Baffled sometimes when people say theatre is expensive to watch. We have so many great places to…read moresee plays for many different budgets, and Portland Center Stage hits the mark on it. They have a number of programs, like $25 tickets, Rush/Standby Tickets, Arts for All, Pay What You Will days. All very affordable! And for the quality of the shows here, it's absolutely worth it to go see at least one show a season. The stage crew and actors put on great shows! Every staff member I've encountered there have been friendly, patient and accommodating. I've done the Standby tickets for a few shows now and it's a great experience. Put your name on the wait-list about 90 minutes before showtime, go grab a bite to eat, and if you get a seat, that's great! If not, they can put you on the wait list for the next show (and then you can go do another activity downtown). They keep the place pretty clean too, really nice bathrooms haha.

I need to do an update as I have become a lot more attending of the performances here. The reason…read morefor this is accessibility. As someone with limited mobility often - I have a tissue disorder and some days I am far more mobile than others. I am also, due to the tissue disorder, more modest means. Thankfully Portland Center Stage is a proud Arts for All member. In addition - they really do welcome people. They have a lot of seating for ADA and accommodate you should you need chair arms or no arms or will have a spot cleared for your wheelchair. I appreciate tickets being low cost for me but with ADA it can be tricky and the events at the most challenging ADA locations expect you to show up right before a show hoping they will have an extra ticket which I cannot physically do and would not want that on ushers either. When inquiring, I have been treated with less than stellar attitude. I would love to have money and mobility and I used to! I know so many who are starting to struggle with mobility as they age and I really encourage them to go to spaces like this where they can easily get in and out. But even just calling - they actually answer the phone and are so helpful! I get that they want to sell as much at full price but it makes me really appreciate how truly welcoming Portland Center Stage is. Arts are healing and the productions here really are top notch. Their staff is very diverse throughout the theater making it feel like a safe space for everyone also. When seeing shows here, they do have a great concessions stand/bar with a great wine selection and some decent snacks. The theater is in such a great location - to the back of the theater is a favorite gelato place of mine and also some of the most delicious West African food if you want to make a whole night of it!

I came here on a date twice to see an improv show. It was a super chill vibe with tons of laughs…read more I had two cocktails while here but nothing stood out. They also offer a free improv class to trial before signing up. If you always wanted to try it out, I recommend signing up. It was not for me but it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone.

-Review for the Annex Theater- a friend of mine invited me to watch an improv comedy show here,…read morePunchlines and Piledrivers, and what a show it was. The actors were so silly and comical, and really poured their all into the characters! The staff seemed friendly enough although my interactions were extremely limited. It is a small room with lots of chairs crammed into a few rows. There is a little concession stand that sells snacks, popcorn, canned beverages including a couple different beers. I am giving the venue 3 stars because of my very limited view -- I sat in the front row, at the furthest point, on the side of the room opposite the entrance. The chairs are small and positioned right next to each other, offering very minimal personal space to the individual seated. The cast however would get 5 stars all day!

Casual, historic venue with easy neighborhood parking, and friendly staff. We have been there twice…read moreand enjoyed the shows. Had a really good meal at LaBonitas just a block away before the last show.

I was given two complementary VIP tickets to a burlesque show. I was excited because I've never…read morebeen to this venue before. Street parking is available around the Alberta art District. So just know that you may have to look a little bit harder to find a spot when it's busier. It's nice though since parking is free in this area. The overall staff this venue were really nice and helpful. There is food and drinks available and prices are typical of theaters. The theater itself is quite large inside. The seats are roomy with legroom available.

