Wednesday, May 6, 2026

‘The Spongebob Musical’: Not just for kids by Darleen Ortega

Think you're too old for all the playful silliness in this cartoon musical comedy at Portland Playhouse? So why that big goofy grin on your face, oh-so-mature person?

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 5, 2026

DramaWatch: A season of festivals in May by Linda Ferguson

Fuse Ensemble, PETE, Ashland Fringe and Vanport Mosaic are all featuring festivals this month. Plus: Opening and continuing shows and more new season announcements.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 06:04PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 1, 2026

‘Fat Ham’: a little murder, a little comedy, a little wedding, a little backyard barbecue by Darleen Ortega

Portland Playhouse and Portland Center Stage combine on a lively production of Jame Ijames' updated version of "Hamlet," set amid a North Carolina barbecue bash.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:05AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 30, 2026

Gilbert & Sullivan and the synchronicity of spring by Linda Ferguson

The cast sings brilliantly … and so do the colorful costumes and choreography in Light Opera of Portland’s exuberant production of "The Gondoliers."

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 11:56AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Hello Gorgeous! ‘Funny Girl’ dazzles at Lakewood Theatre by Linda Ferguson

No raining on this parade: Melissa Gale shines in the role that made Barbra Streisand a superstar.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 01:27PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Fertile Ground: A fine and tragic ‘Little Gun’ by Darleen Ortega

A staged reading of Sarah Overman's play at the new-works festival delves into the travails of Oregon's first woman lawyer, and the plight of women in the historic West.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 07:22PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 25, 2026

Fertile Ground last-chance shows by Oregon Artswatch

From "Apple Hunters!" to "Boom Crash Love" to "The –Ism Storytellers Project" and more, the new-works festival's final two days offer a variety of fresh performances.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 05:31PM[SHARE]

It’s a wrap: Four shows from the 2026 Fertile Ground Festival by Linda Ferguson

Playwrights Sandra de Helen, Sara Jean Accuardi, Genevieve Sage and Karen Romero offered a full festival experience, presenting shows in varying stages of development.  

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 23, 2026

The Phantom isn’t the only one working behind the scenes in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ by Jason Vondersmith

The massive Broadway touring show, staging April 29-May 10 in Portland, is supported by Oregon natives associate company manager Ryan Mayfield and ensemble member Krista Wigle.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Eleanor O’Brien: Fertile Ground Hall of Fame by Bobby Bermea

O'Brien, who's taken her shows on female sexuality as far as Scotland, is a festival favorite whose shows regularly sell out, including this year's "Igniting Desire." So she's added perform…

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 21, 2026

DramaWatch: A blooming spring for Oregon theaters by Linda Ferguson

Portland Revels’ new musical, Fertile Ground, “Fat Ham,” “SpongeBob,” “Angels in America” and a magical “The Glass Menagerie” are flowering in Portland and beyond. Plus: Mo…

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 05:21PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 20, 2026

A trio of new Fertile Ground Festival plays by Bobby Bermea

As the theater world emerges from the abyss of the Covid years, Portland's festival of new works features 80-plus projects – among them plays by Dylan Hankins, Lisa Collins, and Niels Trum…

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 04:15PM[SHARE]

Rogue Theatre’s ‘Angels in America’ finds power in the space between page and stage by Jim Flint

The Ashland theater company dives into the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the human effects of the AIDS epidemic with staged readings running April 29-May 3.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 13, 2026

Spoken-word poetry, immigration fears, friendship, and 'Brown Face' onstage by Ellen Clarke

Carissa Atallah's upcoming play at Milagro Theatre comes with a slam-poetry beat " and the company is looking for performers for an open-mic prologue before every show.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 05:46PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 11, 2026

CoHo: Clowning and a whole lot more by Bobby Bermea

The Northwest Portland company carries on its rich clowning tradition as it transforms into a multipurpose theater center with partners Third Rail and PETE.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Fertile Ground: A pair of plays to catch by Bobby Bermea

