Review: The timeless beauty of “Triangle” at Broadway Rose Theatre Company

If musicals were baseball games, then Broadway Rose Theatre Company just hit the ball out of the park and up to the stars with its astounding production of Triangle. Since it’s theater we’re talking about, though, I’ll simply say this show is an uncommonly beautiful and heartrending work of art, with its trifecta of stellar story, performances and music.

Directed with a sure hand by Michael Baron, the musical features two couples: one in 1911 at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a sweatshop that predominantly employed immigrant teenaged girls; and another one at a research facility in 2011 in the same building.

It’s hard to think of a more unlikely backdrop for a romantic musical, considering that a 1911 fire killed 146 factory workers at the Triangle factory, many of whom leapt from windows because the owners kept the doors locked during their shifts. But the writers of Triangle – Curtis Moore and Thomas Mizer wrote the music and lyrics, and Mizer, Moore and Joshua Scher wrote the book – reveal the bliss of human connection among the ashes of the tragedy. 

In the 1911 storyline, a romance between Sarah (Sophie MacKay), a feisty and faithful Jewish immigrant seamstress, and Vincenzo (Alex Foufos), her Italian foreman, blossoms in a setting of foreboding gray stone and smoke.

One hundred years later, Brian (Collin Carver) is a nerdy, uptight chemistry grad student. Wearing a white lab coat and a pained expression when confronted with complicated social situations, he’s not your typical romantic lead in a musical. 

Yet thanks to Carver’s brilliant performance, Brian’s awkwardness comes across as being both comical and curiously endearing. Equating “love” with “loss,” he can’t even say or sing the former word without rolling his eyes and looking thoroughly exasperated.

His frustration, though, turns out to be with himself for feeling like he’s “in a foreign city” when it comes to relationships, a sensation that keeps him isolated until he meets Ben (also portrayed by Foufos). In contrast to Brian, Ben is so delighted by life, he’s even thrilled to stand at the ninth-floor window where two lovers were said to have fled the 1911 fire. The two men form an instant, if tenuous, connection, and when they sing a duet, their differing outlooks are on display, even as their clear voices blend in exquisite harmony.

With just five actors and 12 roles, there’s not a single false note among the performances, which capture all the complexities of their intertwined characters. Even in the midst of the looming tragedy — the projected image of the factory never lets us forget what’s to come – MacKay, for instance, infuses her portrayal of Sarah with spirit and strength, inspiring admiration rather than the mere pity we might otherwise feel for a marked victim.  

The writers have also folded in plentiful humor, often thanks to a sparkling Malia Tippets, who plays both Sarah’s pregnant sister, Chaya, and Brian’s sassy colleague, Cynthia. In the present, she teases Brian about him going to the prom with Ben, while in the past, she sings that Vincenzo is like a “welcome wagon,” bringing her bags of work to do at home as a pretext for seeing Sarah. Jennifer Lynn Teel, too, who plays Brian’s professor and Vincenzo’s sister, adds an extra zing of wit to the production.

As the actors weave back and forth through time, Moore’s score holds Triangle’s various threads together. With sweeping songs and repeated themes throughout, the music, directed by Eric Nordin, feels more like a symphony than a string of separate musical numbers.

Similarly, the production’s muted palette subtly stitches the past and present together. Whether in the lab, the factory, or the tenement where Sarah lives, Adam Koch’s set design, featuring weighty stone window frames that are rolled to form the different spaces, create a sense of fluidity throughout time. Allie Schluchter-Cox’s costumes, too, which are crafted in shades of browns and grays, contribute to the subdued backdrop that lets the beauty and vibrancy of human love shine brighter in both eras.

At the beginning of the show, a historian (Barney Stein) sings “Maybe No One’s Ever Gone” as the company weaves through the space behind him. 

“Say a name,” Mizer’s lyrics go, “and you can never forget,” suggesting we’re all connected, a feeling mirrored by the audience at the Sept. 21 performance as we rose for a standing ovation in mutual appreciation for this profoundly moving production.

