Fertile Ground Previews

Fertile Ground, an organic and unpredictable festival of greater Portland talent, is celebrating its 16^th year by presenting 64 new shows in all stages of development over the course of 16 jam-packed days. Making it easy to get to your neighborhood theaters, venues are scattered throughout the metro area, including Hillsboro, Beaverton, Milwaukie and Lake Oswego, in addition to theaters on both sides of the river in Portland.

Tamara Carroll, the festival director again this year, says the whole enterprise is like an anything-goes open mic of productions that use all forms of theater, including dance, music, multimedia  and even puppets. Instead of juried shows, producers add their name to the list to become part of a festival that includes everything from fully staged productions to staged readings/workshop performances.

As usual, the festival hosted a showcase event this year, which was like a grown-up talent show where Fertile Ground artists and local press watched quick presentations for several shows. For the first time, the public was also invited to the free event, held on March 18 at the Armory.

While providing live previews of the productions, the showcase also offered some lively entertainment, with its brisk pitches and mini-performances, plus its festive vibe and a fabulous parade of inventive costumes. The colorful and giddy attire among the presenters was a true delight: surely as much fun – or maybe more – than getting a front row seat at New York’s Fashion Week.

A member of Genderbomb, a nonprofit organization that creates events by and for the trans community, such as its festival show The Real Houseplants of Portland, Oregon, wore a playful red dress trimmed with white ruffles. Meanwhile, some of the cast of Jed Sutton’s What the Fox? sported drawn-on moustaches, and one member had donned a fabulous many-tailed fox head.

The Crones (Barb Fankhauser, Anne Penfound, and Julie Strozyk) from Portland Storytellers’ Guild wore t-shirts printed with bones and had a skeleton with them as they talked about  their show, Dancing with Death, which promises to deliver both shivers and laughs. And the cast of Sugar & Whiskey Burlesque, in olive minidresses, looked like a sexy scout troop whose stated mission is to “save the world one burlesque show at a time.”

But of course the productions have more to offer than their costumes. Much of the festival features deep explorations of character and/or societal issues, as the plays Conciliation, Rogues and Shelf Life, which ArtsWatch previewed here, promise to do. In her Stage & Studio podcast, ArtsWatcher Dmae Lo Roberts also featured Fertile Ground theatermakers Samson Syharath and Jane Vogel Mantiri, who talked about the stories behind their respective shows Hanuman’s Shadow: Echoes of Laos and America and See Jane Run: An Indo Story, which probe cultural identity and the immigrant experience in the U.S.

Below is a list of more shows that sound intriguing, with links for tickets and schedules. You can also check out descriptions of all the Fertile Ground shows in its festival guide.

A Window into Tennessee by Sandra de Helen at 21ten Theatre, April 14, 18 & 19.

In a compelling presentation at the festival showcase, Michael J. Teufel, dressed in a seersucker suit, performed an excerpt from the one-man show about Tennessee Williams. Even this snippet of a presentation was breathtaking, as was de Helen’s script, which evokes chanting tree frogs, cicadas, humid moonlight and “long nights of lovemaking on the sleeping porch.” Directed by Louanne Moldovan.

545 by Francisco Garcia at Artists Repertory Theatre, April 5. 

Garcia, who performed in Stumptown Stages’ Kiss of the Spider Woman last fall and is a member of LineStorm Playwrights, the invitation-only collective for dramatists in the process of creating new works, is also a recent recipient of the Spark Award for Theatre from the Miller Foundation. His play 545 is inspired by the Trump administration’s separation of 545 migrant children from their families in 2020 … who have yet to be reunited. In this reading, two young sisters, Luli and Oli, are being held in custody near the border, where they struggle to find hope in the darkness of missing their mother. Sammy Rat Rios directs, and real-life mother and daughters Eleanor Amorós and Mila and Lulu Kashiwabara star in the play, which was originally commissioned by Portland Playhouse during the pandemic and made into a short film. This is the first time it will be presented onstage.

Camp Fire Stories by Murri Lazaroff-Babin at CoHo Theatre, April 8-19.

