Whenever I read about upcoming shows, I like to play a version of Connect the Dots, seeing where different artists pop up … and how their work is connected to other productions.

In the cozy Portland-area theater community, such connections abound. Take, for example, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, which is in rehearsals for A Case for the Existence of God by Samuel D. Hunter. The show, which opens on Feb. 28, is directed by Maureen Porter, who was so exquisitely moving and funny in Third Rail’s Infinite Life by Annie Baker last fall.

Porter’s assistant director for A Case for the Existence of God is Olivia Mathews, who was The Bride in Shaking the Tree’s superb Blood Wedding in 2023. This week, Shaking the Tree is presenting its production of The Antipodes by Annie Baker. Among the cast is Rocco Weyer, who was also in Blood Wedding, as was Sammy Rat Rios, who will appear in a production of three Chekhov farces at 21ten Theatre, which opens on Friday.

Last fall, Rat Rios was also part of the all-star cast of Amélie at Portland Playhouse, where Charles Grant is producing director. And guess what? Grant is now starring in Third Rail’s A Case for the Existence of God.

But enough of this game. Read about all these opening shows, plus a brisk and bold adaptation of Macbeth from Mary McDonald-Lewis and Doren Elias … who appeared, by the way, as the professor in 21ten’s Chekhov drama Uncle Vanya last year.

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Chekhov’s Buffoons: 3 Chekhov Farces at 21ten Theatre, Feb. 20-March 9

Portland stages have been blessed by an abundance of Chekhov plays in recent years, thanks to Štěpán Šimek’s new translations, which were presented by Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (PETE) and 21ten alike. Despite thwarted loves, a dead seagull, and a cherry tree massacre, these productions still offered generous helpings of humor. Chekhov’s broad farces, though, are actually laugh-out-loud funny, and 21ten is producing a triple-header with The Bear, The Proposal, and The Ravages of Tobacco all in one show. The new translations are, once again, by Šimek, who along with Michael O’Connell, is both performing in and directing the plays.

Of the three pieces, The Bear is the one that most resembles a boisterous rom-com. The story features Popova, who grooves on grieving for her lousy husband, and Smirnoff, who demands she repay him the money her husband had borrowed from him. Directed by Šimek, the play features actors Sammy Rat Rios, Dylan Hankins and Michael O’Connell.

In the one-man The Ravages of Tobacco, Nyukhin’s domineering wife makes him give a lecture on why tobacco is bad, even though he’s a smoker himself. O’Connell directs Šimek in this one-man play.

As for The Proposal, Chubukov’s neighbor Lomov hopes to propose to Natasha, Chubukov’s daughter. Instead of wooing her, though, he ends up in a rabid clash with her and Chubukov over disputed property lines and who has the best hunting dog. Šimek directs the cast, which includes Rat Rios, O’Connell and Dylan Hankins, who recently took over for Jacob Coleman.

As different as they may seem on the surface, Šimek contends that farce is also an essential element of Chekhov’s major plays. In press material for the new production he wrote, “[T]he young doctor, who quickly penned his little one-acts in his spare time, was already the great master of the human comedy, as much as the mature Chekhov of his late masterpieces was still the young doctor who just wanted to amuse his friends with his little jokes.”

Besides directing over 40 productions in the last 30 years, Šimek, who was born in Prague in what was then Czechoslovakia and is fluent and literate in five languages, is a theater professor at Lewis & Clark College as well as an award-winning translator. Because Chekhov peppered the farces with Russian insults and “strange” diminutives, Šimek dug deep to find the right English words to capture the spirit of these plays.

His co-director, O’Connell, who was one of the founding members of Third Rail Repertory and directed 21ten’s production of A Number last year, also knows his Chekhov backwards and forwards. He played Vershinin in Three Sisters in grad school, and then twenty years later for PETE. He was also a guest artist at Willamette University and was in its Three Farces and a Funeral, and got to play Chekhov while the playwright was dying. As he says, “I’ve died in multiple modalities attached to Chekhov.”

Šimek and O’Connell took time from directing and acting in the upcoming 21ten production to answer some questions via email about Chekhov, his farces, and why we need them more than ever. 

