The first batch of reviews are in, and its official- Josh Kornbluth’s accidentally academic exploration of the complications of Founding Fatherhood is a hit!

But NEVER take our word for it. The Oregonian says…

“Noticing that you’ve come to look like Benjamin Franklin might not be the greatest of epiphanies. But Kornbluth, who has taken up an eight-week residence in Portland Center Stage’s Ellyn Bye Studio, figures “maybe I can continue to do autobiography — only someone else’s.”

In his unlikely, but hilariously engaging, way, he does both, using a blow-by-blow account of his research on “the first American” to get at the heart of family dynamics in Franklin’s life and his own. At the same time, he makes an intriguing case that the way each of us views history is shaped by whatever narrative of the past resonates most with our own experiences and emotional themes.” – Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

Read the rest of the review.

Geoff Kleinman from ONPDX.com had this to share:

“Through out the piece we learn a tremendous amount about Benjamin Franklin as Kornbluth literally wrestles with the fact and fiction surrounding one of the most recognizable figures in American history. For fans of American history this show is a literal smorgasbord, an immense feast of knowledge and insight that will leave even the most ardent history buff spinning. But the piece doesn’t work because it’ll thrill history buffs, it works because it’ll thrill those who aren’t particularly enamored with history. Kornbluth manges to make the world of one of our founding fathers come alive and contextualizes it in a way that makes it exciting and entertaining. He literally dusts off the history books and shows the humanity contained within. Merging that narrative with his own he creates an evening that is extraordinarily entertaining.” -Geoff Kleinman

Read the whole review.

But wait! Here’s Ben Waterhouse from the Willamette Week:

“OK, I know what you’re thinking. Ben Franklin: Unplugged? When did PCS get into the historical impersonation business?

Don’t worry—this is no after-school special. Josh Kornbluth, a Bay Area monologuist who earns his bread with long, nebbishy rants, isn’t here to recite the highlights of Franklin’s life and interminable supply of pithy quips… Kornbluth finds himself struggling to sort through academic rivalries, popular myth and Franklin’s own self-aggrandizement in hopes of understanding the complicated relationship between the revolutionary father and Tory son. Along the way he meets a mildly crazy Franklin scholar, gallivants around Manhattan in a Franklin costume, gets revenge on Yale University and, of course, winds up thinking about his dad. Kornbluth’s persona is a schlemiel in the classic mold, but he—like all comedians feigning incompetence—is cannier than he looks, and his toying with the self-generated myth of Franklin is a blast to watch.” – Ben Waterhouse, Willamette Week.

Read the rest of the review.

And finally, we’ll leave you with some thoughts from Bob Hicks at Art Scatter:

“Like a lot of successful one-person shows, Ben Franklin: Unplugged takes its audience on a dual journey: one into the psyche and obsessions of the performer himself, the second into the performer’s discoveries about his external subject — in this case, Ben.

The link is fathers and sons: Kornbluth’s unresolved relationship with his own father, who died when Kornbluth was in college, and Franklin’s tortured relationship with his illegitimate but favored son William, who seemed the apple of his eye until the two took opposite sides on the issue of the Revolutionary War: the father the unrepentant radical, the son the extreme and sometimes ruthless loyalist.

Along the way Kornbluth creates a marvelous supporting character in the aged, accidental scholar Claude and unearths little pieces of fascinating biography in search of “my own Ben Franklin.” The wry blend of famous-man biography and obscure-entertainer autobiography makes for an engaging evening.” -Bob Hicks, Art Scatter.

Read the rest of the review.

more posts about Ben Franklin: Unplugged || Get the Details on the Show || Buy Tickets

In case the Oregonian and audience raves weren’t enough, we’re delighted to report that both the Willamette Week and the Mercury found Chris Coleman’s production of Ragtime very strong. But don’t take our word for it…

First, Alison Hallett from The Mercury:

“Portland Center Stage (PCS) does tremendous work here. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a better treatment: Every single aspect of the production seems geared toward counterbalancing the script’s overblown elements, with some success. Joel Ferrell’s choreography is balanced and effective; the set is deceptively simple, a multi-tiered backdrop that takes on shades of menace or wistfulness courtesy of Peter Maradudin’s spectacular lighting. The cast is the best money can buy, and as always, it’s satisfying to note that standout performances come from a couple of locals: Leif Norby as Tateh, the bearded Jewish father, and Susannah Mars as the stymied housewife. There’s even a performance from a little boy (Alex Thede) that isn’t the theatrical equivalent of chewing on tinfoil—a rarity among child performers.”

Read the rest of the review.

And last, but by no means least, Ben Waterhouse from the Willamette Week:

“As a subversive work of musical theater… Ragtime is a rousing success.”

