Like a cross between Lucille Ball and Laura Petrie, a dazzling Christina Holtom presided over the antics in Triangle Productions’ staging of Perfect Arrangement last spring. Directed by Don Horn, the show was a perfect mix of madcap humor and the sobering truth about a dark page from U.S. history: the “lavender scare” witch hunt that attempted to root out “gentlemen who prefer gentlemen” and other “deviants” working for our federal government.  

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2024: A Year in Review

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As anyone who went to a live show this year knows, local audiences were treated to an abundance of such unforgettable productions in 2024. While I missed some of the biggies (you can read reviews of all the shows ArtsWatch covered here), so many moments and images from the ones I saw are now woven in my memories.

Like Briana Ratterman Trevithick’s stunningly brave and raw performance in Shaking the Tree Theatre’s The Brother and the Bird, in which she raged like a Category 5 hurricane, while standing barefoot on the dining room table around which the audience sat. I was holding my breath, too, during 21ten Theatre’s Uncle Vanya, when Hailey Houser as Sonya called herself “ugly.” “I know I am,” she said, then slowly revolved to look at individual audience members in the eye.

I think of such moments as threads of silver and gold that have the power to enrich and expand the consciousness of their audiences. Here, in chronological order, are some of the productions and performances that left a lasting impression on me in 2024.

Speculative Drama’s Twelfth Night

When you think about it, it’s not such a crazy idea to put on a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in a dive bar. After all, the characters Sir John Falstaff and Sir Andrew Aguecheek have a particular penchant for throwing back booze. The immersive show was performed  in Angelo’s, a bar on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, which claims on Facebook to serve the “Cheapest Beer in Portland Since 1997.” Here, audience members threaded through the patrons and servers to follow the action. We couldn’t always see and hear everything, but that was fine. The inventive show, directed by Myrrh Larsen, added a jolly note to the end of the 2023 holiday season.

A Number at 21ten Theatre

Does love really mean never having to say you’re sorry? The word was used innumerable times with varying degrees of sincerity in A Number, a jaw-dropping 60-minute production at 21ten Theatre, which featured just two actors and enough profound questions about redemption, identity, and science to ponder for a lifetime. Bruce Burkhartsmeier, a veteran Oregon actor, portrayed Salter, a negligent father, and Alex Hurt (William’s son) brilliantly and believably morphed into three versions of Salter’s adult child: the menacing Bernard 1, his distraught clone Bernard 2 and the seemingly well-adjusted Michael Black, who claims the news that he’s a clone is “delightful.” Written by Caryl Churchill and directed by Michael O’Connell, the nuanced portrayals and cryptic dialogue were so provocative, I was inspired to wonder if I’d already seen the best play of the year in January.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at Twilight Theater Company

On the surface, it sounds like pure comedy. Arturo Ui is a Depression-era mobster who’s determined to be the king of the cauliflower market. Bertolt Brecht, though, had something darker in mind when he wrote this point-for-point parable of Hitler’s rise to power. A refugee from Nazi Germany, Brecht’s 1941 play is about as subtle as a burst of machine-gun fire. Tobias Andersen and Michael Streeter directed Twilight Theater’s production, mixing the feeling of dread with touches of Vaudeville, including jaunty piano music and cartwheeling between scenes. At one point, Ui (Sam Halloway), who wore a dark blue suit and a bright red tie, tried on a puffy blond wig. The connection between the fictional Ui and two real world leaders, past and present, couldn’t be more clear.

Experience Theatre Project’s The Importance of Being Earnest 

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to hang out with Oscar Wilde’s witty characters, this was the show for you. Sitting on the upholstered furniture in Algernon Moncrieff’s Victorian morning room or surrounding the lacy wrought iron white patio table at Jack’s estate, audience members mingled with the likes of the imposing Lady Bracknell and her determined daughter Gwendolyn, all dressed in ruffles and feathers. At one point, an actor even squeezed onto a settee to sit beside two people. The production, which was directed by Alisa Stewart and featured an amusing Nick Medina as Algernon, was an English major’s dream come true and made me wonder what it would also like to be invited for tea at Pemberley.

Port Authority at Imago Theatre

Standing on a stark set, Mikhail Duggan, Matthew Sunderland and Tory Mitchell delivered performances that were as riveting as they were heartbreaking. Jerry Mouawad directed Conor McPherson’s 2001 devastating and poetic script, creating an invisible web that connected the actors, characters and audience in one mesmerizing web of stories, reminding us that a spider’s silken threads are as beautiful in the rain as they are in the full sun.

