Portland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 4

Review: CHICKEN & BISCUITS at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - October 06, 2022

Families, amirite? And where better to experience the whole spectrum of family dynamics than at a funeral! In Douglas Lyons' comedy CHICKEN & BISCUITS, now running at Portland Playhouse, the Jenkins family is gathering for the funeral of their patriarch and pastor....

Review: THE EVOLUTION OF MANN at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - September 30, 2022

Excellent performances help mask the weaknesses of this not-particularly-romantic romantic comedy....

Review: THE HOMBRES at Artists Repertory Theatre
by Krista Garver - September 20, 2022

Every once in a while, a play completely renews my faith in humanity. Tony Meneses’ THE HOMBRES, now running at Artists Repertory Theatre, is such a play....

Review: AN EVENING OF SHORTS at Sowelu Dramatic
by Krista Garver - September 15, 2022

For the rest of this month, Sowelu is presenting a “mini-season,” which includes this program on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as readings and workshops. They’re one of those companies that doesn’t put on a ton of work, but what they do present is worth paying attention to....

Review: TICK, TICK...BOOM! at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - August 31, 2022

Jonathan Larson's musical tells the story of an aspiring musical theatre writer having a quarter-life crisis. The reason to see this production in particular is Lauren Steele. A Drammy-winning actor (and also a massively talented singer-songwriter) with a powerhouse voice, Steele steals this show....

Review: HADESTOWN at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - July 21, 2022

What did our critic think of HADESTOWN at Keller Auditorium?HADESTOWN, Anaïs Mitchell’s terrific Tony- and Grammy-winning musical now on national tour, urges us to have hope that if we can imagine a better world, we can create one…even if the odds (and the gods) are against us. ...

Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD at Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble
by Krista Garver - July 01, 2022

Funny, poignant, weird – Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s new take on THE CHERRY ORCHARD, translated by Štĕpán Šimek, is a vehicle to showcase what both Chekhov and PETE do best....

Review: KISSING THE WITCH at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - June 21, 2022

Corrib’s production, directed by Tracy Cameron Francis, uses movement and visual effects to bring the magical, mystical nature of fairy tales to the forefront, while also reinforcing that these are real people dealing with real issues....

Review: RENT at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - June 16, 2022

Director Chip Miller delivers a vibrant and touching production of musical theatre's most iconic shows....

BWW Review: BELLA: AN AMERICAN TALL TALE at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - May 20, 2022

Kirsten Childs’ 2016 musical, now running at Portland Playhouse, offers a new take on American folklore, featuring a new tall tale hero: Bella Patterson, “a woman of mythic proportions and heroic appeal.”...

BWW Review: APPROPRIATE at Profile Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 16, 2022

APPROPRIATE is Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ genre-upending take on the great American family drama....

BWW Review: THE SMUGGLER at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 11, 2022

Ronán Noone's THE SMUGGLER, now running at Corrib Theatre, tells the harrowing and sympathetic tale of an Irish immigrant’s struggle to support his family....

BWW Review: THE CHILDREN at Artists Repertory Theatre
by Krista Garver - April 22, 2022

Lucy Kirkwood's Tony-nominated play raises a lot of uncomfortable questions about morality, mortality, and what we owe to other people....

BWW Review: DON'T HUG ME at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - April 21, 2022

Billed as “Fargo meets The Music Man (without the blood or the trombones),” DON’T HUG ME is a silly show about some residents of Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, whose lives get a jolt thanks to the appearance of a karaoke machine salesman....

BWW Review: HAMILTON at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - April 15, 2022

The national tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s HAMILTON is once again at Keller Auditorium, and it’s just as much of a must-see as ever. Read our critic's review!...

BWW Review: FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - April 14, 2022

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is a joyous celebration of music and life and the act of creating something together. Read our BWW critic's review. ...

BWW Review: TITUS at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - March 25, 2022

Looking for a thrill? TITUS, Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, is now running at Portland Playhouse....

BWW Review: GEM OF THE OCEAN at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 23, 2022

GEM OF THE OCEAN is one of the last plays August Wilson wrote, but it’s the first chronologically in his Century Cycle. Set in the 1900s, GEM OF THE OCEAN deals with questions of freedom and the balance between morality and law....

BWW Review: CHICK FIGHT at Shaking The Tree
by Krista Garver - March 11, 2022

This new devised work from Shaking the Tree is exhilarating, thought-provoking, and necessary....

BWW Review: MAZ AND BRICKS at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - March 04, 2022

MAZ AND BRICKS is a tender two-hander about finding connection with unexpected people in unexpected places....

BWW Review: ANASTASIA at Keller Auditorium (National Touring Production)
by Krista Garver - February 11, 2022

There are two big reasons to take in the national touring production of ANASTASIA, now running at Keller Auditorium: Kyla Stone (who plays the central character) and the visual spectacle....

BWW Review: THE GREAT LEAP at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - February 10, 2022

Lauren Yee’s play, inspired in part by her father, is everything we’ve come to expect from this exceptional playwright – it’s gripping, funny, emotional, and will leave you with plenty to chew on....

BWW Review: THURGOOD at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - February 09, 2022

THURGOOD is a riveting play about the life and career of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to sit on the US Supreme Court....

BWW Review: HONKY TONK LAUNDRY at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - February 04, 2022

Wash your cares away! HONKY TONK LAUNDRY is a country music jukebox musical delivering 2 hours of pure delight....

BWW Review: GLORIA at Profile Theatre
by Krista Garver - January 20, 2022

GLORIA, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2015 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, speaks with eerie coincidence to two of the biggest national conversations taking place today....