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ArtsWatch talked with Šimek and O’Connell about the Chekhov plays here. The interview combines separate email exchanges and has been edited and condensed for clarity: 

ArtsWatch: In Chekhov’s view – and yours – are we all buffoons?

Štěpán Šimek: We all, without a single exception have been, continue being, and always will be definitely, absolutely, undeniably, indisputably, unquestionably, unequivocally, and beyond any doubt buffoons, and thank God for that!

Michael O’Connell: Watch the news. 

For those who aren’t familiar with the farces, what will surprise them?

MO: I think the characters in the farces haven’t learned as many coping mechanisms as those in his major plays. Both are stuck and desperately want to get out, but the Farcies are more outwardly impulsive, more ferocious in their desire. They don’t get sad, they wail, they cry when they’re happy, they threaten violence and then fall in love. 

ŠŠ: I think that most people who will come to see the production will be somewhat familiar with, or at least be aware of Chekhov in general. And in general, the – if you will – general idea about Chekhov is that he’s sort of a brooding playwright, an author of very LARGE and very IMPORTANT plays that somehow deal with people being bored, and all that stuff. … So, the fact that those are farces (he actually titles each of them as “joke in one act”), that the characters and the situations are absurdly funny, and that they are basically FUN may surprise them. 

Štěpán, you’re working as translator, director and actor for this production. What’s it like taking on all three of these roles?

It was a lot. I’m very very very very happy to be actually ACTING. I haven’t done that in ages, and I enjoy every minute of it. Mike O’Connell is a fantastic director, and while (or rather, because) the work on the role is quite intense, it is extremely enjoyable.

Because I’m as old as the hills, and sometimes barely remember the names of my own children, not to mention what I had for dinner yesterday, I  was very worried about memorizing the monstrously long monologue I’m performing. But it is OK … (knock on wood…).

I’m directing the two other one-acts, and since the cast is so so so very lovely and strong, it kind of doesn’t stress me too much, but there is lots of physical schtick, and comedy is “all in the timing” it takes some time to make it all run smoothly, and I just go from directing to acting and from acting to directing, but it all seems to be falling into place — more or less. ..(knock on another piece of wood …).

Michael, what’s it like for you to work as both director and actor in this show?

I’ve learned a lot but I don’t think I’d recommend it. I’m obsessive as an actor and a director, and I’m also not a great multi-tasker. To say we have been leaning on Sammy’s brilliance would be a huge understatement. Dylan has saved us all; I have no idea how he handled the line load in such a short time, his energy in the room is unfailingly positive and we needed it. The dynamic of their youthful energy and our curmudgeonly ways has been super fun for me.  

And how has directing this production been different from your stunning work with 21ten’s A Number last year?

I suppose stylistically they are very different animals. A Number has a heightened almost hyperrealism; The Ravages of Tobacco is way more broad, the comedy has an absurd edge to it, much like Beckett, we have to look deeply and creatively to motivate the action. Allowing for Štěpán’s goofy sweetness to shine through while attending to the specificity needed in clown work has been a super fun challenge. Not to mention, we’ve choreographed a dance/dream ballet to a tuba solo, which may be a first. 

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

MO: This would be a great show to have a yummy cocktail beforehand.

ŠŠ: Really, just come and see it. We need some comedy and laughter in this shitshow of a world and the nightmare of a country, and if we cannot laugh anymore, we’re, like, TOTALLY SCREWED.

This interview combines separate email exchanges and has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Chekhov! Three Farces previews Feb. 20 and runs Feb. 21-March 9 at 21ten Theatre, 2110 S.E. 10th Ave., Portland. See ticket and scheduling information here.

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Blood on their hands: “The Macbeths,” a Red S Theater production at Milagro Theatre, March 6-16.

At its heart, The Macbeths, a swift new adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play,” is a “great and tragic love affair,” says Mary McDonald-Lewis, who stars as Lady Macbeth in the play she adapted with her costar, Doren Elias.  

Speaking on the phone, McDonald-Lewis said the idea to reshape the Bard’s tragedy so that it centers on the passion between Lady Macbeth and her husband came to her in 2023 while she was living and working on an elephant preserve for two weeks in Thailand.