Even before the Northern California town of Concow was destroyed by a 2018 wildfire, this rural community was impoverished. Lazaroff-Babin’s solo show centers on his hometown, where, as he writes, “Some people live on generators, some don’t have septic systems, some camp out and take shelter in hand-me-down trailers.” With chainsaws, bonfires, and rooster crows as a background, the story explores the lives of local hitchhikers, illegal marijuana growers, and gruff mountain veterans, all through the eyes of a child who calls this place home. 

Regret: A Gothic Tragicom by Karen Polinsky at Chapel Theatre, April 10 & 13.

This production, which is part of the PDX Playwrights’ Festival Within the Festival, centers on a dying patriarch, murder, and a rustic property in Oregon that’s suddenly worth millions. The show also features a giant endangered squirrel and an original score and live performance by Michael C. Hays and Esmé Schwall of Portland’s Pythias Braswell. At the showcase, Hays performed a haunting duet with singer Jessica Curtiss, who plays the daughter Claire in the play. PDX Playwrights, which is producing nine Fertile Ground shows this year, received the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) grant for its Festival Within the Festival 2025. To learn more about PDX Playwrights, read ArtsWatcher Brett Campbell’s 2024 story here.  

UNFIT: The Tale of One Pregnant Teen in the Bible Belt Before Women Had Choice by Lani Leigh at Clinton Street Theatre, April 6 & 8.

Leigh’s personal story, which she also wrote about in a memoir she published in 2019, relates how her religious parents sent her to Sellers Baptist Home for Unwed Mothers as a pregnant teen, where she was coerced into giving up her baby. In addition to the anguish of the experience, the show centers on a girl’s confusion about her sexuality, which in 1970s Moore, Oklahoma, was deemed a sin. On social media, Leigh wrote about how she turned her book into a play, saying, “Even though I had never studied acting at that point, Fall 2019 was also the first time I had a leading role in a full production. After retiring in 2022, I decided to start taking acting classes and re-examining my story in light of what might be possible in a one-person show.”

Mountain Woman by Ariel Bittner at 21ten Theatre, April 19.

Ariel Bittner’s preview of her show was among the most mysterious and intriguing presentations at the Fertile Ground showcase. Wearing a long, flowing, lava-colored garment, Bittner performed an excerpt from her 30-minute solo multimedia performance, which includes dance, recorded narration, music and scent. Intended to be a call to connect with the cycles of the earth, the show features a set and costume made from recycled materials.

Recipients of Fertile Ground’s GROW Program.

This year, Fertile Ground awarded grants for six projects that featured “underrepresented stories, innovative storytelling, and the potential for individual artistic growth.” Among this year’s productions is a reading of Exemplar by Jody Read, which according to its press, began as a gender-swapped Mad Men, only to become a show that aims to challenge “audiences to get up close and personal with the way a gender binary worldview trades one oppressor for another.” 

Another recipient of the award, Jonathan Hernandez, is presenting his dynamic The Mask I Wear, a solo show that reveals the struggles of a Latino male artist who questions the cost of success if it means succumbing to portraying stereotypes.

Also opening

Great White Goes Down at Fuse Theatre, April 3-27.

The third play in the Great White trilogy, Great White Goes Down, by Ajai Tripathi and Patrick Hilton, will be premiering as part of Fertile Ground and also as the first play in Fuse’s 2025 season. ArtsWatch previewed it here.

Next to Normal at Greenhouse Cabaret in Bend, April 4-May 3.

Debuting off-Broadway in 2008, this rock musical went on to win three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for drama. According to its press, “Next to Normal is an intimate exploration of family and illness, loss and grief. At its heart is Diana Goodman … a suburban wife and mother living with bipolar disorder and haunted by her past.” Featuring a score by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey; directed by founder John Kish and Greenhouse returnee Josh Curtis (Proof); music directed by Natalie True (Sweeney Todd). Recommended for ages 14+.

Tiny Beautiful Things, a staged reading at Magenta Theater in Vancouver, Wash., April 5.

