As May rounded the corner to June this past weekend, theater artists and audiences alike were hopping from show to show.

Kathleen Worley, who is starring in Twilight Theater Company’s The Curious Savage, which runs through June 8, raced over to TOC Concert Hall (The Old Church) on June 1 to join esteemed actors Bruce Burkhartsmeier, David Meyers, and Vana O’Brien to perform a single show of poems by Charles Jennings, which were paired with photos by former White House photographer David Hume Kennerly in Act 1 of Cygnet Salon’s Nostalgia Is So Yesterday. (Amy Leona Havin wrote about Nostalgia for ArtsWatch here.)

Just a few hours before that, over at Artists Repertory Theatre, illioo Native Theatre presented a reading of its work-in-progress play BlueJay’s Canoe, where Alex Meyer’s scenic design for Profile Theatre’s Mother Russia stood behind the performers.

In her opening remarks, BlueJay co-writer Theresa May briefly explained the history of Northwest Native communities and how the Portland area was a place of travel and trade because of its confluence of rivers. These words seemed especially apt as theatrical worlds flowed together right here.

I’d just spoken with Alex Meyer a few days before about her design process, and Nostalgia’s O’Brien was also onstage here as part of the wondrous BlueJay cast that included an impressive Kirby Brown as a radio host and Clifford as a Native elder who, like a mother river, helps bring her family and neighbors together with stories. 

‘BlueJay’s Canoe’

A river of stories help heal a community during COVID in this moving play.

Marta Lu Clifford, who helped shape the script written by Theresa May, began the June 1 performance of BlueJay’s Canoe with a prayer asking that we open our hearts and listen, which struck me as a wise way to approach ordinary conversations as well as this poetic play that gracefully communicates a heartfelt message about stories, connection and resilience.

Taking place in the Willamette Valley, BlueJay weaves traditional Native stories through a plot that deals with the mysterious and painful history of a contemporary family and how the past affects them and the rest of their community as they struggle to survive wildfires and the COVID lockdown.

The show, which was repeated June 2, features teenager Xak (Cesar Bastian Galindo), who gets an internship at KMAS Indigenous radio, working for the mostly jovial BlueJay (Kirby Brown, in an engaging and emotionally resonant performance). At first, BlueJay kindly encourages Xak’s career dreams, telling him he can do whatever he wants to do. But when Xak starts asking about an old canoe, his boss gets furious and tells him to mind his own business.

Meanwhile, Xak’s family is feeling the strain of the lockdown. While his father, Ramόn (Osvaldo “Ozzie” Gonzalez), teaches on Zoom, his mother, Casscadia, (Ronda Rutledge), who’s a doctor, receives body bags from the government instead of the masks and gloves her hospital desperately needs.

Some patients also resent the doctors and nurses who are trying to help them. “Dealing with vitriol was not part of my training,” Casscadia says. Still, as tired and heartsick as she is, she tells her son a story about making something good, such as fry bread, out of poison. She also reminds him, “There are a million stories like that, and this one [living through COVID] will be another one.”

Lockdown stories can be hard to take. To me, the experience still feels so raw that I’m often tempted to cover my ears and run from 2020-21 as fast as I can. This one, though, is an emotionally compelling exception, and like a mother river, it brings together a family of tributaries that explore relationships, Native traditions – including ribbon skirts and slow-cooked camas – and grief.

Like the traditional stories themselves, a character called Heron (Daye Thomas) gracefully moves through the play as if through water, helping to hold all the characters together, just like the maple tree with multiple trunks that once held her in its cupped hands.

The play is profuse with such poetic moments – such as when BlueJay says a fire came down the McKenzie River “like a herd of horses” – all of which help carry the story. And, as Heron says, carrying stories reminds us we are loved.

This is true of Goldie (Clifford), BlueJay’s auntie, who helps buoy the community with her tales about Wolf Woman, Coyote, and Mouse, which are often accompanied by the sounds of a drum or a rain stick, emphasizing her connection with nature. BlueJay, too, often refers to the seasons and the weather and what berries are ripe now, and when a white neighbor (Vana O’Brien, a founding member of Artists Rep) wrestles with what to do with her property, the blue-flowered camas roots help her find the answer.

