Bobby Bermea: Lighting a Fuse under ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’
Bobby Bermea
May 27, 2023
Ernie Lijoi’s new musical, about the day the nuclear bomb DOESN’T drop, takes the spotlight at Fuse’s OUTwright Festival.
Ernie Lijoi’s new musical, about the day the nuclear bomb DOESN’T drop, takes the spotlight at Fuse’s OUTwright Festival.
The premiere of a fresh Kabuki adaptation of a 1685 Japanese puppet play is Laurence Kominz’ swan song. Plus “Afropolitical Movement,” openings, closings.
As the Tony Awards approach, Misha Berson takes a long deep look at the shows that are getting Broadway back on its feet.
Endurance, warmth and strength in Amy Herzog’s play; clawing the walls at Shaking the Tree; the casting controversy; is “who wrote Shakespeare” the wrong question?
Oregon Children’s Theatre’s “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” spins a visually sumptuous fantasy from Chinese folklore.
Premieres from E.M. Lewis and Carol Triffle top the theater week. Plus: Trying to break down the breakdown at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
The artistic director of the embattled Oregon Shakespeare Festival departs as the company is in the midst of an emergency fund drive to keep its season going.
At Profile, a gathering of contemporary voices. Plus: Clowning around at Milagro, Corrib’s gritty solo show, last days for “Come From Away,” Portland Playhouse’s new season and more.
Actor Luisa Sermol and novelist Rene Denfeld sit down for a chat about drama, stories, sexism, making the invisible seen, and working together on the play “Myra’s Story.”
A busy stage week also brings a pair of promising kids’ shows, the opening of “The Judy,” a Shakespeare parody, and the Broadway opening of the born-in-Portland “Thanksgiving Play.”
The world premiere of “Great Wide Open” holds court as a big, sweet, charmingly clumsy, passionate kiss of a show.
Portland Center Stage’s deeply moving, don’t-miss production slices through song to the soul of values and life.
Sharon Maroney’s new musical “Audition From Hell” at Broadway Rose takes a breezy but pointed trip into the perils and pitfalls of backstage life.
Long-delayed remodel is moving ahead at the home of Portland’s second-biggest theater company. Doors are expected to open for audiences in 10 months.
The venerable Ashland festival’s effort to save the 2023 season follows years of wildfires, pandemic shutdowns, and staff turnover. Plus, openings, closings, and this weekend’s shows.
A week before opening night, the Ashland festival puts out a plea for $2.5 million to “save our season.”
Matthew Lopez’ two-part drama reimagines “Howards End” as a gay New York saga. Plus openings, closings, a big theater bash, and a new leader for Oregon Children’s Theatre.
Mikki Gillette’s “American Girl,” premiering at Fuse, is based on the story of Vancouver, Wash., 17-year-old Nikki Kuhnhauser, who was murdered in 2019.
With a fine production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt” at Lakewood Theatre, director Antonio Sonera says he’s calling it a career. Plus: Last chance for a few good shows.
Shaking the Tree adds a bright new expansion, Le Salon Rouge takes a bow, cheerleader werewolves land on Earth, “Hairspray” hits town, and more.
PassinArt dives into the musicality of the great American playwright. Also: Black & blue, Borges & Neruda, Bill Wadhams’ musical memoir, Red Door’s “Evolve.”
A year after the Oscar-winning actor’s death at his Portland home, Stage & Studio brings back Dave Paull’s in-depth radio interview with Hurt from 2011.
The devil gets his due in Conor McPherson’s gripping play “The Seafarer.” Plus: openings, closings, Center Stage’s new season.
A busy theater week also features a Hand2Mouth devised show, Milagro’s “Ardiente Paciencia,” and a few more performances of “My Fair Lady.”
Remembering Chapman, the legendary Portland theater costume designer, and Holden, who was a cofounder of CoHo Theatre.
Fuse’s “Ronald Reagan Murdered My Mentors” explores the loss of a gay generation; Corrib’s “Trade” tells a sensitive personal queer tale; Henry Higgins hits the road.
Center Stage’s premiere of Lauren Yee’s time-tripping “Young Americans” follows three people into the heart and soul of the immigrant experience.
Lauren Yee’s “Young Americans” at Center Stage takes on the issues of immigration and belonging. Plus: Corrib’s Irish “Trade,” openings and closings.
Hip hop and graffiti drive the action in Profile’s production of Kristoffer Diaz’s play about Puerto Rican identity in New York’s gentrifying Lower East Side.
Portland Playhouse’s joyously entertaining production of Pearl Cleage’s play offers a feast of great performances by Black artists.
The Portland new-works festival is at a crossroads, seeking to ensure its future. Plus: a new/old face at Center Stage, hip-hop from Profile, “Mad” teens and more.
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.
PETE’s “The Americans” is as contradictory as the nation itself. Plus Pearl Cleage, the Temptations, Tammy Wynette, giant beavers, Ronald Reagan and AIDS, Lava Alapai and more.
As the jukebox musical “Ain’t Too Proud” rolls into town, Misha Berson revels in memories of sweet sounds from the transistor radio as she was growing up near Detroit.
Generations and cultures clash on court and off at Artists Rep, plus Broadway Rose’s Steven Schwartz hybrid revue/musical and The Theatre Company’s video theater stream
In a modern twist on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters, Ashley Song is energetic as Holmes and Kimberly Chatterjee’s Watson embodies many aspects of female experience.
Kate Hamill’s updated detective tale opens at Center Stage; plus “The Americans,” an all-too-pertinent “Cabaret,” and taco-loving dragons.
Since the upheavals of 2020 Portland and the nation have been in turmoil over race and more. A new play exploring the issues finds inspiration from a book of photographs from the 1950s.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, beset by pandemic and environmental troubles, slashes leadership and other jobs – and Artistic Director Nataki Garrett adds more duties.
Artists Rep’s premiere of Kareem Fahmy’s “American Fast” does a fast break on sport, faith, and culture. Plus: Sondheim for a new generation.
Oregon’s theater scene took the year literally in stages, from Covid caution to something resembling (but not quite) full speed ahead.
From 3 Leg Torso to Anonymous Theatre to Portland Revels and a Dickens of a lineup, it’s a holiday sort of season onstage.
Imago’s magical menagerie of costumed critters returns to the stage. Plus Dickens and C.S. Lewis and even Neil Simon.
Talking with the new artistic director of the Irish theater Corrib about Dublin and contemporary playwrights and her twisting path to Portland.
Holiday shows dominate December’s theater calendar, with good cheer and comedy and a few dark edges to keep you on your toes.
Fuse Theatre’s new production of Thornton Wilder’s American classic tells the story of love and loss from a queer perspective.
Theater companies in McMinnville, Salem, and Forest Grove stage holiday plays, including a new “Christmas Carol,” and look ahead to their 2023 seasons.
Suddenly it’s time for theatrical good cheer, from Tiny Tim to a Wonderful Life to a PDX musical – plus Corrib’s foray into an intense virtual future.
From the nouveau-cirque of Teatro ZinZanni to Jane Austen, Mr. Dickens, and some holiday noir, the city’s theater scene is flying high again.
Two of Oregon’s premier theater schools, Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre and The Actors Conservatory, are sharing space in the historic Tiffany Center.
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