The Christmas Revels were one of the true highlights of our holiday season…read more But, for context I should point out that my son and I are their target audience... Exhibit 1: We attend every renaissance faire in the state (repeatedly) Exhibit 2: We love musical theatre Exhibit 3: We are history buffs When we were attending a holiday show at Portland Center Stage, I was fortunate to see an advertisement for this production. This was the 20th anniversary of the Christmas Revels show in Portland and there are similar revels productions throughout the U.S. [1] One of the elements that makes this show unique is the level of audience participation. Each year they create a new show that has elements of choral and instrumental music, as well as Morris, sword and country dancing, storytelling and comedy (including a Mummers play). Before the show began, the director walked us through the program, highlighted the sections where the audience would sing (typically in Latin) and we had a little mini-rehearsal. The cast is comprised of around a dozen children, who were great fun during the dancing segments, a handful of members in their teens and 20s and then a larger contingent in their 30s - 60s and beyond. This year's production had a modern teenager transported back in time during a tour of the Tower of London to celebrate the holidays with families who were prisoners there in the 17th century. All of the acting and the story were beautifully done, with many comedic moments. But, I have to say the dancing was particularly fine. And the costumes were stunning. We attending the last show of the season and the venue (St. Mary's Academy) was packed. In many cases families were attending with grandparents and children. There were 30 songs/dances in the performance, but it really moved along and there was a brief intermission. The content is suitable for all ages, but it might be a little much to keep young children seated for that long. However, my son had a ball and with any luck he'll join their merry troupe next season. [1] The first show was in Cambridge, MA in 1971.

We attended the 2018 Christmas Revels production - "Highland Voyage, A Scottish Celebration of the…read moreWinter Solstice" last weekend, and I have mixed feelings about the performance. Much of the singing was lovely, and the trio of performers who told the story were very entertaining. My main issue, though, was the length of the show - it was close to 3 hours long! Compare this to a movie - I'd expect anything over 2 hours to be extraordinary - think Schindler's List, Titanic, The Godfather. The Revels is community theater, and in my opinion should have been edited down to 2 hours, max.

This was a pretty cool venue... the theater had a nice vibe, sorta "messy" with exposed wires and…read moreinteresting lighting above, but it worked for the event we attended (Martini Tonight Comedy Show), a simple set on stage with just a bit of props, and seats were typical fold down style with cup holders. The concessions stand/bar only served very basic cocktails like gin and tonic, and not even made very well, the gin brand not very good (the cheap stuff). The canned wine was better, an oregon pinot noir (underwood). For theater candy, they only offered plain m&m's and red vines, so options for drinks and snacks were extremely limited here. The coolest part about this place was the clown art, with endless creative pieces like the clown last supper. A cute and cozy lounge with seating and a fake fireplace provided a nice little area to hangout before the show. Some outdoor seating available as well. We enjoyed the comedy event, which included some great stand-up acts, the feeling of being in the live audience for a talk show with a host that stayed in character and was actually quite funny, and great music and sound effects too by the house band. Note, the show started 20 minutes after the listed start time and ended about 10 minutes later than advertised online.

If you're looking for Portland Center Stage, you're in the wrong place. This unique place is so…read morePortland, it's what Portland is all about, IMO. It feels underground and has vibe for days, it's plainly, beautifully perfect. If you have a chance to see a play or any event at this place, do it and bring your friends. It's smaller than most playhouses in Portland, but that plays into the whole vibe of this place. Small bar, yes and prices are very fair. We purchased VIP tickets, which got us assigned seats and a super cool t-shirt. I totally recommend doing this, it's worth it. I was reluctant to review this place as I didn't want to break the local code of keeping it on the DL. With lots of bars and restaurants within 1-2 blocks away, easy to make a whole night out and not driving all over the place to do so. All & All ; VIP package is highly recommended, Bartender rocks. Content Warning - If you have Coulrophobia, might wanna stay away, FAR away.

My daughter has been getting into the Cure lately and so we went to see a Cure cover band called…read moreThe Lovecats. The opening band was a Depeche Mode cover band called Hiding from Love (lots of "love" in the air tonight). My daughter has been on restriction, but we took a break from it as tribute bands are my guilty pleasure. I used it as an excuse to dive deeper into both bands beforehand. I know most of the hits although not always by name. My daughter and Sarah went up front to dance at the show and we had fun. Something interesting i found out was that Personal Jesus by Depeche is not even in their top 2 songs on Spotify currently. The other two songs are hits that i've heard, and i understand Depeche Mode is not a one hit wonder, but i was shocked to find out their song Enjoy the Silence has twice as many plays as Personal Jesus. Personal Jesus in my experience has always been the stand out hit, even at the show the crowd loved that one the most. Also Personal Jesus was released first as b-side in 1989, and was later released on a studio album the following year. The other big hits on the studio album (Enjoy the Silence, Policy of Truth, and World in my Eyes) although very 80's sounding, were released in 1990, which i had forgotten. Weird, i think of them as 80's songs. Not only that, but Depeche Mode, I learned very recently, has multiple other great songs that sound like they are from the 80's but were released years or decades after the 80's ended. Last note: They have an album (at least on streaming and it's listed as a "single" even though the collection is 3 hours long) of remixes called Violator: The 12 Inch Singles, and although i generally dislike remixes there are quite a few good ones on there. Many of them could fit well in a movie score.