As Portland's 2026 festival of new works kicks off, Jonathan Hernandez' "The Mask I Wear" and Stefan Feurherdt's "Tethered" get ready to unveil themselves to the world.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 12:20PM[SHARE]

Looking for love in all the right places: Four childhood friends embark on a quest to find an apple in 'Apple Hunters!' by Linda Ferguson

Theater review: E.M. Lewis's warm and profound new play is the culmination of her six-year residency with Artists Repertory Theatre.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 11:13AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Let it reign: Fertile Ground and a steady shower of shows crown the spring theater season in Portland and beyond by Linda Ferguson

The city's annual festival of new works, a co-production between Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse, and new shows from Carol Triffle and Samantha Van Der Merwe will quench our thi…

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 05:27PM[SHARE]

A Southern Oregon voice, shaped onstage and off by Jim Flint

From beginnings in Talent to Mary Poppins on Broadway, Steffanie Leigh brings it all back home with a new cabaret and an Agatha Christie mystery in Ashland.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 6, 2026

Susan Sontag, meet Carol Triffle's 'Nice People' by Drew Pisarra

Absurdist extraordinaire Triffle's newest play at Imago flirts with Sontag's famous definitions of Camp, with zaniness and affection for her characters amid a world gone mad.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 4, 2026

Southern comfort: Four women become fast friends, with drinks in hand by Linda Ferguson

Theater review: Triangle Productions' "The Savannah Sipping Society" offers a sweet comedic escape.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 01:33PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Alice in Jazzland: Northwest Children's Theater's jazzy take on the Lewis Carroll classic returns by Brett Campbell

Ezra Weiss & Sarah Jane Hardy's popular 'Alice in Wonderland: a Jazz Musical' makes its first appearance at The Judy.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 08:28PM[SHARE]

Stage & Studio: Four Fertile Ground playwrights by Dmae Lo Roberts

In her new podcast, Dmae Lo Roberts talks with Sandra de Helen, Josie Seid, Alisha Christiansen, and Erin Rachel about their projects in the April 10-26 new works festival.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 02:44PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 29, 2026

Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its 91st season with three stellar productions by Darleen Ortega

Spring shows include powerful and inspiring performances of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' 'Come From Away,' and 'A Raisin in the Sun.'

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 02:51PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 28, 2026

Actress with Portland roots understands 'empathy' while playing Fantine in 'Les Misérables' by Jason Vondersmith

Lindsay Heather Pearce stars in Broadway touring show, which stages at Keller Auditorium, March 31-April 5.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 26, 2026

Remembering Eric Overmyer, theater days at Reed, and 'On the Verge' by Kathleen Worley

Overmyer, the writer on prestige TV shows such as "Bosch" and "Treme" who died March 16, was also a gifted playwright who began his prolific career at Reed College.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Broadway Rose's 'Dear Evan Hansen' goes bold by Linda Ferguson

Theater review: The Tigard musical theater company presents a beautiful but devastating look at isolation in adolescence and beyond.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 07:13PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Touché! 'Athena' at 21ten is a winning comedy by Linda Ferguson

Theater review: In Gracie Gardner's play about two teenage fencers, a desire to win duels with a desire to be friends.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 02:43PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 17, 2026

DramaWatch: On a lighter note, musicals and comedies blossom on Oregon stages by Linda Ferguson

Corrib, triangle and Twilight theaters are all cultivating comedies this spring. Plus: Fertile Ground and Hand2Mouth's New2You festivals are gearing up.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 04:45PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 15, 2026

Experience Theatre Project immerses audiences in stories by Brett Campbell

Recently moved into a new warehouse space in Aloha, the company mounts "Flanagan's Wake," a new production that thrusts viewers into a comical Irish wake.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:19AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 14, 2026

A magical 'Lizard Boy' at Center Stage by Darleen Ortega

The three-actor musical tale of a green-skinned boy emerging from his "outsider" shell soars with an intimate comic-book aura and a garbage-band vibe.

SOURCE: Oregon ArtsWatch at 09:00AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off