Inspiration came to McDonald-Lewis as she was on her way through the jungle to meet her fellow workers for breakfast at 5:30 a.m.: “I was walking through the darkness just appreciating the feeling of my body in space, and I started thinking about love, and I went to what I consider a really important love story, which is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and it struck me that this is a misunderstood story and that it has been told inadequately.” The usual interpretation,  she says, “that he’s a thug and she’s a monster,” is an oversimplification of the characters and the story as a whole.

When it came to finding a partner for the project, McDonald-Lewis knew she wanted Elias both as a creative collaborator and as the Macbeth to her Lady M., having already known him as a superb playwright, producer, actor, and person. “If you embark on a project with somebody, it really is like getting into bed with them. And because of the nature of what I was proposing, there was going to be a level of intimacy demanded. It really requires trust and companionship.”

While she was still in Thailand, McDonald-Lewis reached out to Elias, who was instantly on board. Back at home, they began to re-compose the play, deleting anything that struck them as extraneous, while keeping all the famous speeches – or “great arias,” as McDonald-Lewis calls them, including the oft-quoted lines “Out, damned spot” and “Lay on, Macduff.”

Every word in The Macbeths, which is directed by Jane Bement Geesman, comes from Shakespeare, with McDonald-Lewis and Elias cutting and pasting his dialogue to make their production a one-hour-and-twenty-minute one-act, with just three actors, including Brian Trybom, who portrays eight characters, including Banquo. One of the biggest changes here is that Lady Macbeth now gets the same amount of time onstage as her husband. This fits with the historical couple, McDonald-Lewis says, because the real Lady M. had an even greater claim to the Scottish throne than either her husband or Duncan, who was king at the beginning of Shakespeare’s play.   

“So here we have these two people who have so much rocket fuel in their tank, right? They’re intelligent, powerful, strategic. He’s an incredible war hero, and she’s an incredible manager of his estates, of his rule there as Thane, but they’re thwarted and they believe it’s illegitimate,” McDonald-Lewis says. “We wanted to show what happens when two people who risk it all for this third thing, the throne, and who, as a consequence. lose each other, which in the end was the only thing that matters.”      

Like the jungle in Thailand, where McDonald-Lewis could hear caged howler monkeys and tigers, The Macbeths is full of evocative sounds. Their one act, she says, “is all propelled forward with a gorgeous soundscape that’s got foxes and owls and nature. It’s got the wind and lightning and thunder and fog on set.”  In the background, moving images, including those of the witches, will be projected. “So there will be things to see, feel, hear, watch, experience with The Macbeths.”

McDonald-Lewis, who’s worked in film, television and radio for four decades. says she’s never pursued a project with this much vigor. She and Elias are taking a gamble by financing the production themselves, but they envision it becoming a must-see production that tours to Oregon high schools and universities. Eventually, they’d like their show to be translated to Spanish and also to tour around the world.

McDonald-Lewis’s passion for the project is convincing, and whatever happens next, she and Elias have had a sublime experience working on the play for over a year. “When you’re in the slipstream, when you’re on the breath of the wings of the muse, you kind of can’t go wrong,” McDonald-Lewis says. “You’re being held aloft by something other than yourself that takes you where you need to be.”

The Macbeths will be onstage at Milagro Theatre, 525 S.E. Stark St, Portland, for 10 performances. For tickets and scheduling, check here.

Also Opening

Notes from the Field at Portland Playhouse, Feb. 19-March 30.

Anna Deavere Smith’s 17-character, one-actor play, which Dmae Lo Roberts previewed in her ArtsWatch Stage & Studio podcast, exposes a world where young Black men are systematically pushed out of the education system and into the criminal justice system. But amidst the darkness, there are rays of light, as dedicated educators, activists, and community leaders fight to make a difference in the lives of these vulnerable young people. Directed by Jackie Davis and starring Ramona Lisa Alexander. See it at Portland Playhouse, 602 N.E. Prescott St.

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The Antipodes at Shaking the Tree Theatre, Feb. 22-March 22.