BlueJay’s diverse cast works beautifully together, creating a show that exudes warmth and a genuine appreciation for people. Among the actors with indigenous roots, including Cherokee, Chinook and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, as well as the Mexico/Americano actors Galindo and Gonzalez, and Damian Luis, a drag king who’s currently performing in Salt and Sage’s production of Mikki Gillette’s Mimetic Desire.

Combining their performances with the lyrical script that reflects on life today through a deep sense of tradition, this profound play tells a story worth listening to.

Outside the silo

Alex Meyer, the scenic designer for Profile Theatre’s upcoming ‘Mother Russia,’ talks about the joys of collaborating with other artists to create theatrical worlds.

As a child, the acclaimed scenic designer Alex Meyer was always drawing and making dioramas.

“I was really into building bug habitats, like habitats for flies and beetles and butterflies and caterpillars, and designing their mossy carpets and their little Dixie cup pools,” Meyer said in a phone interview. “To think that my work is so close to something I enjoyed doing as a child is remarkable.”

Back then, Meyer says, she wanted to be a professional artist. Today, she also paints and makes prints (you can see samples of her work, which is full of whimsical and witty details, here), but she especially thrives on her artistic life as a designer for theatrical productions. “I wanted to be a professional artist, and this is about as close to this as I would like to be.”

Besides expressing her own creativity, Meyer thrives on a collaborative process for scenic design, something she’s enjoyed with her current project, the set for Profile Theatre’s production of Lauren Yee’s latest comedy, Mother Russia, directed by Josh Hecht, which opens this week at Artists Repertory Theatre.

“One thing that’s nice that I’ve experienced with Profile in this process is the sort of design-retreat style of getting started with the process – sort of a blue sky meeting where we comb through the script and spew our ideas,” she said. “It’s where all the really exciting creative things come from.”

As anyone who saw Meyer’s work in Portland Center Stage’s spring 2025 production of The Light knows, she excels at creating specific spaces filled with the tiny details that tell us about the characters and the world they live in. For The Light, that meant including trays of lotions and other personal projects as well as stacks of books and a stand holding an array of beaded necklaces.

Meyer credits the entire design team and cast for those minute decisions, saying everyone took delight in making them. “There was a point where Chip [Miller, the show’s director] mentioned that they saw a bunch of dust bunnies up in the costume shop and wondered if I wanted them brought down to be put on the set.”

“As a child, I was very shy, and I still am. This type of work puts me in contact with all kinds of different people sort of constantly. It never stops. It’s a wonderful thing about this part of the arts. You’re not creating in a silo. You get to practice creating with others”.

Meyer, who grew up in a small town in South Dakota, says the Portland theater community has that same small-town feel. She adds it’s more accessible than bigger cities like Chicago or New York for artists who are still getting their start, although she’s interested in exploring those cities, too, someday.

After moving here in 2018, it took her a few years to get acclimated to the theater scene, then COVID struck and there was little to no theater work to be had. All that has changed now, though, as Meyer has been balancing a bevy of jobs, including  designing colorfully the nostalgic scenery for Third Rail Repertory’s 2024 Middletown Mall, which included a red checkboard floor and a fast food joint called “Wok this Way”; the multiple and fabulous moving parts for Lakewood’s rousing Jersey Boys last summer; and the inviting space for Artists Rep’s Sapience this spring, which somehow turned a science lab into a magical jungle. She also designed the scenery for Third Rail’s recent production of Precipice.

Behind the actors at the June 1 workshop reading of BlueJay’s Canoe at Artists Rep, Meyer’s scenery for Mother Russia was visible. As with The Light, the level of detail is impressive. The back wall is lined with shelves holding TVs with orange price stickers, plus shiny green cans of Comet cleanser, bags of marshmallows, and bottles of mustard. A clothes hanger is hooked on an old curtain, a worn broom leans against the wall, and a rollaway bed with a metal frame is folded in the center.

