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Fans of Fuse Theatre Ensemble know the Portland theater company for its witty and heartfelt plays, typically focused on compelling LGBTQ+ characters. And in 2024, the company’s productions will enjoy a revamp worthy of their scope and ambition: a remodeled space, complete with updated seats and more concessions.
Fuse will remain in its home behind Common Grounds Coffee on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard (the space it has occupied since it was vacated by Defunkt Theatre, which is, well, defunct ever since the start of the pandemic).
That said, the space will be getting a significant upgrade. Coffee and food from Common Grounds will still be allowed in the theater, but there will also be a new concessions stand serving beer, wine, cider and seltzer as well as bakery delicacies.
Also being added are couches and lounge furniture (a huge boon for audiences who remember old Fuse and Defunkt shows where they had to sit on simple risers).
Fuse is also expanding its range of late-night events. Thursday through Sunday, the theater will host karaoke, comedy shows, tarot readings, queer film nights, improv, burlesque and more.
As far as mainstage shows, Fuse will feature April two Fertile Ground productions in April: The Play About My Father by Kate Mura and a reading of The Night I Kissed Oscar Wilde by Rusty Tennant (who is Fuse’s artistic director). Then in May, Fuse will present Blonde on a Bum Trip by Mikki Gillette, the prolific local playwright (who recently contributed to WW’s Dating Issue).