Adopt a Sailor at 21Ten Theatre

This BareBones production (one of 21ten’s stripped-down shows that can be taken on tour) invited us into the dining room of a middle-aged New York couple whose favorite pastime seemed to be sniping at each other. Rocco Weyer’s knockout performance as an unabashedly innocent sailor who’s about to ship out exuded humanity. As the couple, Jeb Berrier and Brook Hogan wore an edginess that just barely hid the beating hearts beneath their battled-scarred skins.

Justine Summers in Canon Shakespeare Company’s Henry IV, Part One

Making her Portland theater debut, Justine Summers as Lord Henry Percy or “Hotspur” was like a volcano on the verge of erupting. Summers, who is an anesthesiologist by day, kept audiences awake with her portrayal of an honorable man whose good judgment has been pushed beyond his limits.

Lydia Fleming in Triangle Productions’ Flo

Yes, the play had troubles due to last-minute casting changes, but Lydia Fleming’s portrayal of Diana Ross, both as an eager teen and a smoothly confident superstar, was compelling, especially when she performed hits  like “P.S. I Love You.”

The Play About My Father at Fuse Theatre

In Kate Mura’s one-woman show, she played a whole cast of characters, including herself as a child, her babushka-wearing great-aunt Stella, and Kate’s own wheelchair-bound father, all with the help of a magical gray skirt that she continually reshaped from dress to overalls to a clerical robe, among other things. Along the way, director Rusty Tennant’s set, sound and light design took us to the sea and up to the sky in this breathtaking piece of art.

Jersey Boys at Lakewood Theatre

Director Isaac Lamb cast Broadway actor Russell Fischer as the falsetto king Frankie Valli, and the result was a show that was as relentlessly entertaining as Valli himself, who’s still touring at the age of 90. Tyler Caffall, Diego Solan Kjelland, and Nick Serrone all added an energetic charm to their roles as the other members of The Four Seasons – especially when they were singing, snapping and stepping in time to Julana Torres’ delightful choreography. My daughter and I couldn’t take our eyes off of the show, and we couldn’t stop singing on the drive home.

Beautiful: the Carole King Musical at Broadway Rose Theatre

Merideth Kaye Clark starred as legendary performer Carole King, who goes from being a plucky musical prodigy with a bad case of stage fright to becoming a rocking solo artist. In addition to Clark’s powerful vocals, the show, which was directed by Lyn Cramer, featured a strong cast, including  Benjamin Tissell as Carole’s troubled first husband and musical partner. Plus, the sight and sound of the silver-suited Drifters performing “Some Kind of Wonderful” felt like a moment of floating in heaven.

Portland Playhouse’s Amélie

The quirky, colorful 2001 film Amélie seemed like an impossible act to follow, but Portland Playhouse’s presentation of the stage musical, which was directed by Brian Weaver, created its own beautifully original world while capturing the magical essence of the movie. Lo Steele held the audience in thrall as an empathetic and impish Amélie, plus the show featured an onstage orchestra made up by the cast themselves, who played instruments while keeping in character. As a bonus, we got to see an electric performance by Benjamin Tissell as Elton John, complete with sparkly jacket and square-framed glasses.

Is You Is, Bag&Baggage Productions & Broadway Rose Theatre

This musical workshop performance produced by the two theater companies was as thrilling as a full staging with costumes and sets. Jessica Peterson starred as a Depression-era woman who dreams of being a teacher, only to be thwarted by a racist, hypocritical principal. Warmth beamed from Peterson’s rich voice, making her transformation from eager people-pleaser to woman who stands up for herself and others all the more earth-shaking. Directed by Nik Whitcomb, who also performed, breathing life into L.C. Bernadine’s poignant lyrics. Erik Olsen’s jazz-inspired score was by turns soaring, soulful, and suspenseful.

Third Rail’s Infinite Life at CoHo Theatre

Who knew a play about chronic pain could be this funny? Annie Baker’s unflinching and graphic look at illness was also peppered with wickedly comic moments. Directed by Rebecca Lingafelter, the production explored the way chronic pain can affect our relationships with each other, especially with those who can’t imagine such suffering, and how an empathetic gesture can help us transcend our afflictions, if only for a moment.   

Stumptown Stages’ It’s a Wonderful Life

The colors, music, singing, dancing, costumes and sets all worked in concert to create a ridiculously enjoyable production directed by Patrick Nims, with a book by Janet Mouser. I wanted to see it again the moment it ended.

Twilight Theater’s Fezziwig’s Fortune

This beautifully written play faced death with breathtaking courage and grace. Not only did Fezziwig deal with parents grieving for their daughter, but it showed Mrs. Fezziwg (Ruth Jenkins), grappling with the news that her own demise was imminent. In an authentically touching performance, Jenkins embraced her dream of a part with wit, warmth, and a little irritation over her cautious husband’s reluctance to dance with her. Josie Seid directed the magical production of the play she wrote with Sara Jean Accuardi.