“It’s very textural and has a lot of these layers in the world-building … that’s in my wheelhouse,” says Meyer.

The production of Mother Russia, directed by Josh Hecht, marks the close of Profile Theatre’s exploration of Lauren Yee’s work this season. The show questions whether freedom can be a curse through the characters Evgeny and Dmitri, two average guys who dream of cushy government jobs, only to find themselves surveilling a former pop star instead. Bumbling their way through the assignment, both spying and life under capitalism prove harder than they expected. The show had its world premiere at Seattle Rep just two months ago, and this production is the second time it’s been produced.

Mother Russia will be onstage at Artists Rep June 7-22, with previews beginning June 5. Find tickets and schedules here.

Also opening

Darcelle: That’s No Lady at triangle productions! June 5-22.

The acclaimed musical about Walter W. Cole, a.k.a. Darcelle, is back at triangle productions! for three weeks. The show traces the life of Cole over 52 years, including Cole’s friendship with Jerry Ferris, which led to a drag act that in 1974 transformed the Demas Tavern in Portland’s Old Town into Darcelle XV Showplace. Through a chance encounter, Cole met Roc Neuhardt, a local dancer, and their relationship lasted 47 years until Roc’s death in 2017.

The show’s book and original song (with lyrics) are by Donnie, with additional lyrics and music by Tom Grant, Marv and Rindy Ross, Jon Quesenberry, Storm Large, Rody Ortega, and Wesley Bowers. Directed by Donnie, the show features returning performances by Kevin C. Loomis as Walter/Darcelle and James Sharinghousen as Roxy. That’s No Lady will also have a nightly “Catch A Rising Star” guest. Onstage at The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

The Importance of Being Earnest at Portland Center Stage, June 6-29.

This queer-coded world premiere of Kamilah Bush’s adaptation of the classic wit-fest by Oscar Wilde is directed by Josiah Daves and features an out-of-this-world cast, including Tyler Andrew Jones and Lo N. Steele. According to PCS’s website, the show is set in 1919 that looks a lot like D.C. today, “where wealth, identity, and reputation remain a currency of survival.”

Tour de Force Productions’ Fool for Love at 21ten Theatre, June 6-22, previews June 5.

Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play is the story of two people who can’t live without each other, whether they like it or not. May is hiding out at an old motel in the Mojave Desert when Eddie, an old flame from her teenage years, tracks her down and threatens to drag her back into the life from which she’s fled. Reality and dream, truth and lies, and past and present mingle in an emotional experience starring Tour de Force Productions founder/producer Meghan Daaboul and Max Bernsohn, her costar in Imago Theatre’s recent breathtaking production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Directed by Steve Koeppen.

Marvin’s Rescue, by Marv Ross, at Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre, June 13 & 15.

This world-premiere musical by Marv Ross of Quarterflash fame will be presented in a staged concert reading. The story follows Marvin, whose long-time boyfriend, Jake, has just moved out. As Jackie, Marvin’s best friend, says: “Maybe you should get a dog. They’ll love anyone.” The production will be directed by Brian Weaver, with music direction by Mel Kubik.

Performances are at Bridgetown’s Black Box Theatre, 711 S.W. 14th Ave. in Portland on Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. There will be an audience talk-back after each show.

Bright Star at HART Theatre in Hillsboro, June 14-29.

Inspired by a true story and featuring a Tony-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, this musical tells a tale of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past — and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives. In a 2016 New York Times review, Charles Isherwood wrote, “The musical is gentle-spirited, not gaudy, and moves with an easygoing grace where others prance and strut.” See it at Hillsboro Artists’ Regional Theatre, 185 S.E. Washington St., Hillsboro.

Paul Robeson, part of PassinArt’s Play Reading Monday series, June 16.

