Skip to main content“Cats this ain’t!” That’s a lyric from Marvin’s Rescue, a new musical by Marv Ross of the Portland band Quarterflash, whose single “Harden My Heart” gave the band a top-10 hit in 1982. Marvin’s Rescue may be about pets, but it’s nothing like the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Cats—and not just because this show is about dogs. Ross sought to create a welcoming theatrical experience that is much less precious than some you’d see on a big Broadway stage.
Ross and company will show the fruits of their labor at the Ellen Bye Studio at Portland Center Stage this spring. The production is a partnership with Portland Playhouse and is directed by Portland Playhouse co-founder and artistic director Brian Weaver. Ten percent of the proceeds from three “special shows” will go to the Oregon Humane Society.
For this project, Ross used his considerable music experience and applied it to musical theater writing. Ross wrote the music as well as the book for the show and will play in the live band during performances with two other members of Quarterflash.
The idea for Marvin’s Rescue came from Ross’ own life. He and his wife (and Quarterflash lead singer), Rindy, adopted a dog during the pandemic.
“All kinds of heavy duty emotions came out of that experience, which was the perfect fodder for writing a play,” Ross tells Willamette Week. As first-time dog owners, the Rosses faced a number of challenges with their traumatized dog, Izzy, a rescue from the streets of Tulsa, Okla., with many of those challenges making their way into the show. He says adopting a dog made him feel “the depths of the love and the depth of the joy. The depth of the pain,” feelings which he thinks will resonate with pet owners in the audience. (Izzy, a “classic mutt mix” believed to be part hound, part ridgeback and part boxer, was two when she was adopted in 2021 and is now seven. She is doing great now, he adds. “I can’t help but think she has never had love like this.”)
Besides the personal connection, Ross says he wrote this show because “I was always looking for a project that would be very immersive, that would take me out of the real world.” The immersion aspect of the show will be especially evident during the special performances.
At the “special shows” on March 14, 19 and 21, members of the Oregon Humane Society will bring actual puppies to The Armory lobby; patrons will be encouraged to pet the dogs. Once the audience makes its way into the theater, the show isn’t going to start like your usual musical: The audience will be encouraged to talk to each other about their own pets and how much they mean to them.
At the March 21 special performance, Quarterflash memorabilia will be on display in the lobby beforehand, and after the show, there will be a “fireside chat” between Ross and Kelly Bremkin, a veterinary social worker at the Oregon Humane Society. There will also be a raffle of some signed Quarterflash memorabilia.
And though it was written by a former rock star, Marvin’s Rescue isn’t a rock opera. Compared to Quarterflash, Ross says the style of Marvin’s Rescue “is considerably different. It’s more musical theater as opposed to radio rock, although there are elements of some rock and roll in the show.” You can also expect some jazz and swing influences, a Texan line dance, and even some songs in the vein of musical theater juggernaut Stephen Sondheim. Overall, “the music in the show is a reflection of all the different styles that influenced me as a writer,” Ross says.
The unconventional theatrical experience the team curates for this show is very much in line with the themes of the show itself. Ross wanted the shelter dogs to be an analogy for marginalized people. “They’re mutts and not pedigrees,” he says. Both the human and canine characters struggle with accepting themselves and finding a community—a forever home, if you will.
Ross admits this might be the last big project he works on. “We wanted to do something that was just really positive and full of love and hope, and humor and laughter, and so this is sort of our swan song,” he says. Whether or not this is indeed the last project from Ross, the combination of passion and advocacy makes Marvin’s Rescue an intriguing watch this spring.
SEE IT: Marvin’s Rescue at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., portlandplayhouse.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, March 13 and 14, 20 and 21, and 27 and 28. 2 pm Saturday and Sunday, March 15, 21 and 22, and 28 and 29. $50.