Based on the bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, Tiny Beautiful Things draws from Strayed’s experiences as an anonymous advice columnist. “The ‘Dear Sugar’ column is about people connecting in a world detached and isolated due to a pandemic or simple screen usage,” says director Larrisa Epperson. “Sugar provides a safe space for people to say, out loud, who they want to be and what they feel.” The show is presented by Magenta’s Black Chair Projects, a special series of staged readings of plays that are enhanced with costumes, props and other minimal technical elements.

Calendar Girls at HART Theater in Hillsboro, April 5-20.

A group of ordinary Yorkshire women make an artistic nude calendar to raise money for charity, unleashing unexpected emotional and personal ramifications. The true story of the “Calendar Girls” launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record-breaking movie, and the stage musical written by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow. Among the stars of this production is the decidedly stellar Ruth Jenkins.

Life of Pi, April 8-13.

Based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, the touring production of the Tony-Award-winning show by Lolita Chakrabarti is sailing into Portland this month. In a 2023 New York Times review Alexis Soloski wrote that “[h]uman ingenuity and animal grace course through this rich, inventive play about difficult choices and the stories we tell to make sense of them.” The story about a boy, a boat, and a very hungry Bengal tiger named Richard Parker features stunning visuals and animal puppetry. Onstage at Keller Auditorium.

Salome at Imago Theatre, April 11-27.

Forget the cucumber sandwiches and witty repartee. Imago is presenting Oscar Wilde’s one-act and once-controversial drama Salome, as a newly conceived chamber-sized production adapted by Drew Pisarra and directed by Jerry Mouawad. Steven Berkoff, a director, actor and writer who staged a version of the play in 1995, told the New York Times, “The story enchanted me. It is like a fairy tale, and fairy tales that have an element of magic and obsession about them always intrigue me. It is very unusual to find a play that devotes itself to such intense poetic expression.” Originally written in French in 1891 and based on the biblical tale of the femme fatale Salome, who dances for her stepfather King Herod as a birthday present, then demands John the Baptist’s head on a platter as payment, the play was originally banned in England, which prohibited the depiction of biblical characters onstage. Imago’s production includes many actors from its recent revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, including Jaiden Wirth, Jeff Giberson, Max Bernsohn, Merehuka Manurere, Danny Walker, and Matt Sunderland. 

Blinking Eye Theatre’s The Melancholy Play at Twilight Theatre, April 11-27.

Described as a “melodramatic comedy that celebrates the way we relate to one another through sadness,” Sarah Ruhl’s play features Tilly, whose melancholy has so much appeal that every stranger she meets falls in love with her. According to the show’s press, it’s “absolutely ridiculous with actors turning a 15ft skirt into a chaise and characters turning into almonds.” Directed by Riley Parham, with music by Michael Roth, and a cast that features Laura Johnson, Jayna Sweet, Kye Beatty, Caralynn Rose, Mel Satsuma, and Rebecca Raccanelli.

Grease at Broadway Rose Theatre Company, April 10-May 18

Rock back to the 1950s in this musical that features the unlikely pair of “greaser” Danny and girl-next-door Sandy. In Broadway Rose’s capable hands, famous song and dance numbers like “Greased Lightnin’,” “We Go Together,” and “You’re the One That I Want” are sure to wow. Book, music, and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and directed by Sarah Jane Hardy. As often is the case with the company’s shows, this one is nearly sold out, so you’ll need to get your tickets fast. 

Clue at Red Octopus Theatre in Newport, April 11-27.

Dubbed a “hilarious farce-meets-murder-mystery,” Clue, featuring Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Col. Mustard and the rest of the board-game gang, is Sandy Rustin’s adaptation of Johnathan Lynn’s screenplay, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. Directed by Cody Larsen. See it at the Newport Performing Arts Center.  In 2022, Juan A. Ramirez wrote in the The New York Times, “…the show is a very fun, very silly 1950s-set whodunit that strikes some contemporary parallels on the way to its grand reveal.”

Clean Sheets, a reading at PassinArt, April 14.

PassinArt’s Play Reading Monday this month features Jeanette Hill’s show, which centers on Victoria Reeves, who believes becoming a success will erase her unpleasant childhood. Twenty-five years later, she has that success, but a bittersweet reunion with her beloved Aunt Rose brings up memories she can’t control and forces her to decide whether she should save herself by revealing secrets that would destroy the people she loves.

