Us and Them: UO stages Palestinian playwright Samah Sabawi’s timely drama about refugees.

Just weeks after her birth in Gaza, award-winning playwright Samah Sabawi’s family became refugees in the aftermath of the 1967 war.

When she wrote her play Them, she told aussietheatre.com, she set out to convey what it’s like for people under siege to make the decision to leave their homeland: “There is great power in truth, and although my characters are fictional, the stories are real, the circumstances are real and based on real experiences of people I know, and have spent a considerable amount of time with.”

Sabawi began writing the drama during another pivotal time. “I was on a speaking tour in Finland in 2015, at the same time as the surge in the Syrian refugee crisis was happening. On Finland’s national day, I was advised to stay in my hotel room as nationalists and alt right activists were expected to take to the streets to protest against what they called ‘the flood of refugees and asylum seekers’ whom they had labelled as criminals, Islamists, terrorists and paedophiles. I was warned that day that I looked too brown to be safe, so I stayed in my hotel and I started to reflect on my own family’s refugee story as well as the stories of so many other refugees I knew.”

“Any of us could be them,” Sabawi says. “Our lives, even in tragic moments, have moments of humanity and humor and love and kindness. … I wrote Them to bring the music, the humor, and love as well as the horrific reality of life in a war zone.”

University of Oregon Theatre Arts Professor Malek Najjar will be directing a production of the play both in Eugene and Portland this summer, using student actors, designers, and crew members.

An award-winning director and scholar who specializes in Arab American and Middle Eastern American Theatre, Najjar has been awarded the 2025 University of Oregon Presidential Fellow in Arts Award and the James F. Miller Artistic Development Fund for Faculty in Theatre Arts.

In an email exchange, Najjar talked with ArtsWatch about Them and why he believes it’s an important work for today. The interview has been condensed for clarity.

How did you select the play? Are you a fan of Samah Sabawi’s previous work? 

Several years ago, I had read Samah Sabawi’s beautiful play Tales from a City by the Sea about her Palestinian experience in Gaza. I was very moved by that play. I came across her play Them and it instantly struck me as a work of art that speaks to our desperate world and the refugee crisis here and abroad. I wrote Samah Sabawi asking if we could produce her work. She wrote back, “Thank you so much for reaching out. I’m afraid my family is not OK, we’ve lost tens of family members, and the horror still continues. But we are, and I am, resilient. The bombs will not strip us of our hope or our faith in humanity. It would be an absolute honour to contribute in any way to opening hearts and cultivating empathy. You are absolutely welcome to use any of my work that you choose. No royalties are necessary.” That email told me that I must produce and direct this play now.

What does the play mean to you personally? 

My father was a refugee from Lebanon, emigrating to the U.S. in 1945. My mother was a refugee from Lebanon following the 1958 civil crisis there. My wife and her family are from Lebanon, and came here after her mother was badly injured during the Lebanese Civil War. Most of our family survived the Lebanese Civil War, but we have so many friends who are suffering due to the wars in the region. The play means everything to me because I believe that we, as Americans, are all so oblivious to this suffering and that we must find compassion for these people who are forced to leave their homelands.

What do you hope audiences will gain from seeing it? 

The play has a beautiful poem in it that states, “Faith, guide us to compassion so we may survive.” I hope that audiences are able to find compassion within themselves for those they might otherwise view as problematic immigrants from what our current president cruelly labels as “shithole countries.” I would hope that audiences realize that the combined influences of colonialism, imperialism, the proliferation of arms sales, and our political machinations in these countries have led to the horrors unfolding there. In other words, as the great Irish playwright Sean O’Casey wrote, “Take away our hearts o’stone, and give us hearts o’flesh!”

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about this production? 

This production is unique because it not only displays the talents of our students and recent UO graduates, but also those of noted Portland actor Dré Slaman and the live music of Acoustic Pilgrims (aka Denise and Wayne Gilbertson). Unlike so many productions that have massive budgets, unlimited resources, and pre-recorded music, this production is really unique in that it creates a theatrical event that is actor-driven, designed within a relatively humble budget, and focuses on the live over the recorded. In other words, it’s a true labor of love.

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UO’s production of Them will be onstage at Lane Community College’s Blue Door Theatre in Eugene, July 24-Aug. 2 and at Portland Center Stage’s Ellyn Bye Studio, Aug. 14-23. Recommended for ages 13+. The July 31 and August 21 performances will be ASL interpreted. Find tickets and schedules here.

