Portland Theater Reviews

Review: IN A DIFFERENT REALITY SHE'S CLAWING AT THE WALLS at Shaking The Tree
by Krista Garver - May 25, 2023

This wild play by Max Yu explores how technology isolates and then consumes us as it goes from being a tool we use to something we’re used by....

Review: MARY JANE at Third Rail Repertory Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 23, 2023

This beautiful play is a powerful lesson in staving off despair and loneliness through authentic connection with others....

Review: TRUE STORY at Artists Repertory Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 16, 2023

What did our critic think of TRUE STORY at Artists Repertory Theatre?...

Review: MYRA'S STORY at Corrib Theatre
by Krista Garver - May 12, 2023

MYRA’S STORY, a solo show by Brian Foster now running at Corrib Theatre, takes an unflinching look at the factors that resulted in a woman becoming an alcoholic and losing her home....

Review: COME FROM AWAY at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - May 05, 2023

This beautiful musical, based on the true story of how a small town in Newfoundland opened their doors to 7,000 stranded “plane people” when U.S. airspace was closed following the terrorist attacks, is an antidote to skepticism, nihilism, and loneliness....

Review: HAIRSPRAY at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - March 29, 2023

You will be hard-pressed to find anything more fun than this super sassy, high-energy celebration of self-acceptance, inclusivity, and, of course, big hair....

Review: SEVEN GUITARS at PassinArt: A Theatre Company
by Krista Garver - March 24, 2023

IMO you should never pass up the opportunity to see an August Wilson play, and that certainly goes for SEVEN GUITARS....

Review: FORBIDDEN FRUIT at Shaking The Tree
by Krista Garver - March 14, 2023

This is very intimate theatre, and not just because it’s performed for small groups in small rooms. Every piece deals with an intimate subject – something we don’t like, or don’t know how, to talk about. So, buckle up. And go see it....

Review: WHERE WE BELONG at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 08, 2023

Madeline Sayet’s sweeping and poetic one-person play WHERE WE BELONG tells the story of Achokayis, a Mohegan theatre-maker, who in 2015 moves to England to get her PhD in Shakespeare. It deals with issues that we as a country have actively worked to avoid talking about, or at least to relegate them ...

Review: YOUNG AMERICANS at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - March 02, 2023

YOUNG AMERICANS a quiet contemplative sort of play. It asks you to reflect on a question -- What does it mean to be an American? -- that has no definitive answer in a way that takes a wide variety of perspectives into account....

Review: WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - February 24, 2023

Whether you feel like a romantic comedy or a look at an important moment in our civil rights history, WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS fits the bill....

Review: WELCOME TO ARROYO'S at Profile Theatre
by Krista Garver - February 16, 2023

WELCOME TO ARROYO'S is a moving and must-see play about family, grief, love, art, and the importance of being open to new perspectives and experiences. But more than anything else, it’s about community....

Review: SNAPSHOTS: A MUSICAL SCRAPBOOK at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - February 01, 2023

Do you remember those brilliant Kodak commercials way back when that chronicled people’s lives through photographs and seemed specifically designed to tug at every last heartstring? In all the best ways, SNAPSHOTS: A MUSICAL SCRAPBOOK, now running at Broadway Rose, is a full-length musical version o...

Review: MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - January 26, 2023

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B simultaneously plays homage to and flips on its head the detective story tropes to show what happens when women are in charge....

Review: MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL at Keller Auditorium
by Krista Garver - January 10, 2023

The national tour of this Broadway hit, now running at Keller Auditorium, literally defines the word spectacular. It’s dazzlingly gorgeous and also oh-so-much fun!...

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - December 16, 2022

I count on Portland Playhouse's A CHRISTMAS CAROL every year to get me into the holiday spirit, and it has never failed. It will work for you too....

Review: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - December 09, 2022

What did our critic think of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY at Portland Center Stage? It's the theatrical equivalent of hot cocoa with whipped cream....

Review: KRISTINA WONG, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - November 18, 2022

Amed with fabric, scissors, and a sewing machine, Kristina Wong goes to war against COVID with her squad of mask-sewing Aunties. Catch her show KRISTINA WONG, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD at Portland Center Stage....

Review: KING OF THE YEES at Profile Theatre
by Krista Garver - November 09, 2022

KING OF THE YEES combines biting humor, keen social commentary, and the thrill of discovery into a touching and also wildly entertaining package....

Review: LAUGHING WILD at 21ten Theatre
by Krista Garver - October 19, 2022

Through two unnamed characters – lonely people struggling to find purpose and connection – the play explores how fundamental empathy is to our existence. I give this production my absolute highest recommendation....

Review: THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME at Portland Center Stage
by Krista Garver - October 18, 2022

This beautiful play wraps a history lesson about the social justice movement of the 1960s in a poignant family drama. Also, the final scene is one of the most beautiful expressions of joy I've ever seen on stage....

Review: THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY at Profile Theatre
by Krista Garver - October 14, 2022

Kristoffer Diaz's play is one of those rare treats that is a heck of a lot of fun and also has something meaningful to say....

Review: F-ING A at Shaking The Tree
by Krista Garver - October 14, 2022

This play takes you into the darkest parts of human nature and doesn’t give you a path back out, and it forces you to think about what you would do in these situations, where every choice is a bad one. And because of that, it’s must-see theatre....

Review: CHICKEN & BISCUITS at Portland Playhouse
by Krista Garver - October 06, 2022

Families, amirite? And where better to experience the whole spectrum of family dynamics than at a funeral! In Douglas Lyons' comedy CHICKEN & BISCUITS, now running at Portland Playhouse, the Jenkins family is gathering for the funeral of their patriarch and pastor....

Review: THE EVOLUTION OF MANN at Broadway Rose
by Krista Garver - September 30, 2022

Excellent performances help mask the weaknesses of this not-particularly-romantic romantic comedy....