Celebrating old and new works, two more companies open their seasons this month. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Third Rail Reportory is revisiting the first show it produced, in 2005, Craig Wright’s Recent Tragic Events, while Corrib Theatre has commissioned a work, Stilt, by award-winning playwright Joy Nesbitt.

Meanwhile, former Fertile Ground producers continue to flourish this fall. Jed Sutton (What the Fox?, 2025) and Ariel Bittner (Mountain Woman, 2025) are joining forces with Maddy Schultz this month to present Elemental, three short plays onstage at Ethos Music Center.

Prolific creator erin rachel is also offering a developmental performance of her musical unbound (2025), Eleanor O’Brien is back with Plan V: The Rise of Reverence (2024), and Andee Joyce is presenting  Rhythm & Autism (2024).

Another veteran festival contributor, Laura Christina Dunn (2019’s Sirens of Coos Bay, for one), is premiering her new cabaret musical Don’t Drop the Thread, with a cast that includes Lani Jo Leigh (Unfit, 2025).

Leigh and I recently talked about the show, a new take on the Minotaur myth, and the new way she approaches the world since she began exploring acting after retirement.

New life: Lani Jo Leigh continues to find her voice in The Broken Planetarium’s newest musical, “Don’t Drop the Thread.”

“I don’t want to be one of those people who sits on their butt and complains about their aches and pains,” says theater-owner-turned-actor Lani Jo Leigh.

No chance of that. Leigh, who is 71, bought the Clinton Street Theater movie house in 2012, endured its closure during the pandemic, then retired in 2022 and started taking acting classes that same year.

Since then, she’s written and performed a solo show that’s based on her memoirr, Unfit, presenting it as part of 2025’s Fertile Ground Festival. She also chairs the board of the theater company The Broken Planetarium, where she’s in rehearsal for her second show with them, Don’t Drop the Thread, opening on Nov. 13. 

The new cabaret musical was inspired by the Greek myth of the Minotaur, a creature who is half-man and half-bull and is kept in a labyrinth, which no one can navigate until the hero Theseus comes along with a ball of yarn that keeps him from getting lost. The script is by The Broken Planetarium’s artistic director Laura Christina Dunn, who also wrote the music for the show with Ray Austin and Starlight Rainbow.

Leigh met the playwright when she started bringing live theater to the Clinton, and found they shared a similar approach to art, with Leigh’s hunger for new creative adventures and Dunn’s belief that theater is for everyone.

“The Broken Planetarium has an inclusive model with the idea of getting rid of gatekeepers and creating access to artistic expression for everyone,” Dunn wrote in an email before Leigh and I talked on the phone. “This makes for more risk-taking, creative art because we work with people new to the genre who can think outside the box because they have no hangups about what theater should be.”

That open spirit has been an ideal portal for Leigh’s involvement in the Portland theater community … and made an impact in her life.

“It’s really important for me to keep my brain working and open and always trying to stay engaged,” she says. “The thing about acting is that I have to be so in the moment and so present that all the other things that can become very distracting or troublesome day to day are just gone. All of the yuck that’s back there in my brain has to let go.”

Growing up in the Midwest, Leigh wasn’t a theater kid, and thought creativity was for “special people who looked a certain way.” Now, she says, she knows that’s not true.

“I was never even intended to go to college. I was raised just to be a wife and a mother. Back in Oklahoma in the 1970’s, that’s what girls did.” Now, being part of the theater world is like enjoying a “new state of consciousness.”

Because The Broken Planetarium works without a director or stage manager, Leigh says the whole troupe pitches in. “Everybody has input, and you have a lot more say over your own character  and your readings of the script. We just have lots more conversations about what it’s all about.”

As Dunn says, “We also actually live the non-hierarchical model where we work together to build the show and everyone’s voice has equal value.”

The result, says Leigh, is that Dunn makes subversive shows that address difficult subjects on a deep level, but in an engaging and humorous way, with singing and dancing.

Don’t Drop the Thread takes place in a future where the ice caps have melted and the world is covered in water. A group of entertainers sail around on a boat and encourage people to come aboard and see their show. Below deck, though, there’s a labyrinth where a being that’s half-human, half-bull is kept. Leigh plays Daedelus, who in the myth was ordered by King Minos to design the labyrinth.

Her character, she says, “did what they were supposed to do – what they were asked to do by King Minos – but they have huge regrets for having imprisoned the Minotaur in the labyrinth.”