Continuing shows

The Temperamentals at Twilight Theatre, through April 6.

Jon Marans’ 2009 play explores the hidden world of burgeoning gay activism in postwar America. As part of a secret language that gay men used to communicate, “Temperamental” was code for “homosexual” in the early 1950s. The play, which stars Derek Johnson and Matthew Sepeda and is directed by Roy Arauz, tells the story of Harry Hay and Rudi Gernreich, who fall in love while building the first gay rights organization in the pre-Stonewall U.S.

Noises Off at Lakewood Center for the Arts through April 6. 

Lakewood Theatre presents this rollicking spoof of English bedroom comedies. Written by Michael Frayn, the play 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. 

The Mousetrap at Experience Theatre Project through April 6.

Artistic director Alisa Stewart directs this classic Agatha Christie murder mystery, which is the longest continually 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, immersive production is limited to only 45 people per show and is being performed in Experience Theatre Project’s new space at ​18850 S.W. Alexander St. in Aloha.

Big Fish at Pentacle Theatre in Salem, through April 12.

Based on Daniel Wallace’s novel and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish focuses on the relationship between Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman, and his adult son Will. Shifting between two timelines, 60-year-old Edward faces mortality in the present day as Will prepares to become a father himself. In the storybook past, Edward meets a witch, a giant, a mermaid, and the love of his life, Sandra. The stories meet as Will discovers a secret from his father’s past. Directed by Jill Sorensen, the play features a book by John August and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

Marjorie Prime at Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria, through April 12.

In the age of artificial intelligence, 85-year-old Marjorie has a handsome new companion who’s programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. A 2015 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Jordan Harrison’s 75-minute play, which The New York Times called “elegant, thoughtful and quietly unsettling,” explores the mysteries of memory and human identity, while probing the limits of technology. Directed by Markus Brown.

Northwest Children’s Theatre presents Pete the Cat — A Live Rock Musical at The Judy, through April 13.

Pete the Cat rocks out in this “fast-paced, globe-trotting musical adventure” as he helps his best friend, Jimmy, embrace the power of imagination. It’s based on the book series by Kimberly and James Dean, with script and lyrics by Sarah Hammond and music by Will Aronson. Among the weekend shows, there will be an ASL-interpreted performance on March 22 and a sensory-friendly show on March 23. There will also be weekday performances over spring break. Most enjoyed by ages 4 and up.

Tootsie, Stumptown Stages at the Winningstad Theatre, through April 13.

Based on Sydney Pollack’s 1982 romantic-comedy film, this Tony-nominated stage musical features music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Robert Horn. The show is directed by Emily Alexander and Steve Coker and choreographed by Jeff George, with musical direction by Barney Stein. It also features Stumptown’s producing artistic director Kirk Mouser as a fabulous Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, the role that Dustin Hoffman created in the Oscar-nominated film. ArtsWatch reviewed the show here.

The Light at Portland Center Stage through April 20.

Real-life friends La’ Tevin Alexander and Andrea Vernae star in this sexy, thoroughly absorbing and socially significant production of Loy A. Webb’s play. Directed by Chip Miller. ArtsWatch reviewed it here.

Theater news

Portland Center Stage announces its 2025/2026 season.

Portland Center Stage has announced the lineup for its new season, The Stories That Bind Us, which includes seven shows, all on the Mainstage, and several of them co-productions with other companies.

The shows include Primary Trust By Eboni Booth, which won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women adapted by Lauren Gunderson and a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse; The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer, a co-production with Seattle Rep and winner of the 2015 London’s Olivier Award for Best New Comedy; Lizard Boy, with book, music, and lyrics by Justin Huertas; Fat Ham by James Ijames, a co-production with Portland Playhouse and winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer, written and performed by Kristina Wong, a co-production with Boom Arts; and the return of Storm Large Makes it Home, written and performed by Storm Large.

 “The seven shows sing with playfulness and glee, delivering a heart-pounding, visceral, humor-laced season that centers the full humanity of a gorgeous range of experiences and voices on stage,” says Artistic Director Marissa Wolf. “In a wildly challenging time in our democracy, theater creates a critical space for dreaming as we witness our own humanity on stage. Theater’s the place for feeling alive.”

