‘Let Me Entertain You’
Shirley Andress plumbs new depths in a classic role in Gypsy
While not as well known as Jay Gatsby or Huckleberry Finn, Mama Rose is one of the defining characters of American literature. At once a … Continue reading
Theater: Page 24
A Clear Case of Bunburyism
Cottage Theatre plays it straight with Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
Perhaps it’s just fate, a roll of the dice, but in all the several years I’ve been reviewing the work of community theaters, I’ve seen … Continue reading
Die, Bart Simpson, Die!
University Theatre goes apocalyptic with Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play
Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play, written by Anne Washburn and directed by Tricia Rodley, imagines an eerie future where firelight provides the only illumination and … Continue reading
Theater Guy
Brian Haimbach takes his show How to Be a Sissy across the pond
When I last checked in with Brian Haimbach, writer, actor, and head of the theater program at Lane Community College, it was February 2016, and … Continue reading
Masochism Is as Masochism Does
Sex and sexism collide in OCT’s excellent, if challenging, production of David Ives’ Venus in Fur
Even now, several days after seeing it, digesting it and churning it all over in my mind, I find I’m having a mixed response to … Continue reading
Through a Mirror, Darkly
VLT’s Time Stands Still takes aim at journalism, truth and guilt
I hear a lot of people saying they wish they saw more positive news stories — that they’re tired of the gruesome, sad pieces they … Continue reading
Life is a Cabaret
ACE refuses to look away in anger with its fantastic production of Kander and Ebb’s dark musical masterpiece
Even if Actors Cabaret of Eugene’s current production of Cabaret were a drop-dead disaster, I’d still recommend it wholeheartedly. This 1966 hit Broadway show, based … Continue reading
Hannah and Unison
Two fine world premieres at Oregon Shakespeare Festival
You have two great new reasons to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival right now — Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, a charming, balanced inquiry into … Continue reading
Someday My Prince Will Come
A new-old look at a classic tale in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Hult
It’s not every day that an established playwright and screenwriter passes on an opportunity to create an updated Broadway show, but that’s just what Douglas … Continue reading
Beaming Light into Forgotten Territory
Oregon Contemporary Theatre's Blue Door is an all-around incandescent piece of stagecraft
Through family — through the shared, interconnected knots between the generations — a loose tapestry is woven that cinches down to become the present moment. … Continue reading