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Something to sing about: Old & new musicals

It’s summer musical time, with a wide range of shows on local stages.

LineStorm Playwrights is presenting a reading of the new play CESSAIR: The Birth of Ireland, while Broadway Rose is staging the big bright 1934 Cole Porter classic Anything Goes. Somewhere in between these productions is the gun-toting Bonnie & Clyde at Bridgetown Conservatory, the roller disco Xanadu at Gallery Theatre, and Broadway’s touring & Juliet, which uses pop songs to ask what would happen if Romeo’s lover hadn’t died, after all.

So what is it that makes musicals so appealing for many artists and audiences alike?

For Thomas C. Graff, who’s directing the Portland-area premiere of All Shook Up at Lakewood Theatre through Aug. 17, people connect with musicals because the shows speak in the language of  “pitch, rhythm and poetry” to communicate big feelings. “For me as a performer, when you can’t express the emotion with words or actions, that’s when music can take it to another level,” he said in a recent phone conversation.

While Graff has always loved musicals, he concedes there are some “necessarily artificial” elements to the genre: As he puts it, “You have this orchestra that all the sudden pops to life. You have people dancing. I used to dance down the street, but I was that odd kid.”

Karlyn Love, who’s directing Clackamas Rep’s Damn Yankees (opening Aug. 2), has also given people’s relationship with musicals some thought. In an email she said, “It is always interesting to me to meet people who say ‘I hate musicals! No one busts out and starts singing in real life.’ And then you have the complete other end of the spectrum – people who only want to see musicals and can’t be bothered to go to a play, unless, maybe it is a comedy.

“Musicals have it all. Yes, there are songs and dances, but they also reflect real human experiences and struggles. All theater does that. I think musicals are able to do it in such a way that both entertains and uplifts us as human beings. Music, more than any other art form, is universal. It reaches us in a very primal way.” 

In Damn Yankees, which opened on Broadway in 1955, middle-aged baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the Devil. In exchange, he gets a chance to lead his favorite team to victory in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. “I love the story and characters,” says Love. “This isn’t your typical love story between two young leads. This is the Faust legend cleverly turned into a musical. The characters have depth and are struggling with issues that are very relatable. The songs are wonderful and the message very inspiring. Love will triumph over evil if it is strong enough.”

All Shook Up appeared on Broadway 50 years after Damn Yankees, but it was also inspired by classic literature. Joe DePietro’s book is an Elvis-meets-Shakespeare funfest, with a Twelfth Night-type plot involving a woman disguised as a man. The buoyant choreography, superb lighting and colorful costumes, plus updated arrangements of  24 Elvis Presley songs (Cyndy Ramsey-Rier is the musical director and conducts the 10-piece orchestra), all turn Lakewood’s stage into a giant party, punctuated by a gleaming red motorbike that was built especially for the show.

The play is also packed with antics that come with abundant laughs. At the July 18 performance, I especially enjoyed the way characters stop in their tracks and start singing “One Night with You” whenever they fall in love. Melissa Standley is also a hoot as the town’s uptight megaphone-toting mayor. Dressed in pearls, a conservative suit and pumps, she chases pairs of lovers through an abandoned fairgrounds with her handbag swinging from her wrist.

As fun as it is, Graff sees some deeper meaning in the story, which revolves around a hip-swiveling “roustabout” named Chad who roars into the repressed town in 1955 and literally shakes up everyone, inspiring them to fall in love left and right.

“The message is to open your heart and allow things that you don’t understand about humanity and people in,” says Graff. “Judging will go away once you allow truth to enter your heart.”

This theme becomes apparent when Chad sits on the edge of the stage and grapples with the fact that he’s fallen in love with a man. Of course the man is actually Natalie (Sam Holden), a mechanic in male disguise, but Chad doesn’t know that when he sings “I don’t want to love you but I do.”

Jackson Wells-Benitez, who stars as Chad, grew up in Oregon, performing with Portland Playhouse, Stumptown Stages, Broadway Rose and Oregon Children’s Theatre. A recent graduate from The Manhattan School of Music, he impresses throughout the show with his boundless energy and signature Elvis moves.