Five years ago, at the beginning of Covid pandemic lockdowns, Shaking the Tree’s founding artistic director, Samantha Van Der Merwe, had to cancel her production of The Antipodes by Annie Baker. At the time she wrote, “We are particularly sad about cancelling rehearsals, because, as artists, doing what we love keeps us healthy and happy. We were having so much fun!!! For a play that happens around a conference table, there is a surprising amount of movement, and our cast were learning to perform magic tricks. You will be pretty astonished at what we’re able to pull out of our proverbial hats, when we resume.”

That time is now, and the wildly inventive Van Der Merwe is directing an all-star cast, including Duffy Epstein, Rebby Yuer Foster (Shaking the Tree’s associate artistic director), Josie Seid, Ken Yoshikawa, Sam Dinkowitz, Darius Pierce, Rocco Weyer, Jim Vadala, and Samson Syharath. See it at Shaking the Tree, 823 S.E. Grant St. in Portland.

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The Effect at University of Portland, Feb. 19-23.

The Oregon premiere of this “romantic dramedy” is about Connie and Tristan, volunteers in a clinical trial. Are they falling in love, or are their feelings a side effect from an experimental antidepressant they’re taking? It’s written by Emmy winner Lucy Prebble (HBO’s Succession), a writer who The New Yorker says “has become an expert at getting deep inside worried characters’ heads.” The Effect is directed by Andy Christensen, assistant professor at UP. The show will be onstage at the Mago Hunt Theater at 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. in Portland.

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Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl, part of the Reader’s Series at Twilight Theater, Feb. 21 & 22.

Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, plot twists, and visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story. Directed by Mark Jones.

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Portland Revels presents a children’s production Little Lights, Feb. 22 & 23.

Portland Revels, celebrating its 30th season of beaming light into our winter darkness, presents its latest children’s show, which echoes the Nordic themes of its Midwinter Revels sister show, featuring songs, stories and dance from the northernmost reaches of Europe, with themes appropriate for kids ages 3 to 7.

In Little Lights, two friends promise the Norse god Odin that they will guard a box of light through the longest night. But they fall asleep and the Yule Lads steal the box – along with all the light. In this engaging, interactive production, the friends and a mysterious arctic fox set out on a quest to find the box and bring back the light. For children ages 3-7. There will be three Children’s Revels: Little Lights shows daily at The Judy, 1000 S.W. Broadway, Portland.

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Sapience at Artists Repertory Theatre, Feb. 23-March 23.   

According to its press, Diana Burbano’s play is “an exploration of love, communication, and the universal desire to  be understood. Primatologist Elsa has been given a grant to study the language abilities of orangutans, like Wookie, a lone ape who yearns for connection. While Elsa would love to focus on teaching human speech to a reluctant Wookie, her ex-boyfriend turned lab boss insists on being distracting. Things get even messier when sparks begin to fly between her boss and her cousin, Miri. Meanwhile, a surprising friendship forms between Wookie and Miri’s teenage son AJ, further complicating Elsa’s once clean-cut world.” The production is a collaboration with PHAME, a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Tartuffe, at Portland State University, Feb. 27-March 8.

In this scathing comedy presented by PSU’s Theater Arts program, the scheming Tartuffe worms his way into the household of the wealthy Orgon and tries to steal his property as well as the affections of his wife and daughter. Written in 1664, Molière’s comic indictment of moral hypocrisy remains a valid commentary on false virtue and alternative facts. According to a PSU press release, “Sparkling with witty dialogue and set entirely in rhyming couplets, [Richard] Wilbur’s translation of the 17th-century neoclassical comedy gleefully skewers powerful manipulators who claim that their motives are based on benevolence.”  See the show, which is directed by Christine Freije, at Lincoln Performance Hall (Lincoln Hall 175), 1620 S.W. Park Ave., Portland.

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Third Rail presents A Case for the Existence of God at CoHo Theatre, Feb. 28-Mar. 16.

Keith and Ryan are two working dads who don’t seem to have much in common. Despite different upbringings, identities, and lifestyles, though, the men connect over their experiences of fatherhood; growing up in a small, rural town; and the loneliness of lost opportunities and fragile circumstances. According to its press, “A Case for the Existence of God shines a light on the ways in which disparate lives can commingle and create a deep and indelible imprint of empathy and connection.” Directed by Maureen Porter and starring Charles Grant and Isaac Lamb. See it at CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland.

