar writing a book about the commonalities in the two cultures' experiences. It's challenging, emotional, and important....

BWW Review: JUMP Challenges Us to Seek Deeper Connections, at Milagro Theatre
by Krista Garver - April 09, 2019

Charly Evon Simpson's JUMP, which is having its National New Play Network rolling world premiere courtesy of Milagro Theatre and Confrontation Theatre, explores the obstacles that we too frequently put between ourselves and real human connection....

BWW Review: A Community Processes the Shooting of Michael Brown in Dael Orlandersmith's UNTIL THE FLOOD, at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - April 04, 2019

Dael Orlandersmith's solo play UNTIL THE FLOOD, in which the Ferguson community processes the shooting, is just as vital now as it was when it was first commissioned by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis....

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....