“He’s an actor who gives to other actors,” says Graff. “Some actors are concerned about what they look like in their role. He came in late to the rehearsal process because he’s an Equity actor. The rehearsals were going so great. Then he walked in, and it’s sort of like when Chad comes into the fictitious Oregon town – we set it in Oregon – and shakes things up. This guy sort of shook up people’s creative juices, and so stuff is going on. I set it in motion – that’s all I can say – but they’re owning it.”

Audiences needn’t be rabid Elvis fans to enjoy the show. “I don’t think there’s any song in the show that sticks out as an Elvis Presley song,” says Graff. “Somehow they’re all character-driven.” The musical numbers, he says, are like the asides and internal monologues in Shakespeare’s plays. In order to emphasize the feelings each character is communicating, he told his actors, “I want [the audience] to realize they’re watching someone in a heightened emotional state. You need to sparkle; you are a firework, a Roman candle.”

In his own acting career, Graff’s favorite roles were Amos Hart in Chicago, Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls and Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd. As a kid, though, he loved Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire films: “I was Gene Kelly dancing in front of the Benson Hotel.”

One of Love’s favorite roles was playing Lois/Bianca in Kiss Me Kate at Western Oregon University, but when she was younger, her favorite musical was Mary Poppins, and she appreciates the way the genre as a whole offers an escape from everyday life.

“A lot of people need that escape for a LOT of different reasons, especially when we live in such an angry, uncertain, contentious time,” she says. “I think the bottom line is – musicals bring us great joy! That is what they do best and I think why they are so popular as an art form.”  

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All Shook Up will continue at Lakewood Theatre through Aug. 17. Find tickets and schedules here.

Damn Yankees will be at Clackamas Repertory Theatre Aug. 2-24, with previews beginning July 31. Find tickets and schedules here.

More musicals in Portland and beyond

Bonnie & Clyde at Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theater in Portland, through July 27

“Bonnie & Clyde is exactly the type of musical theater that we love to produce at Bridgetown,” says Rick Lewis, Bridgetown’s founder and vocal instructor. “It has strong name recognition, yet it wasn’t a Broadway ‘hit’ – not at all! But there is a strong cult following for the show. And it has great storytelling!”

As Lewis describes the Depression-era show, “Bonnie & Clyde musicalizes (Frank Wildhorn, music and Don Black, lyrics) the story of two young people, starting out in life, chasing dreams – and not the dreams their families wished for them.  But they found fame and notoriety through their crimes; and their lives ended at 25 (Clyde) and 23 (Bonnie).  Be careful what you wish for …”

The City and the Sea, part of Theatre 33’s summer festival at Willamette University, July 29-Aug. 9

This new musical by Paul Lewis follows a radio astronomer whose father disappeared from Astoria, Oregon, in the 1940s. When Clay is allowed to return from the dead for one day, father and daughter navigate smuggled pearls and waterfront secrets while racing the clock to bridge 26 years of silence.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical continues at NWCT’s The Judy through Aug. 3

When 12-year-old Percy Jackson is suspected of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt, the Olympic gods are on the verge of war, and Percy and his friends face danger and battle mythical beasts as they try to clear Percy’s name before it’s too late. Adapted from the novel The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, with a book by Joe Tracz and music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, the show features Northwest Children’s Theater alumni both on and off stage.

It’s directed by Emma Sanders, who started classes at NWCT when she was just five years old. “I went from taking camps to eventually teaching them, and now I’m returning as a college graduate to help tell one of my favorite stories of all time,” she said in a press release. “This theater had such a positive impact on me as a kid, and it’s very meaningful to now be the one creating the positive experience.”

Best for ages 6+. Shows are on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Judy, 1000 S.W. Broadway, Suite T-100 in downtown Portland. Find tickets here.

Anything Goes at Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Aug. 1-17, previews July 31

Courtney Fero – who was so superb in Stumptown Stages’ Tootsie earlier this year – is sure to be just as dazzling in the iconic role of Reno Sweeney.

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, new book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman. Directed by Peggy Taphorn. Get your tickets soon, because Broadway Rose shows tend to sell out. Onstage at the Deb Fennell auditorium in Tigard.