In writing her play, Dunn, who is the mother of an autistic child, added another layer to the story by making both Dedalus and the Minotaur neurodivergent characters.

“This show in particular was written in response to some of the hateful rhetoric, especially from the current administration, against autistic and neurodiverse people,” Dunn says. “The labyrinth really resonated with me because navigating the neurotypical world can feel like walls thrown up against you [with] every step and trying to find your way in the dark.

“Ultimately, the show is a love letter to my autistic child. It can feel like the world is ending right now, but at the end of the world, we have a clean slate. I will never stop trying to build a world where we all can find our way, find belonging. It is what I am trying to do with this theater company, too.”

Another inspiration for Don’t Drop the Thread was William Stafford’s poem The Way It Is, which includes these lines:

People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.

For Dunn, the thread in the poem represents the ideas that sustain us. With her script, she says, “I also thought about how hard the world is for so many people right now, especially young people, my kids. … And how I want them to be like Theseus finding his way through the labyrinth by holding on to the thread. What is it you can hold … to get through dark times?”

For Leigh, that thread might be joining the theater community in general and Broken Planetarium in particular. She’s become so invested, in fact, that the cast is rehearsing for Don’t Drop the Thread in her living room two times a week.

“Because it is so insane sometimes in the world, if all I did was get up and read the news I would just be immobilized,” says Leigh. “It’s just too much.” Working with Dunn’s company lets her put her angst into something she values, while sending a message about the “us and them” mentality that’s on the rise today: “We don’t have to have this binary – just let people be people, however they are.”

A determination to share her own story is how Leigh and I crossed paths several years ago when she dropped in on a creative writing class I was teaching. At the time, she was working on her memoir, which tells the story of her being a pregnant 16-year-old who was sent away to a maternity home for six months and forced to give up her son. The book was published at the end of 2019, and she’s reworking the solo show it inspired, with plans to present it at a future Fertile Ground festival.

Meanwhile, she encourages others to follow their own creative paths:

“You can do it, too. There are groups that are willing to let you become involved without having any experience or formal  training. You can be like those kids – Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. You just say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea,’ then say, ‘Well, I’ve got a barn!’

“It doesn’t really take anything but the desire to express yourself and to share a story, and every story is going to have part of you in it. You can find yourself in other people’s stories and other people can find themselves in your own stories.

“Coming to this understanding of each other is what’s going to help us move forward and beyond where we are now.”

The Broken Planetarium’s Don’t Drop the Thread will be onstage at the Siren Theater, 3913 N. Mississippi Ave. in Portland, Nov. 13-23. Find schedules and tickets here.

Foxhole Projects presents Elemental, three new works at Ethos Music Center, 8 p.m. Nov. 15 & Dec. 6.

Ethos Music Center launches its upgraded performance space with Elemental, an evening of three innovative new works, including Zoltar Predicts by Jed Sutton, Mountain Woman by Ariel Bittner, and Water Makes Me Honest by Maddy Schultz.

Following a run of Mountain Woman at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fertile Ground Festival, and PAM Cut at the Tomorrow Theater, Ariel Bittner returns with a new iteration of her multimedia solo show that explores volcanic creation, destruction, and rebirth. “I truly enjoy creating soundscapes from the heart,” says Bittner. “I draw my inspiration from the natural environment, incorporating live instruments with nature’s chorus.”

As another part of Elemental, Maddy Schultz debuts Water Makes Me Honest. Created in residency with the devised theater group From the Ground Up, the piece explores the redemptive qualities of water, the importance of play, and the fluidity of self. “There’s nothing more freeing than leaning into play,” says Schultz. “Water is a source of joy, but it’s also where I lose myself to nature and feel at home. This piece is a love letter to those feelings, and an exploration of everything that happens outside of those moments.”

Jed Sutton and Ermine Todd will also present Zoltar Predicts, which follows last spring’s What The Fox? (Fertile Ground/Edinburgh Digital Fringe). Sutton describes the work as “an influencer’s encounter with artificial intelligence.”

The three works appear on the Ethos Music Center stage, 2 N. Killingsworth St. in Portland. Tickets for the 90-minute show are $15, or $5 Arts for All.

Also opening

Recent Tragic Events, at Third Rail Repertory, Nov. 7-23.

In 2005, the newly minted Third Rail Rep produced this bold show written by Craig Wright. Now the company is kicking off its 20th anniversary season with the play that started it all, reimagined and directed by founding artistic director Scott Yarbrough.