Triangle will continue at the Broadway Rose Theatre New Stage, 12850 S.W. Grant Ave. in Tigard, through Oct. 12. Find tickets and schedules here.

More theater happenings

The Grown-Ups, Sunstone Theatre Company, Sept. 26-28 at 7 p.m.

The campers are finally asleep, and the lake is quiet, but just beyond the firelight, violence inches closer. The Grown-Ups follows a group of summer camp counselors trying to shape the leaders of tomorrow …while tomorrow itself feels threatened by political violence, fear, and uncertainty. Produced in response to the world we are living in now, the play asks: How do we protect young people from the chaos they’re inheriting? What traditions are worth holding onto, and which must be broken open? And how do we rise to meet the moment when the moment feels impossible?  

“The headlines of the past week left me confused, feeling small, and the best way I know how to respond is through art,” says artistic director David Stephens. “This play is urgent and political. We need this story to start ideating how we move forward as a community, as young people, and as a country.”

Performances with limited seating will take place in an immersive backyard at 3171 N. Willamette Blvd. in Portland. The show is directed by Roman Sanchez and features Aidan Brown (Lukas), Mia Torres (Cassie), Samantha Blaine (Becca), Gaby Cefalu (Maeve) and Cole Pearson (Aidan).

Sunstone Theatre is a community-driven organization dedicated to empowering emerging theater artists through professional, paid opportunities across all aspects of production. Founded in 2024, Sunstone has produced work about, by, and for young theater artists.

Shake&Pop’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at the historic Odd Fellows Lodge in Milwaukie, Oct. 2–25

This reimagined Midsummer keeps the poetry, comedy, and mischief of the original while inviting audiences into a world that’s inclusive, contemporary, and, the company declares, full of joy. According to Shake&Pop’s press, “the ‘cool auntie’ of Shakespeare’s plays just got a whole lot cooler.”

Stage Fright Queer Horror Festival, Oct. 9-19

The fourth annual Stage Fright Festival, Portland’s showcase of queer horror theater and comedy, will be at CoHoTheatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St., Portland, with daily performances, most of which are 60 minutes. 

This year’s festival will feature a mixture of full-length productions, “double features” of shorter scares, script readings, interactive installations, a mask-making workshop, and a variety of performances by both local and international talent, including Candy Roberts (Critics Pick: Orlando Fringe Festival), Nancy Boys (Official Selection: LA Westside Comedy Festival), A Little Bit Off (Best of Fest: Saskatoon Fringe), and more.

The festival will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 with “Trick or Treat!, a Haunted Talk Show & Lights Out Bingo.” Get to know the festival lineup as “the world’s most entertaining entertainer,” Frank (Emily Newton), welcomes trick-or-treaters (aka this year’s artists) into his home. Then play Bingo with special prizes and scares: $5 for a sheet of 3 Bingo cards. 

Magnetic Electric at Fuse Theatre Ensemble, Oct. 9-19

Trans woman Celine owns a college bar where she performs her rough and raw brand of music. Drama arises when a romance with Rain, a new adjunct professor, destabilizes her relationship with Cole, while Archer, a white nationalist provocateur, targets her venue. A powder keg of emotions and music, the play digs deep into our emotional wells while creating a unique electronic soundscape for audiences to relish. Mikki Gillette wrote the book and lyrics for this musical, with music by Ash. Based on a concept created with Katherine Goforth.

Design for Living at Imago Theatre, Oct. 10-26

Noel Coward’s polyamorous story was banned in England but was a hit in the U.S. when it opened on Broadway in 1933. As Imago’s press states, the farce is “more than a ménage à trois of brilliant banter” – it’s also “a celebration of embracing one’s true self, regardless of society’s conventions and sexual norms.”

Dancing on the Sabbath at Shaking the Tree Theatre, Oct. 11-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 unmarriable and must be retrained to become “proper” wives. But something is amiss at the Center, and even under lock and key, the princesses have been up to no good. Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, with choreography by Laura Cannon.