Broadway in Portland’s & Juliet at Keller Auditorium, Aug. 5-10

Who needs Romeo? This pop-song-filled musical imagines what would have happened if Juliet had lived. Created by the Emmy-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” the romantic comedy includes “Since U Been Gone‚” “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life‚” “That’s The Way It Is,“ and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”

CESSAIR: The Birth of Ireland, free bimonthly reading presented by LineStorm Playwrights at Artists Rep, August 10 only

Inspired by an Irish legend, the workshop reading of this new musical features a dazzling cast, including Austin Comfort, Isaac Lamb, Melory Mirashrafi, Sammy Rat Rios, Joellen Sweeney Ben Tissell, Maddie Tran, and Leah Yorkston. Cessair’s grandfather, Noah, tells her there’s no room for her on his ark, so she takes her husband and 39 women on a voyage to what’s now known as Ireland. Music & lyrics by Holly Richards. Book and lyrics by LineStorm co-founder Lolly Ward. Directed by Holly Griffith, with music direction by Eric Nordin.

Presented with ASL interpretation, the show starts at 5 p.m. at Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St. in Portland. The parking garage opens one hour before the reading.

Les Misérables, a teen summer production at Broadway Rose, Aug. 14-16

The Tony Award-winning musical is based on Victor Hugo’s novel and follows Jean Valjean, a man condemned to 19 years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. The story moves from Valjean’s adoption of the orphan Cosette to the fiery rebellion in the streets of Paris. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, original French text by Alain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel, additional material by James Fenton. Directed by Trevor Hennigan.

Hairspray at Pentacle Theatre, Aug. 15-Sept. 6

It’s 1962 in Baltimore, and teenage Tracy Turnblad’s big dream is to dance on the popular “Corny Collins Show.” Will she dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network? The show won eight Tony awards, including Best Musical Book by Mark O’Donnel & Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman. Directed by Robert Salberg.

Torchsong Theater Company’s Ballad of the Merry Folx, Aug. 15-31

This original folk punk musical by Portland artists Aric Clark (libretto and music) and Ken Bussell (music) reimagines the story of Robin Hood. Young professional Marian has moved to the gentrifying neighborhood of New Nottingham and become entangled in a conflict between her unhoused neighbors, the landlords, and the Sheriff. Audiences are encouraged to cheer and sing along as Robin and the Merry Folx hatch a plan to find dignity for all.

Directed by  Clark, with choreography by Amanda Eichsteadt and Makaela Terance. See the show at Samaritan Odd Fellows Lodge, 10282 S.E. Main St, Milwaukie. Find tickets and schedules here.

Outro: A new psychedelic country musical at 21ten Theatre, Aug. 15-17, previews Aug. 14

Country star Wynn Crier is planning to end her life when she’s forced to work with her ex, Woody Stall, on one final album. Stuck in a Nashville studio, Wynn and Woody take a giant dose of psychedelic mushrooms as they create music and explore what happened to their marriage. Book, music, and lyrics by Holly Anne Mitchell. Album produced by Kyle McCammon.

Also opening

Our Stage Is a Lit Fuse at Twilight Theatre on July 26

This original work by Mikki Gillette follows a small trans theater community that’s tossed into chaos by the arrival of Percy, whose threats of violence and disregard for the circle’s dating norms leave its members fearing danger and their relationships in tatters. A show from their chief rival, trans woman Stanton, could lead to reconciliation or wreckage for the group. A talk-back will follow the performance.

GOVERNORS ISLAND or YOU WILL FIND ME BARKING, a reading at 21ten Theatre, July 27

Weaving through time and once upon a time, this story by Ellen Margolis travels from 2000 to 1943. The developmental reading is directed by Matt Zrebski and Ellen Margolis and will be followed by a Q&A with the playwright. The cast includes Elise Dixon, Taylor Jean Grady, Rachel Kaufman, Murri Lazaroff-Babin, Crystal Ann Munoz, Leiana Petlewski, and Brian Trybom. AT 21ten Theatre, 2110 S.E. 10th Ave in Portland.

For Peter Pan on Her 70^th Birthday at Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria, Aug. 1-16

Sarah Ruhl’s play centers on Ann, who remembers her father brought her flowers when she played Peter Pan in her hometown theater in Iowa. Now she and her four siblings are in their father’s hospital room during his final moments. His death sparks a conversational wake that includes everything from arguments over politics to the time when each sibling realized that they had grown up. The play promises to be “[a] loving look at a family’s view of death, life and the allure of never growing up. Directed by Deanna Duplechain.

Shane at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, July 31-Oct. 24

Karen Zacarías’s play, in the festival’s 600-seat indoor Angus Bowmer Theatre, promises to be a “culturally authentic adaptation” of the 1947 Western novel by Jack Schaefer.