It’s September 12, 2001. In a Minneapolis apartment, four people fumble their way through blind dates, pizza orders, and drinking games as they push forward with life even as the world grapples with the unbelievable events of the day before. As the evening progresses, a series of comic and uncanny coincidences lead the group to ask if we’re in control of our actions, or are we merely puppets espousing freedom?

The cast includes company member Rolland Walsh (superb last year in Infinite Life), Third Rail mentorship alums Emily Eisele and Rose Proctor, returning guest artist Benjamin Tissel, and founding company member Stephanie Gaslin.

Wright will join a talkback after the show on Saturday, Nov. 8, and founding Third Rail company members will share Third Rail’s history and ongoing impact following the matinee performance on Sunday, Nov. 9.

Miracle on 34th Street, Lakewood Theatre Company, Nov. 7-Dec. 14.

Kris Kringle, an older man living in a retirement home, takes a job as Macy’s Santa and spreads goodwill by sending parents to other stores to find the right toys for their kids. Viewed as delusional by Macy’s vocational counselor, Kris finds himself in a court competency hearing, and one girl’s belief in Santa is at risk. Karlyn Love directs Mountain Community Theater’s adaptation of the novella by Valentine Davies, who also wrote the story for the 1947 film.

Mt. Hood Repertory Theatre’s True West at Wyrd Hut, Nov. 7-30.

For the first time in more than 10 years, Mt. Hood Repertory Theatre is offering three shows for the 2025/2026 season. First up is Sam Shepard’s True West, a play about a screenwriter and his bullying big brother.

“I wanted to write a play about double nature, one that wouldn’t be symbolic or metaphorical or any of that stuff,” Shepard said in a 1980 interview with The New York Times. “I just wanted to give a taste of what it feels like to be two-sided. It’s a real thing, double nature. I think we’re split in a much more devastating way than psychology can ever reveal. It’s not so cute. Not some little thing we can get over. It’s something we’ve got to live with.”

Directed by Chris Patton, the show will be onstage at Wyrd Hut, 4704 S.E. 65^th Ave. in Portland.

Rhythm & Autism, at Walters Cultural Arts Center, Nov. 7 only.

Andee Joyce unites music, humor, and spoken word to tell her tale of growing up autistic amid the pop culture of the 1960s and 1970s. This sensory-friendly solo show returns with some fresh new features, including live accompaniment by Ray Maras, guitarist Rob Cork, and Charlie Mitchell on the keytar. As a recipient of a City of Hillsboro Performance Series Grant, this 7:30 performance directly supports Joyce, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Influence Music Hall/Tualatin Valley Artists.

Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play at Chapel Theatre, Nov. 7-22.

Anne Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy – a play with music featuring songs by Washburn and Michael Friedman – takes place nearly 100 years in the future. After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors share a campfire and begin to piece together the plot of The Simpsons episode Cape Feare entirely from memory. Seven years later, this and other snippets of pop culture (sitcom plots, commercials, jingles and pop songs) have become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society sincerely trying to hold onto its past. Seventy-five years later, these are the myths and legends from which new forms of performance are created.

BlueJay’s Canoe at Very Little Theatre in Eugene, Nov. 7-23.

This is the first staged production of illioo Native Theatre’s play that follows two contemporary Indigenous families during the pandemic and focuses on the power of stories in everyday life. The script is by Theresa May and Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook, Cree, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde). (ArtsWatch covered a reading of it last June.) There will be a talkback following the Sunday, Nov. 16 performance.

Plan V: The Rise of Reverence at 21ten Theatre, 10 p.m. Nov. 7 & 14, Dec. 5 & 12.

When Eleanor O’Brien began writing her solo comedy show, she imagined a world where women’s bodily autonomy and pleasure were celebrated and respected. Then, among other things, Roe v. Wade was reversed, and O’Brien knew the act had to evolve, reflecting the fear many people are experiencing today.

“I re-wrote the ending – and now, instead of joyful freedom, there is a security breach,” says O’Brien. “The censorship police have infiltrated. The meeting is being shut down, and participants identified. But we don’t go quietly! This show has become a protest play that brings the audience together to practice what it means to stand up against fascism. There is still joy, there is still laughter — but now there’s also resistance.”

Love, Shakespeare at Echo Theater, Nov. 7 & 8.

The popular improv group turns audience suggestions into original Elizabethan comedy, and this time around, the show will also feature musicians improvising Renaissance music. According to Jonathan Hull, a member of the troupe, “We’re artists, actors, costumers, and just folks who love Shakespeare and a good time.”

