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Mr. Burns at Chapel Theatre
Nov. 7–22
Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play at Chapel Theatre is the darkly comedic and strangely beautiful ode to The Simpsons and the art of storytelling by Anne Washburn with music by Michael Friedman. It blended original music with “chart hits” and Simpsons characters with amalgamations, such as Bart, a Peter Pan-like figure, clad in flags made from Butterfinger wrappers and Mr. Burns, a brutal mutant of a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. The ambitious production, directed by Chapel co-owner Illya deTorres, who was joined onstage by an ensemble of talented vocalists, musicians, dancers and actors, was a generationally representative play for Xennials. LAURA WHEATMAN HILL.
Magnetic Electric at Backdoor Theater
Oct. 9–Nov. 2
From the moment singer Alexis Pilo opened her mouth to fill the Backdoor Theater’s intimate room with the first notes of “Autodestruction,” a song written by Mikki Gillette for Magnetic Electric, I was hypnotized. Her velvet-glove-cast-in-iron alto is the stuff of grunge goddess daydreams, and when braided into Mikki Gillette’s heartrending diegetic musical, her talent shines so powerfully that I, and I assume the rest of the audience, caught goose bumps many times throughout the production. Supported by a stellar cast, masterful direction, and a deeply impactful script, this was for sure one of the year’s black-box highlights. BRIANNA WHEELER.
Things I Hide From Dad at The Bingen Theater March 13–May 18
Travis Abels’ one-man show about coming of age as a pastor’s kid in a Christian death cult was a hilarious, heartbreaking, and completely relatable multimedia tribute to deconstructing dogma, parental idolatry, love, grief, and the emotional vacuum of loss. Abels, a rare, masterful blend of raconteur and performance artist, dominated the stage like a passionate bolt of lightning branching infinitely across a moonlit ocean, his insights hit like the bracing spray of a crashing wave, and his rollicking revelations felt like a gust of wind sending laughter like fall colors into a flurry around the theater. Not bad for the son of a preacher man. BRIANNA WHEELER.
Orange Flower Water at 100 Lives Repertory
Sept. 26–Oct. 12
The domestic drama Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright cemented the new theater company 100 Lives Repertory as a place for bold, intimate theatrical experiences. The cast of four actors remained onstage throughout the production, witnessing each others’ infidelities and pain. With stellar acting by all four actors and strong direction by Annie Kehoe and Blane Palmer, the play held the audience rapt, as if we were spying on the private lives of acquaintances. LAURA WHEATMAN HILL.
The Storyteller at Artists Repertory Theatre
April 26–May 17
The Storyteller by Sara Jean Accuardi won the Oregon Book Award for Drama in 2023. The modern-day retelling of The Tempest takes the Bard’s themes of parenthood, control and letting go and slowly, beautifully breaks your heart as the play unwinds. The magic-filled production, mounted in the lobby of the still-unfinished Artists Repertory Theatre building, was notable for its technical elements, such as the detailed set and complex lighting and sound designs, all of which came together to serve the story. Directed by Luan Schooler, The Storyteller invoked the hopefulness of youth paired with the stark realities of adulthood. LAURA WHEATMAN HILL.
¡Alebrijas! at Milagro
Oct. 16–Nov. 19
The fantastic world created by playwright Georgina Escobar and director Juliana Morales Carreño for their Día de Muertos production of ¡Alebrijas! was more than a seasonal theater highlight, it brought cultural lore to the fore in a way that was evergreen and universally breathtaking. The play’s use of black lights, thrilling neon environments, puppets, light and shadow, and incredible mask work (crafted by artist and actor Yosmel López Ortiz, who also played the leading role of Pedro Linares) was stunning. We left inspired, educated, thrilled and giggling—the best possible way to exit a theater. BRIANNA WHEELER.