The Steep & Thorny Way to Heaven’s Lughnasadh: A Faerie Night Carnival, at Star Theatre, Aug. 2.

The Summer Court gathers to choose their successor, the Autumn Consort, in this fantasy variety show, costume party, and four-hour immersive experience. Called a “hybrid Night Carnival and Live Action Role Playing event,” the evening includes underground circus, dance, music, and theater artists. Come in costume as an audience observer, or reserve a Player Character ticket as a member of the Twilight Society to vote on your choice for the Autumn Consort. For ages 21+.

Continuing shows

Oregon Adventure Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale at CampOAT, July 26-27

Using the art of mask, Oregon Adventure Theatre’s aim is to simultaneously celebrate nature and theater with its outdoor productions. After a summer of free performances, the company’s final shows this summer will be at CampOAT at Turning Earth Farms in Dallas, Oregon. Admission includes music by Wren the Band & Friends, food, camping, and the show. 

For Better at Mask & Mirror in Tigard, through July 26

In this romantic comedy, Karen and Max are getting married … only their jobs keep them from being in the same city at the same time. Eric Coble’s contemporary farce pokes fun at our dependence on electronic gadgets.

21ten Theatre’s summer residency: The Rainbow Passage, through July 27

The last play in 21ten’s summer residency series, this new play by Ajai Tripathi follows a recovering drug addict who travels into the memories of his catatonic twin sister, a professor of radio astronomy, in order to rally their family to free her consciousness from being trapped on the horizon line of a black hole.

Don’t Dress for Dinner, Magenta Theater, through July 27

Bernard, the French playboy, plans a romantic weekend with his Parisian mistress while his wife, Jacqueline, is away from their renovated farmhouse. All sorts of hijinks and slapstick comedy ensue when his best friend, Robert – who’s having an affair with Jacqueline – arrives and tries to keep her from leaving. Written by Marc Camoletti and Robin Hawdon, the play – at Magenta Theater in Vancouver, Wash. – is a sequel to Camoletti’s Boeing Boeing.

The Curious Savage, at Gallery Theater in McMinnville, through Aug. 3

If you couldn’t make it to Twilight Theater Company’s recent production of John Patrick’s witty and warm-hearted play, you can head to McMinnville for this Gallery Theater production in the company’s black box performance space. The show is directed by Tonya Nichols, and features Dave Ferry, Kevin Folgate, Bec Hasel, Sasha Horning, Lisa Lindman, Beth Moore, Sarah Munk, John Olson, Stan Smith, Soren Smithrud, Obie Williams and Cathy Willoughby.

Elvis Has Left the Building, Coaster Theater Playhouse, through Aug. 9

This comedy at Cannon Beach’s Coaster Theater Playhouse was inspired by Elvis’s actual brief disappearance. It’s Dec. 20, 1970, Elvis is missing, and his manager, The Colonel, can’t pay a secret debt unless he can find an Elvis impersonator within 24 hours while also keeping a nosy reporter at bay. The show was written by V. Cate and Duke Ernsberger, and is directed by Katherine Lacaze.

Theatre 33 Summer Fest continues through Aug. 10

In addition to The City and the Sea, a new musical by Paul Lewis, this year’s festival includes Confabulous, by Susan Faust; and WAGMI (We’re All Gonna Make It), by AR Nicholas. Pop-up performances include I Want You, by Kathleen Cahill; Coal is King, by Kwik Jones; Proper, A Steampunk Comedy of Manners, by Angela Gyurko; and Detours, a 90-minute walking theatrical event at the Willamette University Campus, in Salem, where audiences become a tour group led by a pair of unprepared guides from Willamette Historical Society, and mishaps ensue. Learn more about the festival in ArtsWatcher Brett Campbell’s recent story.  

Ripcord, Rogue Theater Company, through Aug. 30

David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy centers on adversarial roommates in a retirement home. Directed by Henry Woronicz, artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from 1991 to 1995. See Jim Flint’s feature story on the play and featured actor Mark Bedard. All shows are 1 p.m. indoor performances at Grizzly Peak Winery in Ashland.