Harvey at Mask&Mirror, Nov. 7-23.

Charming and kind-hearted Elwood P. Dowd has an unusual and constant companion: a 6-foot, 3-inch invisible rabbit named Harvey. As Elwood’s eccentric behavior and new acquaintances begin to ruffle his social-climbing sister, Veta Louise Simmons, she hatches a plan to have him committed to a sanitarium. But a mix-up at the mental hospital leads to a comedy of errors and mistaken identity, leaving everyone to question what is real and what truly defines sanity. Mary Chase’s play was the winner of the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The production is directed by Mark Putnam.

Hasta La Muerte at The Reser, 7 p.m. Nov. 9.

From the imagination of Las Cafeteras, Hasta La Muerte is a two-act, multi-dimensional theatrical and musical performance that explores the stages of grief and loss through the celebration of life and death. The production revisits Mexican folklore to tell new stories, engage archetypes, challenge patriarchy, uplift the role of curanderas and re-examine our imagination about “death” and the “after-life.” In the spirit of the Indigenous/Mexican practice known as Day of the Dead, Hasta La Muerte showcases choreography and poetry, combined with a score of original and traditional songs, to showcase a night of color and sound that invites audiences to travel through time, rhythm and memory.

unbound: a bookish musical, at Resound NW Studio, 2 p.m. Nov. 9.

Portland artist erin rachel is back with her latest iteration of this musical about creativity and connection. The original story follows Jane (Ashley Song), a transnational adoptee and recent divorcee who returns to her hometown and begins working at Bookish, a beloved neighborhood bookstore. “[I]n many ways, this is a story about us: the people who keep showing up, building community from care, creativity, and resilience,” says rachel.

Featuring new songs and scenes, the performance includes a cast of nine performers, the majority of whom identify as BIPOC and/or LBGTQIA. The book, music and lyrics are all by rachel, with music direction by Daniel Buchanan. The show premiered at the 2025 Fertile Ground Festival (ArtsWatch wrote about it here). See the newest version at ResoundNW Studio in Goose Hollow, 1532 S.W. Jefferson St. in Portland.

My Father’s War Stories, at Lakewood Theatre, Nov. 11.

Award-winning actress/singer Joan Freed presents a Veterans Day performance of stories and popular 1940s songs that chronicle her father’s extraordinary experiences in the army during World War II while stationed in North Africa, Italy, and Japan.

Corrib Theatre’s Stilt, at Historic Alberta House, Nov. 13-Dec. 7.

This thriller reimagines the Rumpelstiltskin myth as a modern Irish cautionary tale. TJ is obsessed with uncovering his true birth name, which was lost when he was adopted as a child. His fixation with the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale leads him down a dark path, fueled by political extremism. The play explores the power of names and how the loss or reclamation of one’s true identity affects selfhood.

Stilt was commissioned by Corrib Theatre with support from the Oregon Cultural Trust, and was written by Joy Nesbitt, who is a director, writer, and musician originally from Dallas, Texas, and now based in London.

“Joy is inspired by stories of Black femininity and postcolonial imagination,” states Corrib’s press. “Her voice moves fluidly between the lyrical and the visceral, and her plays invite us to see power, family, and history through a new lens.” She was named one of the “Ones to Watch in 2024” by The Irish Times and the Sunday Times and received the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts at Harvard University.

Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue at the Newmark, Nov. 14-15.

The Golden Girls are back, but this time Sophia is out on bail after being busted by the DEA for running a drug ring at Shady Pines. Meanwhile, Blanche and Rose have created CreakN, a thriving sex app for seniors, and Dorothy is trying to hold it all together, with help from her much younger, sex-crazed love interest who turns out to be the district attorney prosecuting Sophia. This new comedy is for fans 18 and older.

The Addams Family: A Musical Comedy, Oregon City Children’s Theatre, Nov. 14-22.

This family-friendly show was inspired by the humorously macabre family featured in the 1960s TV series, who were, in turn, inspired by cartoonist Charles Addams’ characters. When Wednesday Addams falls in love with a “normal” boy from Ohio and invites his family to dinner, chaos and comedy ensue as the Addamses confront the one thing they fear most: change.

The production features 50 cast and crew members, ages 7 to 65, from across Oregon, representing a full range of experience levels. OCCT’s mission is to make quality community theater accessible to anyone who wants to be part of it, while also breaking the stigma around children’s theater.

“The magic of community theatre is watching people of all ages and backgrounds come together to tell a story,” says Beth Dodge, the company’s artistic director. “The Addams Family is about embracing what makes us different – and that’s exactly what OCCT is all about.”