My boyfriend and I came here to see Margaret Cho for a Saturday night late show. Tickets were super…read moreeasy to buy online. Tbh, that's always a bonus so I can pick my seats that I want. I'm an aisle girl. I will say parking around here is kind of hit or miss. But you can find parking like we, about a few blocks away from the theater We had seat tickets up in the balcony and because it's a smaller theater it was pretty decent seats in my opinion. The actual seats themselves are old and uncomfortable. Just wanted to note that if you have problems like me. We ordered some drinks from downstairs and prices were typical theater prices. They do have a full bar and cider and beer draft. Also have bathrooms upstairs. Overall, I'll probably be back to see another show

One of the hardest things about being mobility challenged is accessibility to just about anything…read morereally. I was so active and and I try to continue to be as much as I can. I have a tissue disorder so I need ADA seating and thankfully I was able to relearn to walk and I'm not paralyzed but my body also causes my funds to be limited. With that said, I completely understand that companies want to sell as many tickets at full price as they can before allowing Arts for All patrons. I just wish they would have this disclosed on the Arts for All site or that they only offer Arts for All as a rush situation the night of the event. Triangle Productions says to contact the box office for AFA tickets so I left several messages for Triangle Productions with no call back for weeks. Now the production is a month away so I figured I'd try email. I had to hunt down their email because their website just has a phone number. A few hours later I received a curt reply that they're too busy to deal with phone calls and that they only allow AFA tickets day of the show. They were only able to give me ADA seating if it was for a regular ticket. It's shocking and sad to receive such an uncomfortable reply like this especially reading their mission statement. I didn't ask to be disabled and unfortunately my disability affects my available funds. I want to support the Arts still and wish I could monetarily. I was just at a show last night and the choreographer's thank you speech moved me stating thank you for including yourself in this experience with us... my friend and I, upon leaving discussed how much this really affected us. I'm so grateful I was gifted that inclusive message last night because it made this intensely oppositional message a bit easier to bear. I might mention that that company reserved space for us weeks ago and all of their shows are sold out for their run as well.

What a wonderful experience in watching Margie Boule starring as Eleanor. She delivered a first…read moreclass performance. The story of Eleanor's life was woven together very well. I knew very little about her life. Fascinating. The reason for the low rating is due to the lack of microphones as well as speakers. Sitting five rows from the stage in the center and clould not hear Ms Boule most of the time except when she stood down stage.

What is more Portland than a theater in the back of a coffee shop?! Great venue for intimate plays…read more Really enjoyed myself. Definitely recommend folks support this great theater. Actors were super talented. Stage manager was funny and informative.

The Backdoor Theatre is located, as it sounds, in the backdoor to a coffee shop on Hawthorne. And…read moreof course, it's tiny, with bench seating and fold out chairs. But somehow it manages to have some of the best theatre in Portland. Shows have minimal props and focus largely on the acting and the script. It's refreshing to see a bare bones play that hits you just right, and it puts some of the larger theatre companies in town, with light tricks and major props and scenes, to shame.

