Max Tapogna

Max Tapogna writes about theater, music and culture for Oregon ArtsWatch. His writing has been published in Bloomberg Pursuits, Document Journal, Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, Crosscurrents Literary Magazine and more. As an actor, Max has had the pleasure of performing with companies like Shaking the Tree and Broadway Rose. Originally from Portland, Max currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Triangle makes New York gorgeous

November 21, 2023Max Tapogna

The Portland theater company leaps into the Off-Broadway spotlight with "Make Me Gorgeous!," a bravura one-man show about trans trailblazer Kenneth Marlowe.

No one wants it to end: Pickathon 2023

September 6, 2023Max Tapogna

An intimate, experiential report from the long-running Happy Valley campout music festival.

Review: NW Dance Project’s ‘Stravinsky’

June 7, 2023Max Tapogna

The company offers its own take on composer Igor Stravinsky through an innovative pairing of two of his most famous ballets.

Getting ready to play at ‘The Judy’

February 6, 2023Max Tapogna

After years of searching for a new home, Northwest Children's Theater is on the brink of a spring move to expansive digs in the heart of downtown Portland.

Holiday harmonica: Joe Powers returns

December 29, 2022Max Tapogna

Powers and band performed their eclectic holiday concert for the first time since 2019.

An ‘Our Town’ for all towns

December 1, 2022Max Tapogna

Fuse Theatre's new production of Thornton Wilder's American classic tells the story of love and loss from a queer perspective.

Review: Shay Kuebler and Radical System Art take on loneliness in modern society with an exciting mashup of dance genres and interactive technology

November 18, 2022Max Tapogna

Combining solo and ensemble pieces, "Momentum of Isolation" asks us to consider whether our growing digital existence is actually contributing to a lack of social connection.

Backstage comedy on a mountaintop

November 6, 2022Max Tapogna

Portland filmmaker Anthony Orkin's "Hello from Nowhere" blends romantic mixups and Gilbert & Sullivan on a Mount Hood camping trip.

Review: NW Dance Project returns for its 19th season with ‘Bolero+’

October 17, 2022Max Tapogna

The company presents a trio of dances - a world premiere and two returning works, including Ihsan Rustem’s irreverent reinterpretation of Ravel’s classic.

Clemency and transparency: Renegade Opera’s immersive ‘Tito’

August 11, 2022Max Tapogna

The Portland company’s modern adaptation of Mozart’s opera merges formidable singing with contemporary political commentary.

PETE’s ‘Cherry Orchard,’ laughing through the apocalypse

June 28, 2022Max Tapogna

In a bold new take, Chekhov's characters are stuck in the Arctic and beset by all sorts of disasters – but they still know how to have fun.

Theater beyond age limits

June 9, 2021Max Tapogna

Bonnie Vorenberg and ArtAge have helped spur a flourishing national scene of theater for older people.

New horizons: Renegade Opera

April 6, 2021Max Tapogna

"... Maddy called me up a year ago, and she was like, let’s start this thing. I have an idea, it’s called Renegade Opera.”

Looking for light, packing a punch

February 6, 2021Max Tapogna

Fertile Ground 2021: In "Livin' in the Light," opera singer Onry seeks a space for a Black man to breathe.

A ‘Hot Mess’ of a zombie jamboree

February 4, 2021Max Tapogna

Fertile Ground: Mark LaPierre and Ian Anderson-Priddy's zombie comic-book musical will make your pulse rush. If you have one.

The rhythm and meaning of Lilies

February 2, 2021Max Tapogna

Fertile Ground 2021: Joni Whitworth and Hannah Piper Burns find the mythic amid the reality of Covid-19.

Tough questions, tough answers

January 30, 2021Max Tapogna

Fertile Ground 2021: Lisa Collins' "Be Careful What You Ask For" delves into a Portland killing and issues of race.

Clap good and hard from home

January 13, 2021Max Tapogna

Portland Opera's virtual recitals from Martin Bakari and Vanessa Isiguen dig into the heart and soul of the music.

No opera glasses needed

December 9, 2020Max Tapogna

Portland Opera's free online recital series “Live From the Hampton Opera Center” goes contemporary.

Out of isolation: teaching the arts

November 1, 2020Max Tapogna

As Portland Public Schools teach long-distance, the district's arts teachers find creative ways to adapt.

Portland theater’s little ‘Black Box’

August 29, 2020Max Tapogna

An online play based on a backstage novel about life, love, and revenge in the theater scratches an itch in Covid-19 time.