Original Practice Shakespeare Festival, through Aug. 31 at various locations

The no-cost group started its new season at the summit of Mt. Tabor on June 27 and will continue to offer a rotation of comedies, tragedies, and histories, throughout Portland and beyond. Upcoming plays include Macbeth, Midsommer (abridged), Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, King Lear and more. July performances are in Laurelhurst Park. In August, the company will make the rounds at a number of southwest parks, including the Washington Park Amphitheater, before returning to Mt. Tabor and then ending the festival at the Tillamook library at the end of the month. Find schedules and other details here.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, continuing through Oct. 26

According to ArtsWatcher Darleen Ortega, a non-Shakespeare play, Into the Woods, which will be onstage through Oct. 11, is OSF’s most unmissable offering this season. Also continuing through Oct. 25 are As You Like It, which Ortega says brings out “the sunnier elements of 1960s hippie culture”; a crowd-pleasing The Merry Wives of Windsor, through Oct. 12; The Importance of Being Earnest, through Oct. 25; and Julius Caesar, through Oct. 26. You can find Ortega’s reviews of these shows here.  Quixote Nuevo, Octavio Solis’s comic adaptation of Don Quixote, also opened this month and will continue through Oct. 24.

Theater news

Portland Revels seeks a new artistic director

Portland Revels, which has been bringing light to the darkest season with song, dance, story and ritual since 1994, is looking for a new artistic director. According to its website, “The Artistic Director is a co-equal leader alongside our Executive Director, working together to shape the artistic vision, programming, and community engagement of Portland Revels. We are committed to building a season of performances that reflect the richness of global traditions and the vibrancy of our diverse Portland community.” Find more information here.

Impulse to Give: Oregon Children’s Theatre’s live comedy and improv show/fundraiser on Aug. 2

Oregon Children’s Theatre (OCT) will be presenting Impulse to Give, a one-night-only live comedy improv show and fundraising event. According to a press release, the evening aims to raise an additional $30,000 toward OCT’s $1 million fundraising goal. Attendees can look forward to raffle prizes, a fund-a-need presentation, and interactive opportunities to “pay to play” in the improv games. The cast features alumni from the award-winning Impulse comedy troupe – a group of teenage improvisers that has been performing with OCT for the past 18 seasons.

In March 2025, OCT announced an upcoming pause in its programming, along with a fundraising need of $1 million to keep the organization afloat while rebuilding its business strategy, programming, and financial solvency. Since then, the organization has raised nearly $300,000 through individual donations and major gifts.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to host a fundraising event like this for many reasons,” said Jenn Hartmann Luck, OCT’s producing artistic director. “Not only does it allow us to celebrate the incredible work of our current and alumni of the award-winning Impulse troupe, but we get to gather and have an absolute blast as a community while we focus on the future of Oregon Children’s Theatre. This isn’t just a fundraising event, it’s a lifeline: The dollars we raise directly support our mission to provide paid, high-impact theatre programs and professional development for local youth. These funds enable us to develop a sustainable and financially solvent strategic plan, explore collaboration with nonprofit partners to expand our reach, and build a foundation for long-term growth.”

OnPoint Community Credit Union has also announced a matching donation for the event, matching every dollar raised up to $5,000.

Portland Playhouse has also donated its venue and performance space for the show. “Having partners in the community who believe in OCT and are willing to support us in this moment is critical to the future sustainability of our company, and a wonderful indicator of the direction OCT will be heading into the future,” says Luck.  

The performance and fundraising event will take place on Saturday, August 2. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the performance starting at 7 p.m.; light-fare snacks and beverages will be served. Tickets for this one-night-only event are on sale here.

Readers Theatre Gresham announces a holiday-themed new season

The readers theater is offering a holiday-themed season, including Frankenstein: A Comic Retelling by Erik James on Oct. 7;  O’Henry’s “Gift of the Magi” and other stories, adapted by Michael Streeter, on Dec. 1; POTUS or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive by Selina Fillinger on Feb. 2; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephan Adly Guirgis on April 6; and Stop Kiss by Diana Son on June 1. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at Center for the Arts Little Theatre, 333 N. Main Ave. in Gresham. Find more information here.

Spark Plug Theatre Collective announces a new season of comedies

The ensemble-based company located in the back of Ki Coffee in Beaverton is offering three comedies for the upcoming season: Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl; Now & Then, a romantic comedy set in a bar in 1981, by Sean Grannan; and Cul-de-Sac, a story about three couples who live on the same suburban cul-de-sac, by John Carliani. Find more information here.