The Halloween Ball at Northwest Children’s Theatre, Oct. 11-26

A costume parade, interactive story time, dance party, and sing-a-long await at this annual event. Halloween treats will also be available to purchase. Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. & 3 p.m. Most enjoyed by ages 4 and up.

Also opening

Paradise Blue at Portland Playhouse Sept. 24–Nov. 2 (opens Sept. 27)

In this jazz-infused show of Black excellence, Blue (Mikell Sapp), a gifted trumpeter, struggles to keep his beloved jazz club alive in 1949.

Orange Flower Water at 100 Lives Repertory, Sept. 26-Oct. 12

This “gripping, sexy and surprisingly funny glimpse behind the closed doors of two married couples” is the debut production of a new Portland theater company.

A reading of Dinner with Friends at Twilight Theater Company, Sept. 26 & 27 at 8 p.m.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Donald Margulies delves into the complexities of friendship and marriage as it centers on two couples – Gabe and Karen and their longtime friends, Tom and Beth – whose relationships are tested when Tom and Beth announce their divorce.

Frankenstein at Experience Theatre Project, Sept. 26-Nov. 2

The immersive production is a blend of Mary Shelley’s 19^th-century novel, German Expressionism, and the 1931 Boris Karloff film.

Theatre Berk’s Anno Machina at Chapel Theatre, Sept. 26-Oct. 5

Set entirely in cyberspace, the play begins 25 years after the first sentient machines came online. Now the most brilliant thinking machines ever built may not be capable of saving humanity … or even agreeing on how to try.

From a Hole in the Ground at Northwest Children’s Theatre, Sept. 27-Oct. 5

Nominated for a 2025 Oregon Book Award, Ken Yoshikawa’s original fairy tale about mischief, nature, and a generational curse will start NWCT’s new season.

Primary Trust at Portland Center Stage, Sept. 28-Oct. 26 (opens Oct. 3)

Kenneth has spent his life in the small town of Cranberry, New York, but when he’s laid off from his job at a small bookstore,  he has to find the courage to get out in the world and embrace change in Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

The Bed Trick at Artists Repertory Theatre, Sept. 30-Oct. 26 (opens Oct. 4)

This comedy by Seattle’s Keiko Green kicks off Artists Rep’s 2025-26 season of new plays written by women with roots in the Pacific Northwest. Called a “frisky comedy” and “a bedroom farce for the social media age,” the play was inspired by Green’s experience playing Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well and promises to dive into the complexities of sex, ethics, and Shakespeare.

Hokus Pokus Live in Portland Oct. 1 & Eugene Oct. 2

A love letter to the 1993 Bette Midler film Hocus Pocus, the North American tour of this theatrical production stars actress, comedian, singer, and recently crowned RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Ginger Minj, Sapphira Cristal, Jujubee, and Landon Cider.

Rock of Ages at Stumptown Stages, Oct. 3-25

Big hair and big bands: What’s not to love? Stumptown’s season begins with the Tony-nominated ’80s rock musical spoof.

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, at Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria, Oct. 3-18

Comedy, music and a touch of horror mix in this show by Matt and Nick Lang. Everything in Hatchetfield is normal until a musical pandemic sweeps the city, causing people to sing and dance. Paul (an average guy who doesn’t like musicals) and his friends must stop this musical apocalypse and fight for humanity’s future.

A Comedy of Tenors at Pentacle Theatre in Salem, Oct. 3-25

This farce by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig takes place in 1930s Paris, where Henry Saunders is producing the concert of the century while also keeping Italian superstar Tito Merelli and his hot-blooded wife, Maria, from causing chaos.

Continuing shows

Dial M for Murder at Clackamas Repertory Theatre, through Sept. 28.

The Lion King at Keller Auditorium, through Sept. 28.

Week 4 of CoHo’s Clown Festival 2025, through Sept. 28.

The Saloon Ensemble’s  J.A.W.Z. THE MUSICAL – IN 3D, through Sept. 28.

Dracula at Lakewood Theatre Company, through Oct. 19.