“I have no plan,” announces the guru-like Teacher (Mary McDonald-Lewis) to a gathering of six disparate and mostly miserable souls in Bess Wohl‘s Small Mouth Sounds now running on the Alder Stage at Artists Repertory Theatre. The six are gathered at a silent meditation retreat in a rainy woodland setting. No cell phones. No outside food. […]
Artists Repertory Theatre, Ayanna Berkshire, Beth Wohl, comedy, Darius Pierce, drama, enlightenment, John San Nicolas, Kelly Godell, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Meg Wilkerson, Michael Mendelson, mime, satire, self discovery, self-help movement, Shawn Lee, silent meditation retreat, Small Mouth Sounds, Susannah MarsI’ve never wanted to go to Antarctica. Too dark. Too cold. No good restaurants. But scientists love it. In the world premiere of E.M. Lewis’s Magellanica, six of them are falling all over themselves to spend eight and a half months there with no chance of getting out. It is 1986. American Dr. Morgan Halstead (Sara […]
Allen Nause, Antarctica, Artists Repertory Theatre, Aurora Astralis, Barbie Wu, Carl Faber, climate change, Damaso Rodriguez, E.M. Lewis, Eric Pargac, John San Nicolas, Joshua J. Weinstein, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Megan Wilkersoon, Michael Mendelson, ozone hole, ozone layer, Rodolfo Ortega, Sara Hennessey, South Pole, South Pole Station, Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, Vin ShambryThinking back today about what a wonderful time I had reviewing plays in 2017, it occurred to me that a round-up of my favorites might be a good thing to do. So, without further fussing around, here it is: Astoria Part I, by Chris Coleman, ran last January at Portland Center Stage. Adapted from Peter […]
Alison Bechdel, An Octoroon, Andrew Lippa, Artists Repertory Theatre, Astoria Part 1, Astoria Part 2, Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire, best plays 2017, Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Chris Coleman, Ellen Margolis, Fun Home, His Eye Was On The Sparrow, Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Jeanine Tesori, Lisa Kron, Luis Alfaro, Marshall Brickman, Michael Mendelson, Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Oscar Wilde, Pericles Wet, Peter Stark, Portland Center Stage, Portland Shakespeare Project, Portland theatre, Rick Elice, The Addams Family, The Importance of Being ErnestIt’s a special night, indeed, when a local playwright–Ellen Margolis–can enjoy a world premiere of her own work in her own hometown. Even better, when that play is one of great intellect and wit, as Pericles Wet proved to be. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Pericles Wet reimagines the original with a contemporary twist. […]
Alex Ramirez de Cruz, Andrea White, Artists Repertory Theatre, Ben Newman, David Bodin, Ellen Margolis, incest, Karen Rathje, Michael Mendelson, Murri Lazaroff-Babin, patricide, Pericles Prince of Tyre, Pericles Wet, Portland Shakespeare Project, Samson Syharath, Sarah Kindler, sexual abuse, Shannon Mastel, William ShakespeareIt’s a modern (2014) play based on an old play (1859). It’s a madcap melodrama with a golden-haired hero and a lecherous villain. It’s a chilling statement on race. An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins opened at Artists Repertory Theatre last Saturday. Co-directed by Artist Rep Artistic Director Damaso Rodriguez and Lava Alapai, the play begins […]
Alex Ramirez de Cruz, An Octoroon, Andrea Vernae, antebellum South, Artists Repertory Theatre, Ayanna Berkshire, Brenden Jacobs-Jenkins, Damaso Rodriguez, Dion Boucicault, Jimmy Garcia, John San Nicolas, Joseph Gibson, Josie Seid, Kailey Rhodes, Lava Alapai, melodrama, meta-melodrama, Michael Mendelson, Minstrel shows, racism in America, satire, The Octoroon