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Portland Center Stage, Nov. 16-Dec. 21; opens Nov. 21.

This adaptation of the iconic novel features original music, playful movement and romance, with a dash of holiday cheer. Lauren Gunderson’s play puts Alcott at the center of her own story. Under the guidance of their beloved mother, the four young March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – struggle to keep their family going while their father serves in the Civil War. This celebration of sisterhood comes to life as a young writer makes space for herself and her stories in a society she’s determined to change. The production is helmed by director Joanie Schultz (Frida…A Self Portrait), in co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

“As an adult, I’ve come to see how radical and deeply human this story is,” says Schultz. “I hope the audience leaves feeling connected – to themselves, to each other, and to the women who came before us. I hope, like Louisa intended, they leave believing that art and love are acts of daring … and that both can change the world.”

Sugar & Whiskey’s Tinsel &Terror at Star Theater, 7 p.m. Nov. 16.

From pin-up witches and naughty vampires to aerial snow angels and ghostly glamour, Tinsel & Terror is a festive fusion of Halloween and Christmas told through burlesque, aerial dance, live vocals, and storytelling. See the show at Star Theater, 13 NW Sixth Ave. in Portland.

Continuing shows

Evil Dead, the Musical, Albany Civic Theater, through Nov. 8.

This musical campy comedy based on Sam Raimi’s movie follows five college students on a weekend getaway to a remote cabin in the woods. When they accidentally unleash an evil force, they find themselves fighting for their lives against demons known as Deadites.

Dancing on the Sabbath, Shaking the Tree Theatre, through Nov. 8.

In this intriguing take on the Grimm Brothers’ The Twelve Dancing Princesses, the most incorrigible, unruly princesses are sent to the Center of Compliance to master the art of obedience. Of the king’s twelve daughters, five have been declared unmarriageable and must be retrained to become “proper” wives. But something is amiss at the Center, and even under lock and key, the princesses are up to no good.

“In our piece, dancing is used as a potent metaphor for the many aspects of life, particularly for women, that they may feel compelled to keep hidden or pursue secretly,” says Shaking the Tree’s press. Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, with choreography by Laura Cannon and featuring Sammy Rat Rios, Joellen Sweeney, Olivia Mathews, Kailey Rhodes, and Kayla Hanson as the princesses.

Alebrijes — A Día de Muertos Tale, Milagro Theatre, through Nov. 9.

This comedy about the life and almost death of Pedro Linares, original creator of alebrijes (fantastical folk-art sculptures), reveals art’s capacity to transcend mortality. Audiences will follow Pedro on his nostalgic visit to Mexico City in 1936, discover his special relationship to his animal totems, and join him in his journey through a psychedelic Oaxacan underworld. Written by Beorgina Escobar and directed by Juliana Morales Carreño. Recommended for Ages 12+.

Once, Greenhouse Cabaret in Bend, through Nov. 15.

Based on the film of the same name, this musical weaves the ethereal music of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova into a tapestry of love and longing, as a chance encounter between an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant turns into a meaningful connection. Los Angeles actor Will Graziano leads the mostly Central Oregon cast, including singer/songwriter Beverly Anderson.

Madonna of the Cat at 21ten Theatre, through Nov. 23.

Portland playwright Sue Mach imagines what happens in the 16 years that Shakespeare skipped over in The Winter’s Tale. Hermione’s awful husband, a king, falsely accused her of being a whore, and had their infant taken away to die. How does Hermione pass the time hidden away, and how can a bear help her daughter survive? Gemma Whelan directs the stellar cast, which includes Bruce Burkhartsmeier, Maria Porter, Luisa Sermol, Crystal Ann Muñoz, and the sparkling newcomer Emma Rose Greene.

Theater news

Third Rail announces its final show for its 2025-26 season.

Science fiction meets cosmic horror meets psychological drama in X, which will round out Third Rail’s 20th anniversary season. In the distant future, a group of explorers and scientists are abandoned inside an isolated research base on Pluto. All contact with Earth has ceased. They are unable to leave. As impatience gives way to paranoia, time disintegrates, reality is questioned, and strange visitations encroach. Faced with rapidly escalating alienation, the galactic castaways fight to retain their humanity and the interpersonal bonds on which their survival depends.

The play is by Alistair McDowall, and will be directed by company member Rebecca Lingafelter at CoHo Theatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St. in Portland, May 22-June 7, 2026.