Beyond the stage, PCS will host community events, live music, art exhibits, and expanded education programs. Season tickets are on sale now.

The Reser adds a matinee performance of Shoshana Bean’s concert on April 11.

The Reser in Beaverton announced it has added an extra performance by Shoshana Bean on April 11. Besides her previously scheduled 7:30 p.m. concert, she’ll also be onstage at 2 p.m., and tickets for both shows can be found here.

Bean is a Beaverton High School graduate who appears regularly in Broadway musicals, has been nominated for Tony Awards, and comes back to Beaverton to do benefit concerts for the Beaverton High School drama department.

Most recently, she received Tony, Grammy, Drama League, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominations for her portrayal of ‘Jersey’ in Alicia Keys’ new musical Hell’s Kitchen. In 2022, she received Tony and Grammy nominations for her starring role as Susan Young opposite Billy Crystal in Broadway’s Mr. Saturday Night and starred on Broadway as the first replacement for Elphaba in Wicked and Jenna in Waitress. She has also released six independent studio albums, and has performed at sold-out concerts around the globe.

Don Horn directs a staged reading of his play Dishin’ with Divine in New York.

Back in 1994, Don Horn (a.k.a. “Donnie”), the founder and executive director of triangle productions!, wrote a play called Dishin’ with Divine, which starred Walter W. Cole/Darcelle as the famous drag queen who starred in the films Hairspray and Pink Flamingos. Now Horn is in New York, where he’s directing an invitation-only staged reading of the revamped show on April 4 with Broadway’s Josh Lamon (currently Stefan in Death Becomes Her) in the starring role.

According to the show’s press, “[A]udiences will meet the man behind the dress, Harris Glenn Milstead, as he relives the ups and downs of his remarkable career – cut short at only 42 years of age.”

Horn adds, “Divine said ‘I am an entertainer, an actor, not a drag queen. My favorite part of dressing in drag is getting out of it. Drag is my work clothes. I only put it on when someone pays me to.’ I found that statement interesting. That’s what drove me to delve as much as I could into Harris Glen Milstead’s life, which included Divine but not exclusively. He was a son, a friend, a lover and yes, an actor, entertainer that just happened to be outrageous and whom the press called, ‘The First Lady of Trash Cinema.’ I want the audience to get to know what made Harris tick – what talent John Waters saw and what as People Magazine coined, ‘The drag queen of the century’. I love writing shows that explore gay icons and how they succeeded.”

Last year, triangle took Horn’s play Make Me Gorgeous! off-Broadway, where it ran for five months and received three off-Broadway nominations and one win. Triangle’s next production in Portland will be a re-staging of Darcelle: That’s No Lady, opening on June 5.  

Oregon Coast Council for the Arts offers a stage management class.

The Oregon Coast Council for the Arts will offer a six-week stage management course beginning April 14 at the Newport Performing Arts Center. The class, led by Brian Robrecht, is suitable for ages 16+ and will cover pre-production, rehearsals, tech process, dress rehearsals, performances, and more. Participants will also have an opportunity to get hands-on experience, working on a live performance (Porthole Players’ short play festival – “B.o.a.T.S.” or “Based on a True Story”). No experience is necessary, and registration for the course is just $25. Find more information here. 

Lakewood Theatre Company offers First Wednesday Comedy Nights, April–June 2025.

Following the success of its two stand-up comedy nights in February, Lakewood Theatre will present a series of three additional live comedy shows on the first Wednesdays in April, May, and June of 2025. Each night features a headlining comedian along with 2-3 guest comedians. The series is hosted by actor and stand-up comedian Ty Boice, who recently starred in Lakewood’s production of The Maltese Falcon. Scheduled to appear are Kermet Apio in April, Brent Lowery in May, and Phillip Kopcysnki in June. Performances will be on Lakewood Theatre Company’s Side Door Stage at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego. Light food, snacks, and beverages are available to purchase before and during the show. For tickets, call 503-635-3901 or order online here.