Marty Hughley

Marty Hughley is a Portland journalist who writes about theater, dance, music and culture. His honors have included a National Arts Journalism Program fellowship at the University of Georgia, a fellowship at the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater at the University of Southern California, and first-place awards for arts reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism Competitions. In 2013 he was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry. A Portland native, Hughley studied history at Portland State University, worked at the alternative newsweekly Willamette Week in the late 1980s as pop music critic and arts editor, then spent nearly a quarter century at The Oregonian as a reporter, feature writer and critic. His recent freelance work has appeared in Oregon ArtsWatch, Artslandia and the Oregon Humanities magazine. He lives with his cat, and dies a little with each new setback to the Trail Blazers.

DramaWatch: Alex Hurt, beyond father and son

The actor, son of Oscar winner William Hurt, co-stars at 21ten theater in "A Number," Caryl Churchill's play about a father/son relationship. But he's carving his own path.

DramaWatch: A Constitutional question, a howling at the moon, a new-works fest

Portland Center Stage sinks its teeth into "What the Constitution Means to Me"; The Old Church's "Moon Series" goes musical; Chapel Theatre hosts 10 new works; a Wilde "Earnest" & more.

DramaWatch: 21ten’s winning ‘Number’

A taut, terrific staging of Caryl Churchill's speculative drama kicks off Portland theater's "second season." Plus: OSF Ashland stars on a new stage; how companies weathered the weather.

DramaWatch: Liberace and Liza’s holiday sparkler

A fond farewell (and hopes for next year) as the show nears its end. Plus: Dickens and other Christmas quickies, "Dracula" and more last chances, national notes.

DramaWatch: Keeping PETE’s ‘I’m in Control’ under control

Director Isabel McTighe and creator/star Elsa Dougherty make sure nothing bad will ever happen. Plus: Portland Revels' "Emerald Odyssey," openings, last chances.

DramaWatch: Welcome to the ZooZoo

Imago's playful costumed critters return for a welcome holiday run, this time with some zebras joining the menagerie. Plus Fuse's "Great White," Bridgetown's "Orphan Boy," a national look at OSF's leadership switch, last chances & more.

DramaWatch: Fangs for the memories

Portland Center Stage sinks its teeth into a "Dracula" with feminist flair. Plus: It's open (holiday) season with a musical "Wonderful Life," a visit to Whoville, a comic Christmas tea.

DramaWatch: Inside a funny and eerie ‘Animal’ house

21ten's "Taking Care of Animals" is a big show in a small space. Plus: a snowflurry of holiday shows, from Scrooge to Rudolph to "Black Nativity" and more.

DramaWatch: Wolves on the loose; Liberace & Liza on the holiday stage

Four humans huddle in a farmhouse against a storm as the wild beasts roam outside in "Taking Care of Animals." Plus some grand celebrity impersonation, openings, and last chances.

DramaWatch: an ‘awe/struck’ experience

Profile keeps rolling with its trio of plays by christopher oscar peña, this one about the aftermath of a spasm of violence. Plus openings, last chances, and a billboard campaign.

DramaWatch: Farewell, Portland Civic Theatre Guild

The Guild, founded in 1958 to support a legendary company that began in the 1920s, is closing and passing its assets to other theaters. Plus: This week's openings and last chances.

DramaWatch: What’s next for Artists Rep?

After postponing its season and laying off its artistic leader, the company concentrates on getting its building open. Plus: this week's new shows and last chances.

DramaWatch: Knocking back a couple of pints with Roddy Doyle

Third Rail Rep bellies up to the Irish writer's "Two Pints." Plus: A Lebanese solo show, an annotated "Merchant of Venice," openings and last chances.

Piercing the veil, telling a Samhain tale

The puppeteers of Kettlehead Studios, the instrumentalists of Musica Universalis, an adventurous director and a skilled actress create a myth-driven seasonal show.

DramaWatch: Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding’

Shaking the Tree takes on the bitter beauty of Lorca's poetic tale. Plus: "California" returns, Milagro celebrates women warriors, Triangle heads for the Big Apple.

DramaWatch: ‘Hair,’ ‘Young Frankenstein,’ Imago’s bedroom, Corrib’s scarecrow, singing ‘Matilda’ & more

As the theater season shifts into high gear, Center Stage's "Hair" marches to the beat of 1968's drum and a host of other shows hit the stage.

DramaWatch: Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s new season: Back to the future?

The festival's just-announced 2024 season suggests a return to the kind of lineup that's excited audiences in the past. Plus: Fats Waller and the joint are jumpin' at Broadway Rose.

DramaWatch: Our Town, the new Utopia

Bag & Baggage's "Our Utopia" riffs on themes from Thornton Wilder's classic. Plus openings, closings, and Bill Rauch's debut with the new Perelman Center in New York.

DramaWatch: 52 ways to meet your lover

The heady shuffle of "52 Pick-Up" extends its winning hand. Plus: Good news/bad news in Oregon theater, CoHo Clown Festival, a little Sondheim music, openings and closings.

DramaWatch: Basking in Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’; rollin’ with the Tina Turner jukebox musical

Why everyone's flocking to an old Victoria's Secret to see a Beckett play. Plus: "Tina" on tour, the joys of a kids' backyard theater camp, and a question: Must the show go on?

DramaWatch: Ted Rooney’s deck of cards

In a tiny Southeast Portland space, a lean and lively actors' theater is emerging. Up next, "52 Pick-up." Also: openings and last chances.

DramaWatch: Where have all the audiences gone?

“The fundamentals of the economy are getting stronger, but people are still skittish” – and theater companies are suffering for it. Plus: Anonymous Theatre plays Pirate.

Artists Rep suspends its ’23-24 season

Financial problems stemming in part from the pandemic, an expensive construction project, lack of expected state funding and a national slump in theater attendance force a drastic step.

DramaWatch: Macbeth, check. Cinderella, check. Where’s Medea?

With fresh productions opening of The Scottish Play and the lost-slipper musical, we're one leg off a tantalizing theatrical trifecta.

Nik Whitcomb, Hillsboro’s new bag man

As Bag & Baggage performs "Red Velvet," his first directing show as the theater's artistic director, the Omaha and New York transplant creates a tight bond with his new home town.

DramaWatch: Dámaso Rodriguez moves to Seattle Rep; Center Stage’s JAW Festival kicks off

The former Artists Rep artistic leader is the new artistic director of Seattle's much larger flagship theater, and JAW keeps faith with the theatrical tradition of the new.

DramaWatch: Six sassy singing wives

Henry VIII's wives take the stage in Portland in the musical "Six"; Bag&Baggage's "Red Velvet," Box of Clowns, stinky cheese, Shakespeare in Elgin, time out for kids' shows, more.

DramaWatch: Send in the Clown Cohort

CoHo's clowns tie a twister by the tail. Plus: a jukebox musical at Lakewood, a sketch comedy festival, Astoria's "performathon," seasons' greetings, throwing the dice on "Six."

DramaWatch: Tim Bond takes the reins at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The troubled festival calls on a favored prince to be its new artistic director. Plus: A new Josie Seid play, 76 trombones in Eugene, last call for gothic cabaret, and more.

DramaWatch: Comedy from the Gods

Clackamas Rep brings the ancients romping into the present. Plus: Broadway Rose's "Dreamcoat," new leader at Artists Rep, farewell to Book-It Rep and Sheldon Harnick, more.