An all-female, all-star Portland cast leads this production of Oscar Wilde’s magnificent 19th Century comedy of manners and social status. Lovely Gwendolyn and adorable Cecily don’t care who they marry as long as his name is Earnest (so manly and respectable!). Jack and Algernon are utterly smitten and only too happy to ditch their given names to bamboozle their way into the ladies’ hearts. Imperious Lady Bracknell is aghast, agog and practically apoplectic, but her efforts to impose propriety prove useless against Cupid’s earnest truth. High jinx, bon mots and cucumber sandwiches are served.

• “A trivial comedy for serious people.” – Oscar Wilde
• A fresh take on an enduring farcical masterpiece

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The American Dream teeters on the edge of the abyss as immigrants Cindy and Omar face their thwarted dreams and unraveling marriage while Omar’s buddy Patrick connives to push them over the edge. In this surprisingly funny dark comedy, trouble erupts one night when bad choices are followed by verrrrry bad choices. The stakes become lethal as these characters manipulate the truth and do anything to justify their desires. 

THE TALENTED ONES is Artists Rep’s first new play development commission for Table|Room|Stage as part of the Oregon Community Foundation’s “Creative Heights Initiative.”

• Award-winning playwright
• World Premiere

Oregon Public Broadcasting, Yussef El Guindi radio interview with host Dave Miller

The post The Talented Ones first appeared on Artists Repertory Theatre.

This fairytale concoction of teen angst and devastating loss make for a grisly good time in this crackling new “thrilledy” — a stew of dark comedy, family drama and fantastical carnage.

It’s 1978 and 13-year-old Chris is reeling from her mom’s illness and recent death. Throw in dad’s new girlfriend (mom’s ex-nurse!), a few freaky little creatures and the boy next door, and things really get out of hand.

Part monster tale and part revenge tragedy, the highly theatrical FEATHERS AND TEETH delivers a meaty exploration of grief and obsession.

• Dark Comedy
• 2015 Kilroy List

The post Feathers and Teeth first appeared on Artists Repertory Theatre.

In this inquisitive new drama, a family grapples with the difference between a life lived and a life remembered as 85-year-old Marjorie struggles to keep hold of her memories and identity, gently assisted by an artificial version of her late husband, Walter. An exploration of aging, memory and technology, MARJORIE PRIME peers into what lies ahead and how our past is rewritten to face today.

• 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama
• 2017 film adaptation starring Jon Hamm, Lois Smith, Geena Davis & Tim Robbins
• Season 4 writer/producer on Orange Is the New Black

The post Marjorie Prime first appeared on Artists Repertory Theatre.

Set during a time when the country is divided by conflicting ideologies and convictions following a contentious presidential election, Vogel’s sweeping, music-rich story plays out one frigid Christmas Eve on the banks of the Potomac River. Amid the hubbub of holiday preparations, an array of abolitionists and assassins, slaves and freemen, Union and Confederate soldiers, along with President Lincoln and Mary Todd, all pursue their paths to liberation.

Propelled by traditional American songs, marches and spirituals — all revitalized for this production by luminary Portland musicians — A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS is a lively reminder for people of all beliefs about humanity’s potential for compassion, reconciliation and hope.

By special permission, our production features the new and stylistically diverse arrangements of luminary Portland musicians Darrell Grant, Holcombe Waller, Mark and LaRhonda Steele, Okaidja Afroso, Edna Vázquez, James Beaton and Brian Adrian Koch of Blitzen Trapper. Click HERE to see a full song list of the newly arranged compositions of the period songs in the play.

These Makers from Art Design Portland (ADX) and Portland Apparel Lab (PAL) created pieces for A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS:

Dawn Moothart, Textile Artist, Portland Apparel Lab (fabric backdrop and sliding curtains)
Thomas Phillips, ADX Director of Fabrication (Piano/Harp)
Bill Wessinger, ADX Fabrication Technician (Piano/Harp)
Rio Wrenn, Textile Artist, RAW Textiles, (fabric backdrop and sliding curtains)

Dmae Roberts, Stage and Studio, KBOO radio interviews cast members Ayanna Berkshire, Susannah Mars and John San Nicolas

The post A Civil War Christmas first appeared on Artists Repertory Theatre.

When the American Dream is dashed, try making a sandwich! A trio of disparate and desperate ‘sandwich artists’ find themselves abandoned by their fast-food franchise and left to their own devices in this utterly amusing and ridiculously believable story of making ends “meat and cheese.”

This post-recession, comedic commentary embraces the humor in misery, the creativity in despair, and the ingenuity of the human spirit as this indomitable group bands together to succeed on their own damned terms.

The post American Hero first appeared on Artists Repertory Theatre.

The star of this hilarious and heart-wrenching new comedy is Trevor, a 200-pound chimp intent on reviving his showbiz career. He worked with Morgan Fairchild, for crying out loud! He lives with his human “mom” — just a regular family, trying to get by in spite of neighbors who simply can’t understand. Swinging between reality and fantasy, TREVOR takes aim at the nature of humanity and the lies we tell ourselves.

• Award-winning new play inspired by true events from Orange Is the New Black writer, Nick Jones
• Runaway hit in LA with multiple awards
• Killer runs Off Broadway and in Chicago
• NW Premiere

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