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Portland, Oregon

Portland: Theater

by Jessie Drake, Portland Theater blogger

Portland’s theater scene is a small but mighty force, with more than enough to offer every kind of audience. Multi-performance space heavy hitters like Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, and the Portland Center for the Performing Arts offer new works and classic plays with high-production value. The old is made new by the Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon, the Portland Shakespeare Project, and Portland Actors Ensemble’s popular Shakespeare in the Park series. The performance arts of various cultures are faithfully represented by companies like PassinArt (African American theatre), the Jewish Theatre Collaborative, and El Centro Milagro. New work is encouraged and developed by Portland Theatre Works, and the Portland Area Theater Alliance’s annual Fertile Grounds festival. Ensemble and devised work challenges the art form, with standout companies like Third Rail, Theatre Vertigo, and improv at The Brody Theater. Local artists and national talent, equity and non-equity alike, all find their place on the stage in Portland, and the city is the better for it.

Portland Theater: Theater Around Portland

Below are our Portland Theater recommendations, with information on location, admission, transportation/parking, theater history and other points of interest in Portland Art.
 

Artists Repertory Theatre

Portland’s oldest professional theatre, the Artists Repertory Theatre has been surprising audiences for over 27 years. The Portland home for new and emerging playwrights like Sarah Ruhl and Lisa Loomer, Artists Rep is equally renowned for its thoughtful stagings of classics by Shakespeare and Chekov. Six annual productions staged in two sleek Off-Broadway style theatres and performed by a resident company of professional actors keep Artists Rep a defining presence …more…

Broadway Rose Theater Company

Billed as the ‘only professional musical theatre company in Washington county;’ the Broadway Rose has, since 1992, produced a five show season mixing classic and contemporary Broadway fare, with world premieres and yes, even the occasional play. Located in Tigard, fifteen minutes south of downtown Portland, the Broadway Rose operates out of two facilities: The Broadway Rose New Stage Theatre and for the larger summer production, the Deb Fernell auditorium …more…

Miracle Theatre Group

Miracle Theatre — also known by the Spanish translation of its name, “Teatro Milagro” — is billed as the only Hispanic theater company in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1985, the company is based in Portland, but its productions often tour regionally and nationally.

MT is a three-pronged operation: the Miracle Mainstage features English language shows at the company’s home theater in southeast Portland; Teatro Milagro, the international touring company, presents …more…

Northwest Children’s Theater and School

Providing sumptuous productions of traditional and contemporary classics of children’s literature, NWCT is one of the largest children’s theatres on the West Coast. Five mainstage productions at the 450 seat Northwest Cultural Center and two Second Stage productions geared towards older teens balance a season catered to the diversity of the community and the educational curriculum of Portland’s schools. The year-round school at NWCT offers extensive training in the arts …more…

Oregon Children’s Theatre

Over a million theatergoers (and their parents) have taken in a performance at the hugely popular Oregon Children’s Theatre since its inception in 1988. Not your grandmother’s children’s theatre, OCT offers a hip and refreshing season of rethought classics and new works, designed at bringing out the child in everyone. From Alice in Wonderland (a rock opera) to Petite Rouge (a Cajun Red Riding Hood), OCT is 21st century kids theatre …more…

Portland Center Stage (PCS)

Portland Center Stage’s sensibilities skews traditional, with most seasons sporting a Shakespeare, a classic American musical or drama, a Christmas-themed show, and a mix of costume dramas and plays by the world’s great dramatists. But PCS has been expanding its season to include more contemporary plays and musicals. PCS also entices younger theatergoers by offering significantly discounted tickets and season subscriptions to 18-and-unders (and some discounts to 30-and-unders as well). ...more...

Profile Theatre

The Profile Theatre is currently one of only three professional theatres in the United States that devotes its entire season to the work of one playwright. Balancing four fully staged mainstage productions with two staged reading series, the Profile offers audiences a rare and unique insight into the mind and evolution of one author’s voice. Past seasons have been devoted to such theatrical luminaries as Neil Simon, John Guare, and …more…

Third Rail Repertory Theatre

Portland’s newest professional theatre company, Third Rail Rep takes its cue from cutting edge ensemble companies like the Group Theatre and Chicago’s Steppenwolf. Utilizing a core group of artists and designers, Third Rail’s three show season specializes in contemporary works by modern playwrights like David Mamet, Martin McDonagh, and Conor McPherson. Third Rail Rep also hosts “NT Live,” a series of big screen broadcasts of performances taped live at London’s …more…