Ashland New Plays Festival announces 2025 winners

The Ashland New Plays Festival (ANPF) announced four winners for its 2025 season. The plays, selected from 350 submissions, include Kamila Boga’s In Case of Bruising, Vince Gatton’s Better; Naya James Sonnad’s Tipping Point, and Emma Watkins’ Pretend It’s Pretend.

The winning playwrights will be in Ashland this fall for a week of play development, artist collaboration, and audience feedback. The shows will also be presented at this year’s Fall Festival Oct. 15-19, 2025 at Southern Oregon University’s Main Stage Theater, 491 S. Mountain Ave., Ashland. 

The annual ANPF Fall Festival is an opportunity for playwrights to workshop their scripts with professional actors and directors, often for the first time. It is also a chance to connect with audience members during talk-backs following each reading, where patrons can share their thoughts directly with the artists to help continue the growth of their work. These talk-backs are led by ANPF’s Host Playwrights. This year, former winner E.M. Lewis (Song of Extinction, 2008) returns as a co-host playwright, joined by past winning playwright Victor Lesniewski (The Hunt for Benedetto Montone, 2022; Cold Spring, 2018).

Each year, the winning plays are selected through ANPF’s community-based reading process, with volunteers reading each script, without knowing the author’s identity. Over the course of six months, all 350 plays are read, debated, and narrowed down based on the scripts’ content, originality, impact, and more. The four winners are then selected by ANPF’s artistic director, Jackie Apodaca.

“By the time a play becomes a finalist, it has been championed through our months-long reading process and deeply appreciated by all of our dedicated readers, making the choice of the four winners extremely challenging,” says Apodaca. “This year’s winning plays share a common perspective, one of empathy and compassion. From feuding meat factory coworkers to hungry children playing games in the woods, these stories blend the familiar with the existential. I am eager to welcome our four winning playwrights to Ashland this October and to see their compelling stories brought to life.”

Among the finalists were The Alligator by Calley N. Anderson, Oklahoma Samovar by Alice Eve Cohen, Anonymous Skin by Cris Eli Blak, The Many Mysterious Deaths of Jose Robles by Jack Karp, Cancer is a Bitch by Kerr Lockhart, Cicero’s Lisp by Richard Manley, The Black Madonna by Steve Romagnoli, and Bone by Bone by Sharifa Yazmeen.

For more information on the festival, which will be Oct. 15-19, visit the ANPF website here.

Twilight Theater expands its space

North Portland’s Twilight Theater Company will soon be taking over an additional 2,600 square feet in the historic Brandom Building, it home in the Kenton neighborhood for the last decade. The extra space will be used for the company’s set shop, costumes, props, and furniture storage. A recent press release from producing artistic director Dorinda Toner and Alicia Turvin said, “The Brandon Building has always been a place for people to come together and create new things. The space we’re inhabiting was once a food bank for the neighborhood. For the last decade, it’s been used as a maker’s space. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve this community here.” The statement went on to say, “We were able to lease this space due to the generosity and support of the building owner, as well as our incredible volunteers and donors like you. THANK YOU for continuing to uplift, support, and value the work we do.”

Milagro awards arts grants

El Centro Milagro has awarded 18 recipients a total of $15,000 in individual grants for a wide array of projects that include theater, music, dance, film, visual arts, and workshops. Throughout Season 42, many of these artists will present their works in Milagro’s Tertulia series of salon-style conversations, and other pop-up events throughout the year.

Theater artists among the award-winners include Andrea Menchaca for Speaking American, a comedy special to be recorded at Milagro; Dawn Jones Redstone for The Worm’s Embrace, a 15-minute psychological drama in which Mira, a queer Mexican-American woman, returns home for a family celebration and quietly confronts the patriarch with a dark truth; Karen Romero for Señorita Feliz/Miss Happy, an interactive show for children that features puppets, an oversized magic bag, and a coat with magic compartment; Ricardo Alvarado for Tithe for the Sinner, a heist comedy drama about a pair of parishioners who rob their church and hold its chatty and judgmental treasurer hostage, all while trying to maintain the idea that this crime was a part of God’s plan; and Ximena Fabiola Morales Rosas, for Voices of Resistance: Know Your Rights Through Forum Theatre, which uses Theatre of the Oppressed as a tool to educate and empower the migrant community on their rights and strategies for self-defense and solidarity.