Written by Phillip Hayes Dean, this play chronicles the life of American hero Paul Robeson, taking us from his childhood in New Jersey to his adult life as a famed singer, actor, and social justice advocate. The show follows the All-American athlete and lawyer with Columbia Law School credentials as he faces the racism prevalent in early part of the 20^th century. Realizing he won’t be allowed to practice as a lawyer, Robeson turns to singing, something he had learned well in the church choir, awing audiences with his bass-baritone. His singing leads to acting, which takes him all over the world, where he sees racism in its many forms. Returning to the U.S., he is blacklisted, but continues to speak out about the injustices in the country he loves.

Continuing shows

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Portland Playhouse, now onstage through June 15.

Thanks to this production’s rave reviews, Portland Playhouse is extending its run by a week. Set in a 1911 Pittsburgh boarding house, August Wilson’s masterpiece gets its title from a blues song. In a story about the African American post-slavery experience, the script follows Herald Loomis, who is searching for identity and belonging after being captured by a bounty hunter and serving seven years of forced labor. The show stars La’ Tevin Alexander, Lester Purry, and Bobby Bermea and is directed by Lou Bellamy. Read Darleen Ortega’s ArtsWatch review here.

The Norwegians, at Coaster Theatre in Cannon Beach, through June 7.

This madcap comedy by C. Denby Swanson involves two women who have been dumped and the nice gangsters – Norwegian hit men – they hire to take out their ex-boyfriends. Directed by Deanna Duplechain, the show stars Cyndi Fisher, John Hoff, Ryan Hull and Sara Spangler. Onstage at Coaster Theatre Playhouse, 108 N. Hemlock St. in Cannon Beach.

Hand2Mouth presents BANNED at Shaking the Tree Theatre, through June 7.

This new devised work is inspired by recent stories of books that have been restricted and banned across the United States. According to a Hand2Mouth press release, PEN America recorded 10,046 instances of book bans across the United States in 2023-24. In 2023, both the Canby and West Linn-Wilsonville school districts in Oregon were in the headlines for controversial book challenges and bans. With BANNED, the company hopes to start a conversation about today’s censorship, “not only in ‘far off’ conservative states like Florida and Texas but also in our own backyard.”

BANNED is the culmination of Hand2Mouth’s 2024/25 Season about censorship and banned books and draws from community interviews, personal stories, and research, using an irreverent, “let’s laugh to keep from crying” approach. “There’s something to offend everyone in the library, and people are just taking that offense and wanting to make a blanket statement by getting rid of the things that offend just them, without thinking that there’s all these other people out there that may need that information,” one librarian the company interviewed said.

The show was created and is performed by company members Pedro Dominguez, Emily Hogan and Jenni GreenMiller, with guest artists Claire Aldridge and Dylan Hankins. Directed by Michael Cavazos. See it at Shaking the Tree, 823 S.E. Grant St., Portland.  

Curious Savage at Twilight Theater, through June 8.

John Patrick (not to be confused with John Patrick Shanley) wrote this comedy about Ethel Savage, a wealthy widow whose greedy stepchildren commit her to a sanitarium, where she befriends the other guests. The show opened on Broadway in 1950, starring Lillian Gish, and I’m looking forward to seeing Twilight’s version, which is directed by Shannon Cluphf and stars Kathleen Worley as Ethel Savage. ArtsWatch reviewed it here.

Groundhog Day at Lakewood Theatre, through June 8.

ArtsWatch reviewed this funny and touching musical, which is based on the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, here.

AGAIN! The Act of Perfection at Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria, through June 14.

Marco Davis’s autobiographical one-act tells the story of growing up as a closeted Catholic boy in a small, rural town. The show features original music composed by Skyler Butenshon, a three-piece live band, and a Greek chorus of dancers. A community discussion will follow the June 8 performance.

Light Opera of Portland (LOoP) presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience at the Portland’5 Brunish Theatre, through June 15.

This comic opera, which was first performed in 1881, critiques the aesthetic art movement, fads, fashions, and superfans, and the nature of romantic love. Set in a fictional English village, the story follows the antics of the poet Bunthorne, the milkmaid Patience, and a lot of lovesick maidens. Under the direction of Artistic Director Laurence Cox, with musical direction by Josh Pounders, and embracing the whimsical spirit of Gilbert and Sullivan’s original work, the show will be onstage at the Brunish Theater in the Antionette Hatfield Hall.