“The greatest achievement of the musical is granting much-needed pathos to the character of Coalhouse Walker—a black piano player who responds to the trashing of his car by a gang of white volunteer firefighters by forming a revolutionary terrorist organization—for whom Doctorow shows little sympathy. Broadway veteran Gavin Gregory assaults the role with smoldering fury. His two big numbers are crushing. He is the face of defeated aspiration, of the American dream destroyed by careless cruelty. We may like to pretend, as we enter the new century, that the troubles of the last are buried; watching Coalhouse, you know they’re anything but.”

Read the rest of the review.

What did you think of the show? Join the conversation about Ragtime here.

more posts about Ragtime || Get the Details on the Show || Buy Tickets

We’re delighted to have Ragtime open and garnering rave reviews- from the press and from our own audience!

First, the audience weighs in…on our website, on Facebook, and on Twitter:

On Our Site

“Ragtime is one of my three favorite musicals, so I was apprehensive when PCS announced it for their season. I had seen the original production (breathtaking!), a touring show in Seattle (still good though on a smaller scale), and a really scaled down version in Portland at the Keller (only OK). Now for yours: Brilliant!!! The singing was extraordinary, the story came more into focus, I loved the use of chairs and the screens. And to top it all was Susannah Mars. Mother finally came into focus where she should have been in all previous showings. Thank you. I plan to see it at PCS many more times.” – Jerry Lesch

Read more audience reviews. (And write your own!)

{Mother (Susannah Mars) decides to keep a baby found abandoned in her garden (and transforms her whole life in the process) in Ragtime. Photo by Owen Carey}

Twitter

@MiracleInsider:  “Saw RAGTIME last night at PCS – a huge success – wonderful vocals – Musical Director Rick Lewis really triumphs – will be big hit.”

@toddmintz: “Ragtime rocked the F’ing house yesterday…awesome performance!”

@misconstrue: “Enjoyed the heck out of Portland Center Stage’s Ragtime last night. First rate voices, acting, and stagecraft. Kudos.”

Follow us on Twitter.

{Coalhouse (Gavin Gregory) gets a new car and a whole new slice of the American Dream in Ragtime. Photo by Owen Carey.}

Facebook

“The show was fantastic! A good refresher of American history and of how our nation got it’s start from “wheels of a dream”. Change begins with dreams and the journey of change begins with the support of family & friends working tog…ether to endure the obstacles of life. After seeing this show, and watching the decline of the industrial revolution in our country with hard working people loosing their jobs to cheaper overseas labor, it seems History is repeating its self. HATS off (yep…puns intended) to PCS and the Ragtime cast for instilling the importance of keeping dreams in America!” – Laura Henderson Kennedy

“Ragtime was amazing! A classy production. Beautiful sights and sounds. Entertaining and educational. It kept making me cry but I laughed as well. What a show.” – Katherine Fitch

“Just saw Ragtime tonight (thanks, Kelsey!) This is one of the most amazing and powerful productions I’ve ever seen at PCS. And I’ve seen some great ones. The cast is superb. I was blown away by the vocals and orchestra, the beautiful costumes and the profound story. Thank you for a brilliant show.” – Michael Todd Pozycki

“I was “bowled” over by the amazingly talented cast of Ragtime last night. The ensemble singing was so beautiful, as was the directing and scenery. Bravo, Chris!” – Carole Penner

“Loved, loved, loved the show last night. The cast was absolutely incredible and the singing was fantastic. And that was only the first preview night. Can’t wait to see where it goes from here.” – Heather Adams

Friend us on Facebook (and tell us what you thought!)

{What a Game! The men of Ragtime celebrate the profundities (and profanities) of a baseball game. Photo by Owen Carey.}

And what did the press think so far? Here’s a brief excerpt of Michael McGregor’s review for the Oregonian:

Distilled by Terrence McNally from E.L. Doctorow’s wide-ranging novel and pulsed by Stephen Flaherty’s lean but luscious rag-based score, Ragtime highlights three versions of the American Dream at the end of the Gilded Age …

Coleman’s unexpectedly apt less-is-more approach places in the foreground not only Ragtime’s Tony-winning book and score but also the powerful voices he’s found for both major and minor roles. Chief among these are local favorites Susannah Mars as a wealthy white woman discovering abilities and desires beyond being a wife and Leif Norby as a Latvian Jewish immigrant transformed from poor street artist to privileged filmmaker.”

Read the rest of the review.