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Noises Off at Lakewood Theatre Company, Feb. 28-April 6. 

For those who need a lift, this spoof of English bedroom comedies was written by Michael Frayn and follows the backstage antics of a touring theater troupe who find themselves caught in a sex farce of their own. The title, in theater terminology, refers to commotion offstage, which, in this case, makes for lively onstage entertainment. Directed by Don Alder. See the show at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State St., Lake Oswego.

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The Mousetrap at Experience Theatre Project, Feb. 28-April 6.

Artistic director Alisa Stewart directs this classic Agatha Christie murder mystery, which is the longest running play ever, having opened in London’s West End in 1952. The story features the guests of the remote Monkswell Manor House who are trapped in a snowstorm when they discover a murderer is in their midst. This intimate production is limited to only 45 people per show and will be performed in Experience Theatre Project’s new space at ​18850 S.W. Alexander St. in Aloha.

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Pride & Prejudice at Mask & Mirror, Feb. 28-March 16.

See Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy spar in one of the best romcoms ever written. The show will be onstage at Rise Church, 10445 S.W. Canterbury Lane, Tigard.

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Broadway in Portland presents Hamilton, March 4-23.

Hamilton is the epic saga that follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Hamilton features book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. In addition to its 11 Tony Awards, it has won Grammy®, Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and, during Trump’s first term, an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018. At Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St. in Portland.

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Silent Sky at OMSI, March 6-9.

This production from Mt Hood Repertory Theatre is the first play ever to take place in OMSI’s Kendall planetarium. Through the story of pioneering astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Silent Sky, by Lauren Gundersen, explores a woman’s place in society during a time of great scientific discoveries. The show’s press sounds intriguing: “A decade before women gained the right to vote, Henrietta Leavitt and her fellow women ‘computers’ transformed the science of astronomy. With music and math bursting forth onstage, Henrietta and her peers change how we understand the heavens and Earth.”

The performance, which is directed by Joellen Sweeney, includes celestial visuals designed by OMSI Planetarium director Jim Todd, music by Jenny Giering performed live by pianist Jesse Preis, and period costumes by Laura Streeter. See the show at OMSI, 1945 S.E. Water Ave, Portland.

Continuing Shows

JC: Gospel According to an Angel at Triangle Productions! through Feb. 22.

With a book and lyrics by Don Horn and music and additional lyrics  by Michael Allen Harrison, who also performs onstage, this play about a dying man who’d like answers about the great beyond is a winner. ArtsWatch reviewed it here. See the show at The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 N.E. Sandy Blvd. in Portland. 

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Frida, un retablo at Milagro Theatre, though Feb. 22.

Written by Dañel Malán-González and directed by Mia Torres, this bilingual play paints a portrait of Frida Kahlo through three versions of her that “separate themselves from the gift shop imagery and show their true selves.” It’s presented with supertitles (subtitles above the action) for non-Spanish speaking audience members. To celebrate the production, Milagro will also offer special free  events, including art workshops and artist talkbacks, throughout the run of the play. Frida will be onstage at Milagro, 525 S.E. Stark St. in Portland.

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Fiddler on the Roof at McMinnville’s Gallery Theater, through March 2.

The classic musical that follows the story of Tevye the milkman and three of his daughters who buck tradition to marry the men of their choice will be onstage at Gallery Theater, 210 N.E. Ford in McMinnville.

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Beginnings & Endings: A double feature at Bag&Baggage, through March 2.

The wintry weather caused multiple cancellations of shows throughout the area, including Bag&Baggage’s opening weekend of Beginnings & Endings, which finally opened on Feb. 16. The company’s double feature includes two plays written by Sarah Lynn Brown and directed by Melody Erfani. In R33, three actors bring Richard III to life in a new way. Then, in Femme Ending, nearly every female character from Shakespeare’s world appears. According to B&B’s press, “Together, these two plays create Beginnings & Endings — a night of theater that explores love, power, and the ghosts that haunt us.” The shows will be onstage at The Vault Theater, 50 E. Main St., Hillsboro.

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Corrib Theatre’s Pass Over, through March 9.

Corrib describes this contemporary American spin on Waiting for Godot by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu as “a love letter to Black male friendship, and a searing indictment of Whiteness.” The show stars Bag&Baggage artistic director Nik Whitcomb and Emmanuel Davis.