I see a lot of performances but last month was my first visit here. The Juliet Letters was…read moreperformed by PDX Opera and Papermoon Opera. I very much enjoyed the space and the staff were incredible especially since I went through it to get there. I left WAY early knowing rain + cars bad. The disclaimer here is that Google is now corrected because I reached out to Artists Repertory Theatre when I discovered the issue and they got Google to correct it. I had never been to the venue before but knew about where it was and I am downtown several times a week in different areas. I've lived here forever and also traffic gets weird off 405 so it is not uncommon to be tossed onto offramps when an accident or something happens. I was using Waze.. address saying 1515 SW Morrison. Coming from Beaverton, I am almost to the tunnel when the freeway STOPS and GPS adds a LOT of minutes. While stopped in the far left lane waiting for traffic to move, I had my window down for a spot of fresh air. A car HITS a pocket of water rolling down the other side of the freeway and my car gets a tidal wave of gray water. So I was VERY awake and DRENCHED... The second I am through the tunnel, FINALLY, there is no traffic. I was pretty annoyed since the horrific traffic ate a half hour and I was now going to be barely in time. I was so hyper focused on getting there that I was not really registering that I was in NW, not SW. I pull up to the Armory. I was so pissed at myself. I was JUST at the Armory for a Portland Center Stage show and thought I must have absent minded typed The Armory into Waze. But Waze was genuinely saying I was at 1515 SW Morrison. FYI - Someone had 'tagged' Artists Repertory Theatre in a photo they too of a fundraiser for Artists Repertory Theatre, held at The Armory resulting in Google having Artists Repertory Theatre IN The Armory. I had to manually enter the address and am doing that AT start time for the opera. I was having an anxiety attack and thinking about just going home but NO, DAMN IT I WILL MAKE IT. I will be late but I did not just go through this for nothing. And I genuinely was excited to see this venue I had never seen. I am so grateful I stuck it out though my adventure was not over yet! Driving the blocks from NW to SW, I was green lights all the way. BUT people randomly would just walk in front of me for zero reasons. Then a Max train genuinely just drifted slowly straight in front of my car when I was green light and they were not... my 5 minutes turned to 10 minutes... But I see an empty parking spot out front which is so great since I am ADA and walk with a cane but see no ADA spots. Everything is covered in wet fall leaves which can be a bit scary for my walking. As I pulled up, the space in front is just being taken. I parked around the corner, in front of a bar next to a truck that pared like they pregamed before hitting the bar. While getting out of the car, in sideways rain with zero light on that street (hysterically there was a light that was on when I came out after the performance but when I arrived it was pitch black) I see a perfect banana peel right where I would step to stand up getting out of my car?? And who says the universe does not have a sense of humor?!? I arrived and security came at me like I was dying because I probably looked like I was! Everyone was AMAZING. The lovely person with the will call list found me so easily and they tucked me right in like a mysterious diplomat with a folding cane who clearly walked into a lake and fought ninjas to get there. I, again, am ADA and try to just tuck in away from people at an end seat. There were five seats marked reserved for us ADA folks (the kind people from the venue had told me the whats what when I got my ticket) and they were all empty. As it was, right before I popped in to rush to my seat, they were apologizing to me that it had already started. I was shocked as I was mortified I was so late! I did make note of the great bar area with some tables and chairs to the right of the performance area for people to be social before and after with vendors selling wares. As I am taking a seat, I see an end one in the very front which I sit behind as the person seated directly to its right left a napkin with something...on it... that looked like chewed food. I was a bit distracted the whole show by that napkin because ewww. When the show ended, I took my program and political sign I was handed during the show as part of the show to get a photo. I chatted with an usher about the opera while I was taking my pictures and I was VERY surprised when I noticed the genuine blood stains on the wood floor next to me. Innocent probably but also MAYBE MURDER (had to).

Seats on the first floor theater are incredibly uncomfortable - they're basically foldup chairs…read morewith a cushion. The show was good minus the loud sneeze I had just as the actor was about to start their monologue :p My apologies to the audience!

Rising Phoenix Theater is a small community theater that I just happened upon while reading a local…read moreFacebook page. I saw they were doing their first play, so I decided to support their efforts. I saw A Company of Wayward Saints on March 16th, and I thought it was excellent!($12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students.) The play was performed on a small stage in a church with very little theatrical "stuff", but they did a really good job with what they had. The acting was good. The costumes were topnotch, the set was clever, and the play was fun to watch. The program showed that they also do improv, so I went to that show, too. The improv show is called Spontaneous Combustion, and I saw it on April 5th. The ticket was only $7-- at that price, I figured I could take the risk. I was very glad I did. Such a funny show! It's the kind of improv they did on the tv show, Whose Line is it, Anyway? The players were hilarious! There was some audience participation, too. Just voluntary-- nothing embarrassing. The show started at 7:30 and went till 9:00-- lots of laughs and fun for only $7! The emcee said they did the improv shows about once a month, so I am keeping my eye on their Facebook page to see when the next one is. I'll be there! Support local stuff!