Summer Arts Guide: On Stage
Here are some of Portland’s performing arts highlights for July and August (see music and visual arts highlights):
“The Sound of Music” and “The Drowsy Chaperone”
Through July 22 and Aug. 2-19
Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Deb Fennell Auditorium, 9000 S.W. Durham Road, Tigard
Summer tends to be a downtime for Portland theater, but in the suburb of Tigard, Broadway Rose is known for its bright and accomplished musicals. This summer begins with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic, followed by the Tony-winning musical comedy, “The Drowsy Chaperone” (opening Aug. 2).
Through July 14
CoHo Productions, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St.
This festival of original one-actor shows has already received strong critical response. The theater is small, and the action tends to get intense.
“Lear’s Follies” and “King Lear”
July 11-Aug. 5 and July 18-Aug. 4
Portland Shakespeare Project, 1515 S.W. Morrison St.
In just its second year, Portland Shakespeare Project has begun attracting some of the city’s best actors for its summer run. This year Shakespeare’s great end-of-life tragedy, “King Lear,” is paired with Portland playwright CS Whitcomb’s re-envisioning of the story, set in a Virginia tobacco empire.
July 18-Aug. 12
Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.
The story of Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons is pretty interesting all by itself, but mix it with those doo-wop-inspired tunes, and you’ve got a hit Broadway show.
July 26-29
Portland Center Stage, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.
JAW (Just Add Water) is the city’s big, summertime new play workshop. Six plays in three nights are performed as unfinished, staged readings. That means things are a little raw, even though the surroundings are plush and air-conditioned: Center Stage is the city’s largest theater company. Best of all: It’s free.