And here’s a bit from Barry Johnson’s Arts Watch commentary:

The orchestra, led by Rick Lewis, had the musical goods and so did the cast, which was jam-packed with good singers — most notably the two locals in the cast, Susannah Mars and Leif Norby, along with Gavin Gregory as Coalhouse Walker…

Yes, it’s far easier to keep the door closed to the human misery at your doorstep, in Mother’s case the arrival of Sarah and her infant son (the child of Coalhouse Walker). But when it’s a specific misery, sometimes we find it within ourselves to do something about it, if we can. Mars, who sings beautifully throughout, is particularly poignant here, and as the play progresses, Father is right: She is always carrying the symbol of that pain, the infant son of Coalhouse and Sarah. Mother’s caring doesn’t matter to the vast social forces in movement outside of her home in New Rochelle, of course; it matters at a strictly local level, though, and at a personal level, too. Mars’ ability to suggest this is one of the prime achievements of this production.

Read the rest of Barry’s take on the show.

more posts about Ragtime || Get the Details on the Show || Buy Tickets

Arts organizations are generally under a fair amount of pressure to inspire and engage young audiences- the “next generation,” as it were.

So how are we doing on that “metric?”

How about I let the kids speak for themselves? The following quotes are excerpted from a series of blogs posted by a group of Mt. Hood Community College students after seeing Frost/Nixon as an assignment for their theater appreciation class. You can read the full posts right here.

” I was expecting the show to be very long, boring, and confusing. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to not only understand the show, but enjoy it as well.”

“Bill Christ made me hate him, he played a part well done. I actually forgot several times that he was not the actual ‘Richard Nixon’ he is just that good. From the tone of his voice to the way he carried himself I felt that I was meeting the real man. I had essentially no knowledge of the history of the scandal with the water gate (sic) crisis, nor did I understand why Nixon was so hated as a person and a political activist.”

“In just a split second the emotion could go from sad and forlorn, with slow music and dark lighting to an upbeat British talk show with phycadelic lights and funky music. With so much ebb and flow of the play, this really gave quite a bit of interest to the work. ”

“For me, Frost/Nixon was a huge surprise of a play, it kept me hooked in from beginning to end, without me having to look at the time on my cell phone, as if to say, ‘Ugh…when is this going to be over?’”

More Posts about Frost/Nixon || Get the Details about the Show || Buy Tickets

It’s official- our Richard Nixon stands tall, defying stereotype and “deftly avoiding the long shadow” of Frank Langella’s Oscar-nominated performance in the role. The critics are also saying that our production does what the movie never could: help you to really feel the difference between Nixon in person and Nixon in terrifying TV close up. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the critics are saying.

About Bill Christ as Richard Nixon:

“Christ is so compelling it feels at times as though the stage is tilting toward him.”

- Alison Hallett, Portland Mercury.

“The key is Bill Christ’s credible and compelling portrayal of Nixon, emphasizing his intellect and sad self-loathing in a way that renders him almost likable, while not diminishing his flaws. It’s a trick worthy of Tricky Dick…The part has been owned — in London, on Broadway, and in the Ron Howard-directed film — by the remarkable actor Frank Langella. Yet Christ manages to sidestep that long shadow here.”

- Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

“Nixon is especially well-written, and Bill Christ brings him to life with confidence and a surprisingly strong sense of comedic delivery.”

- Jonathan Owicki, Describe the Ruckus

“[Bill Christ] offers a Nixon who is inordinately intelligent and funny in the driest possible way, but who’s so clumsy he gives even himself the heebie-jeebies. He’s not smooth, he’s not sexy, he can’t do small talk. If he were a language he’d be German, not French. ”

- Bob Hicks, Art Scatter

The Film vs. The Show:

“If you count yourself among the many disappointed by Ron Howard’s Best Picture-nominated film, hear this: Peter Morgan’s 2006 stage play … is, thank heavens, far superior to its overblown cinematic successor.”

- Ben Waterhouse, Willamette Week.

“Despite snagging a couple of Academy Award nominations for last year’s film adaptation, playwright Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon was never really suited for the big screen—if only because a crucial theme in the play is the unprecedented intimacy that television offered… The significance of this perspective shift is explained in the film, but not really felt—not felt like the audience at PCS feels it when, after 90 minutes of watching a human-sized Nixon stride around the stage, his face is suddenly projected with unsettling clarity on a ceiling-high screen. Oh, thinks the audience in the balcony. That’s what he really looks like. It’s a powerful moment.”

- Alison Hallett, The Mercury.

The Verdict:

“Portland Center Stage’s retro-stylish production — crisply directed by Rose Riordan — doesn’t blunt the impact of the emotional payoff, a moment of political schadenfreude rare in its worthiness.”

- Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

“Christ’s performance, under Rose Riordan’s smart direction, offers some of the best moments we’ve seen on PCS’ mainstage this year.”

- Alison Hallett, The Mercury

More Posts about Frost/Nixon || Get the Details about the Show || Buy Tickets