Fuse Theatre Ensemble presents Assassins, Lijoi to the World, and My White Husband, as part of its 2025 OUTwright Festival, through June 15.

Fuse Theatre Ensemble 2025’s OUTwright Festival features new works by LGBTQIA+ creators as well as the company’s feature presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, which ArtsWatch reviewed here. On June 15, the company is also staging Lijoi to the World: a celebration of the work of Ernie Lijoi, the Portland multi-skilled theatermaker who died in February. As part of the festival’s reading series, which Tennant calls “the foundation of OUTwright,” My White Husband by Leviticus Jelks will be onstage on June 9. All OUTwright shows will be performed at Reed College’s Black Box Theatre. Find tickets and schedules here.

Salt & Sage’s Mimetic Desire, through June 21.

Bobby Bermea previewed this world premiere queer comedy here. The play is by Mikki Gillette and features trans man Alec, who woos the partners of his friends, trans woman Mia, and trans man Dann. As a result, their college friend group is upended in a swirl of  betrayal, envy and heartbreak. Directed by Asae Dean at The Backdoor Theater behind Common Grounds Coffeehouse, 4321 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland.

Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson at Portland Center Stage, through June 22. 

Chinese American comedian and actor Chris Grace created this 65-minute comedy about representation and race in which he plays, with the help of wigs, himself, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Michaud directs Portland Center Stage’s production. Darleen Ortega reviewed the play for ArtsWatch here, and Dmae Lo Roberts featured Grace on her Stage & Studio podcast.

Theater News

Life after Bag&Baggage: The Hillsboro company’s producing artistic director, Nik Whitcomb, is leaving theater for a new career.

Nik Whitcomb, Bag&Baggage’s multitalented producing artistic director, announced last week that he will leave the Hillsboro company in June to expand on his commitment to community service by beginning a graduate degree in Urban Planning and to take on Community Engagement work with TriMet.

“Leaving Bag&Baggage was not an easy decision, but it is the right one for my personal and professional growth and for the long-term health of the organization,” Whitcomb wrote in his resignation letter. “Bag&Baggage welcomed me exactly as I am, honored my ideas, and helped me discover the best version of myself. I walk away grateful, inspired, and confident in the company’s future.”

According to an email from Bianca McCarthy, B&B’s board chair, “Nik’s time with us was bookended by uncertainty on one side and renewed hope on the other, and he guided us across that divide with grace, imagination, and heart.”

The email reflected on some of the great shows he staged, including the regional premiere of Red Velvet, the story of Ira Aldridge, the first Black actor to portray Othello at Covent Garden. “Through every rehearsal, talkback, and late-night set strike,” McCarthy wrote, “Nik reminded us why live theatre matters.”

The board intends to make an announcement soon about its plans. “Your voice has always shaped Bag&Baggage, and the months ahead are no exception. In June and July, we will hold open conversations at The Vault so patrons, artists, and neighbors can share hopes and ideas for the future. Watch for details in your email and on social media.”

Those who wish to send questions or suggestions to the board or a note of thanks to Whitcomb, can send them to info@bagnbaggage.org.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival announces its 2026 season.

Jim Flint wrote about the 2026 lineup in Ashland, which he says includes “ magic, music, and the messiness of being human.” In the Angus Bowmer Theatre, OSF will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare; Come From Away, book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein; A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; and Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang. Shows in the Thomas Theatre include You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! by Keiko Green; King Hedley II by August Wilson; and Smote This, A Comedy About God … and Other Serious $H*T, created and performed by Rodney Gardiner. On the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, the company will stage William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Henry IV, Part One, plus Emma, adapted from Jane Austen’s novel by Kate Hamill.

A new season for Experience Theatre Project.

Aloha’s immersive theater company, Experience Theatre Project, announced it will be presenting five plays next season, including Frankenstein, A Drunk Christmas Carol, Macbeth, Flanagan’s Wake, and Neil Simon’s Rumors. Tickets will go on sale in July.