In a New York Times review of a 2021 production, Jesse Green wrote, “Somehow Nwandu gives us the recognition of horror that has informed drama since the Greeks while also providing the relief of joy — however irrational — that calls to mind the ecstasies of gospel, splatter flicks and classic musicals, all of which are sampled.”

Read ArtsWatcher Bobby Bermea’s feature on the show’s director, Vin Shambry, here. The show is a co-production with the Historic Alberta House, where it will be performed. 5131 NE 23^rd Ave., Portland.

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Arsenic and Old Lace, at Pentacle Theatre in Salem, through Feb. 22.

This black comedy featuring a homicidal family was written by Joseph Kesselring in 1939; then Frank Capra made a film adaptation starring Cary Grant in 1944. Pentacle’s production is directed by Scott Ramp. See it at 324 52^nd Ave. N.W. in Salem.

Theater News

Boom Arts presents SWANA performance festival, Feb. 28-March 9.

This 10-day festival will celebrate the resilience, beauty, and power of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) artists, with performances, installations, community gatherings, and workshops from local and international artists. Festival events will be in Northeast Portland, all walking distance from each other. You can find ticket and scheduling information for all the events here.

Among the highlights is the U.S. premiere of Awalem, by Ashtar Muallem (Palestine/France), a solo performance that blends aerial arts, contortions, poetry, and humor to tell the artist’s personal journey. Muallem navigates the complexities of her identity, balancing her connection to Palestine, her body, and her search for spiritual harmony. The show will be performed in Arabic with English surtitles on Feb. 28 & March 1, 2025 at A-WOL Dance Collective, 513 NE Schuyler St, Portland.

Another U.S. premiere, DEAR LAILA, is by Basel Zaraa (Palestine/UK) and tells a story of loss, displacement and resilience. This immersive installation invites one audience member at a time into the childhood home of Basel Zaraa, located in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. The show explores the impact of war and exile on daily life through soundscapes, family photos, and a model of Zaraa’s former residence. Inspired by his young daughter’s questions about his past, Zaraa creates a tactile, intimate experience of displacement and resistance. The installation will be presented with audio in English, Arabic, Spanish, and French  Feb. 28-March 9 at SWANA Rose Culture + Community Center, 2942 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland. 

The festival will also offer a free movement workshop on March 1 with Ashtar Muallem, who welcomes participants of all ages and skill levels, from seasoned performers to complete beginners. The workshop will be at Portland Playhouse Studio, 602 N.E. Prescott Street, Portland and is free with registration.

Finally, the SWANA local art showcase on March 8 will celebrate the vibrant artistic talent of the Pacific Northwest’s SWANA community. Featuring a diverse range of performances from dance and poetry to music and performance art, this event highlights the voices of local SWANA artists, including Areem Rose, Quinne Salameh, Lamiae Naki, Ali Kareem, Amirra Malak, Laila Mottaghi, Esau Hamadanyan, and Farah Dinga. Following the performances, mingle with the artists at a reception with light refreshments. The showcase will be at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock St, Portland. 

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Michael Sheen stars in a live-recorded London performance of Nye at Newport Performing Arts Center, March 5.

Oregon Coast Council for the Arts (OCCA) presents National Theatre’s live-recorded London production of Nye on screen – in ultra-HD – at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in the Alice Silverman Theatre at Newport Performing Arts Center. Michael Sheen is Nye Bevan in this surreal journey through the life and legacy of the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state. Written by Tim Price and directed by Rufus Norris, the production was filmed live from the Olivier stage of the National Theatre in London. For tickets, call 541-265-2787 or visit coastarts.org/events/ntl-nye.

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Clackamas Repertory Theater adds Saturday matinees.

For those who prefer seeing afternoon shows, Clackamas Rep has converted its third Saturday evening performances into matinees. The following Saturday shows will take place at 2:30 p.m.: Sherlock Holmes and the Precarious Position on July 12, Damn Yankees on Aug. 16, Dial M for Murder on Sept. 20. Season pass holders select their preferred seats (either online or by calling the box office at 503-594-6047)  before tickets go on sale to the general public on April 15.