ManahattaMary Kathryn NagleOregon Shakespeare FestivalSteven Flores & Tanis ParenteauTwo American stories, four centuries apart, interlock in their telling, with characters, events, motives, triumphs, and tragedies strikingly similar in Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Manahatta. Now in an engrossing, enlightening, and emotional world premiere at the 2018 Oregon Shakespeare … [Read more...] about “Manahatta”: Day 5, Play 5, Theatre Eddys at the 2018 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
world premiere
“Soft Power”
Soft PowerDavid Henry Hwang (Play & Lyrics); Jeanine Tesori (Music & Additional Lyrics)Curran Theatre (in partnership with Center Theatre Group)Conrad Ricamora & Ensemble MembersIn the past twenty years, a number of twists and turns have challenged the notion of what defines the Great American Musical. Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, and certainly … [Read more...] about “Soft Power”
“Good. Better. Best. Bested.”
Good. Better. Best. BestedJonathan SpectorCustom Made Theatre Company and Just TheaterThe Cast of Good. Better. Best. Bested.It’s a typical day in Vegas. Tourists dressed in red, white, and blue roam about drinking and being totally obnoxious – even belligerent – to the gold painted, “frozen statue” of a man. A Roman gladiator and a foot soldier kibbutz in a quick … [Read more...] about “Good. Better. Best. Bested.”
“A Walk on the Moon”
A Walk on the MoonPamela Gray (Book); Paul Scott Goodman (Music & Lyrics with Additional Lyrics by Pamela Gray)American Conservative TheatreThe Cast of A Walk on the MoonSummer, 1969: Daily, numbers of casualties from Vietnam scroll across living room television screens while streets fill with angry, mostly young anti-war protestors. Their peace-loving folk and … [Read more...] about “A Walk on the Moon”
“Scapegoat”
ScapegoatWilliam BivinsPlayground, in association with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Rhonnie Washington with Drew Reginald Watkins & Douglas B. GiorgisScapegoat is under attack from all sides. The black super hero in green tights was once the pioneering, main star for Blam Comics, making his creator, Clive, a real live hero for graphically describing in exciting … [Read more...] about “Scapegoat”
“An Entomologist’s Love Story”
An Entomologist’s Love StoryMelissa RossSan Francisco PlayhouseLucas Verbrugghe & Lori PrinceBlink, blink. ... Blink, Blink.Blink/Pause. ... Blink/Pause.Signals go out into the night, searching for a compatible mate -- for hot sex. The climax could be even more ecstatic since the female may be one that kills the male as the deed is done.Such is the life of a … [Read more...] about “An Entomologist’s Love Story”
“All the Shah’s Men”
All the Shah’s MenMatthew SpanglerArabian Shakespeare FestivalKen Boswell, Christian Haines & Annamarie MacLeodIf one wanted to find out the origins of today’s deeply divided and dangerous issues between the U.S. and Iran, there is probably some semester-long, poli-sci course a local community college is offering on the subject or a number of detailed books that could be … [Read more...] about “All the Shah’s Men”
“Two Minds”
Two MindsLynne KaufmanThe MarshBrian Herndon & Jackson Davis“Together, we had a goose that would lay a golden egg; and when we didn’t, we had an omelet.” Such is the memory of his many years in collaborative relationship with his thinking and research partner, Amos Tversky, that Daniel Kahneman recounts as he receives the 2002 Nobel Prize for Economics on both of … [Read more...] about “Two Minds”
“Eureka Day”
Eureka DayJonathan SpectorAurora TheatreThe Cast of Eureka DayMaybe this is a typical, kindergarten classroom; but probably most of those in America do not have posters hanging on their pristine walls showing a raised fist for “Occupy Oakland,” a sad-faced elephant proclaiming “Global Warming Is a Giant Problem,” or the definition of “eracism” (erasing the belief one race is … [Read more...] about “Eureka Day”
“The Gangster of Love”
The Gangster of LoveJessica HagedornMagic TheatreLance Gardner & Golda SargentoTwo pairs of eyes widen to reveal mammoth rings of white around dark, darting balls as a brother and sister sway with the ocean’s waves, looking for the first signs of the Golden Gate. While the girl’s eyes sing with wonder and excitement, the boy’s silently scream of anxiety and maybe … [Read more...] about “The Gangster of Love”
“Disruption”
Disruption AJ Baker3Girls Theatre Company, Z Below Nancy Madden, Sally Dana & Heather GordonEven though classical music floats serenely through the attractively attired, office setting, any sense of peace and well-being is about to shatter as two execs and a lawyer enter the room clearly irritated and looking ready to go to war. In a scene oft-repeated in today’s … [Read more...] about “Disruption”
“Weightless”
WeightlessThe Kilbanes (Music, Lyrics & Book)Z Space Kate Kilbane & Lila BlueIn the beginning, everything looks and sounds like a rock concert in an intimate space where audience members tiered on either side of the stage will sit on cushions and sip wine from the bar nearby. Two women, one straddling a bass guitar, face each other and begin singing a somewhat … [Read more...] about “Weightless”
“Lucia Berlin: Stories”
Lucia Berlin: StoriesFrom A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia BerlinWord for Word, Z SpaceJeri Lynn CohenEach of five stories by an author who once claimed, “Everything I write is autobiographical” offers independently a glimpse of one salient moment in her rollercoaster life. When presented together, the five provide a heart-warming, inspirational journey from … [Read more...] about “Lucia Berlin: Stories”
“Non-Player Character”
Non-Player CharacterWalt McGoughSan Francisco Playhouse, Sandbox SeriesDevin O'Brien, Annemaria Rajala, Tyler McKenna & Emily RadosevichAs #MeToo revelations proliferate from the worlds of business, entertainment, politics, education, and beyond and as stories continue to emerge of high school and college students being harassed online by jealous and spiteful classmates, … [Read more...] about “Non-Player Character”
“Reel to Reel”
Reel to ReelJohn KolvenbachMagic TheatreWill Marchetti & Carla SpindtWhat does a marriage of fifty-five years sound like? Her middle of the night mumbles, snorts, and snores? His habit of opening a squeaky cabinet ever so slowly to hear each tick? Her end of day footstep that is “like a sack of flour dropped off a three-inch cliff”? His upset voice … [Read more...] about “Reel to Reel”
