One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
February 22 — March 27
On the Main Stage
By Dale Wasserman
from the Ken Kesey novel
Directed by Rose Riordan
“Scarifying and powerful.” —The New York Times
It was set at the Oregon State Hospital, still one of the most controversial institutions in the state. It was arguably the greatest anti-authority protest novel of the 20th century. And it boils down to one insistent refrain: Authority Must Always Be Questioned. Want more? Cuckoo’s Nest pits Randle Patrick McMurphy (a convict who has feigned psychosis so that he can spend the final months of his sentence at a mental institution) against Nurse Ratched (the icy head nurse of the ward), who believes that rules must be followed without exception. A band of crazies gets half-inspired, half destroyed by McMurphy’s rebellion and the question remains… was it worth it anyway?
Performance times:
Tuesday - Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm
Thursday matinees at noon
A full list of performances and dates will appear when you enter the “Buy Tickets” section of the website.
View the Cast and Creative Team Bios
Reviews and Comment
Alison Hallett | The Portland Mercury [Review 03 Mar 2011]
A few years ago, Portland Center Stage (PCS) produced an original adaptation of Ken Kesey’s brilliant Sometimes a Great Notion. Despite the challenging nature of the material (it’s about loggers!), it was a beautiful show that boded well for this season’s adaptation of PCS’ One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey’s equally compelling 1962 novel. But while Notion managed to distinguish itself from both the novel and film versions of that story, PCS’ current production of Cuckoo’s Nest can’t quite crawl out from the shadows of the work that came before it.
read moreBen Waterhouse | Willamette Week [Review 02 Mar 2011]
Under other circumstances, it would be the gravest of insults to say an actor was upstaged by the scenery, but in Rose Riordan’s new production of Kesey’s classic novel, it could hardly be otherwise. Here the asylum is not merely the setting but the lead antagonist: a breathing, blinking being dedicated to extinguishing the humanity of its inhabitants, with Nurse Ratched as its agent. It’s a hell of a set piece, designed by Tony Cisek and lit in a breathtaking realist style by Diane Ferry Williams, all green tile and fluorescent tubes and heavy steel doors, and it transcends verisimilitude. It glowers.
read more
Production blog
The Portland Drammy Awards
14 June 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
Last night, several Portland Center Stage staff members attended the 32nd Annual Drammy Awards at the Crystal Ballroom in downtown Portland. Portland’s version of the Tony Awards – organized by The Portland Civic Theatre Guild – the event recognizes the outstanding work of all of the local actors, directors, designers, songwriters, choreographers, playwrights and everyone else who creates theater in Portland. PCS was honored to take home five awards!
MoreOwsley Stanley: The “Acid King” of the ‘60s
17 March 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
Ken Kesey’s name has been frequently mentioned in the news the past couple of days, amid reports that his LSD “provider,” Owsley Stanley, passed away last weekend in a car accident near his home in Queensland, Australia. Nearly everyone familiar with the history of the 1960s has heard of Ken Kesey, writer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. But far fewer remember Owsley Stanley, a man who was arguably just as pivotal as Kesey for altering minds in the 1960s.
MoreTen Great Literary Villains We Love to Hate
10 March 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nurse Ratched exercises complete and unbridled control over her patients. A cold, relentless and passive-aggressive tyrant, she rules over the ward with a stern and iron fist. She’s McMurphy’s antagonist; the villain of the story that we all love to hate.This got us thinking.What other novels throughout history have given us such strong, despicable and diabolical villains to despise? So here it is: Ten of the most hated characters in literary history.
More- 09 Mar 2011
- A Cast Member Change in “Cuckoo’s Nest”
- 08 Mar 2011
- Ken Kesey: Government Guinea Pig?
- 01 Mar 2011
- Hayes Freedom High School is Cuckoo for Haikus
Ticketing
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
For ticket information, contact the box office at 503-445-3700 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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