Student Matinees
Planning a field trip is easy!
You can book now and pay later. We create resource guides and wrap-around activities for all shows — and each matinee performance includes a post-show Q&A with the actors. Tickets for student matinees are $15, and free for groups with 50% or more qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
To request a reservation online for your school or youth group, please fill out a School & Youth Group Ticket Request form:
For the 2022-2023 Season: The following shows have weekday student matinees on the dates listed below.
tick, tick … BOOM!
The hilarious, feel-good origin story of Rent! Jonathan Larson cracks open the ticking-time-bomb world of creating theater to celebrate the power of finding your voice and holding on to a dream.
- This production is recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains adult situations and language and theatrical haze. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 95 minutes. No intermission.
the ripple, the wave that carried me home
Drawing on history, this deeply moving story explores the joys and challenges of forgiveness, justice, and family legacy, as a young woman reconciles a childhood she has tried to forget.
- This production is recommended for ages 14 and up. It contains adult situations and language, depictions of racism, and references to sexual assault. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 90 minutes. No intermission.
Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord
A tour-de-force performance by Kristina Wong, whose sharp humor — and “Auntie Sewing Squad” — explores the early days of the pandemic to offer an inspirational path back to a healing world.
- This production is recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains adult situations and language, and drug use. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 90 minutes. No intermission.
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
This heartwarming journey of community triumph is reimagined for the stage as a live 1940s radio broadcast complete with a stellar cast, gorgeous music, lavish costumes, and — of course — George Bailey!
- This production is recommended for ages 8 and up. It contains adult situations, conversations about suicide, as well as loud noises and gunfire. We can all help! The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 2 hours, including one intermission.
Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B
A bold, feminist take on the iconic crime-fighting duo! This wonderfully farcical comedy packs non-stop laughs and crime-fighting hijinks galore.
- This production is recommended for ages 12 and up. It contains strobe lights, gunfire, theatrical haze and blood, and drug use. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission.
Young Americans
With Bowie blaring from a mixtape, two road trips veer back and forth in time, as an upbeat father and his jaded daughter take a journey that mirrors the father’s life-changing road trip 20 years earlier.
- This production is recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains adult situations and language, depictions of racism, and drug use. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 90 minutes. No intermission.
Where We Belong
An Indigenous theater-maker journeys across geographic borders, personal history, and cultural legacies in search of a place to belong.
- This production is recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains depictions of racism, colonial theft of human remains, and strobe lights. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 80 minutes. No intermission.
Choir Boy
An exhilarating coming-of-age story from the Academy Award-winning writer of Moonlight. A young, gay student leads the choir at his elite school — and learns how to march to his own drum.
- This production is recommended for ages 14 and up. It contains adult situations and language, depictions of racism and homophobia, sexual and discriminatory language, these performances will be altered to remove full nudity (though nudity will be simulated with minimal clothing). Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. No intermission.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies! This beguiling odyssey in an enchanted forest on a very magical midsummer night reminds us that “the course of true love never did run smooth” — so watch your step!
- This production is recommended for ages 12 and up. Contains adult situations and mischievous fairies. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.
- Run time: Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one intermission.
All titles, artists, age recommendations, dates, and run times subject to change.
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).