2018-2019 Season

From Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller comes a powerful, Tony Award-winning musical with a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues. This stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie from the early to mid-20th century in the American south, as she journeys from childhood to womanhood, through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the true power of love and life. With a soul-rousing, Grammy-winning score, The Color Purple is an unforgettable and intensely moving American classic.

A wickedly irreverent play about the meaning of life. Nate Martin is hopelessly single. When his most recent breakup casts him into a funk, he turns to the only source of wisdom he trusts: the stars. Poring over astrological charts, he obsessively questions his past and his place in the cosmos. The answer he gets is shockingly obvious — and totally unpredictable.

Music and stories come together in this cozy celebration of winter. Truman Capote’s rural Alabama boyhood captures an unforgettable portrait of an enduring friendship and beloved holiday rituals in A Christmas Memory. This gem of a holiday story is paired with Winter Song, a collection of favorite songs that celebrate winter and all it represents: love, family, solitude, renewal and warmth.

Riffing through parodies of A Christmas Carol and nearly every other holiday tradition, our beloved troupe of talented improv performers will have you rolling in the aisles and screaming bah humbug for more. Originally created by the legendary comedy troupe The Second City, this irreverent and riotously fun show is updated every year – so come back for your favorite moments and enjoy the new surprises in store!

Bursting with humor and bold theatricality, this charming and wildly inventive staging of Jane Austen’s classic romance follows the adventures of the Dashwood sisters — and a whirlwind of snippy town gossips — after their sudden loss of fortune. Playwright Kate Hamill and director Eric Tucker of New York’s acclaimed theater company Bedlam revive their celebrated production in Portland after taking audiences by storm in New York and Boston.

An outrageous comedy about the price of fame and the oddest of odd jobs. Alex, a struggling actor in Los Angeles, finds himself working in Barbra Streisand's private shopping mall (yes, Barbra has her own shopping mall). With his riotously sharp wit and shop clerk persona ready, Alex awaits a visit from the ultimate customer, the “Funny Girl” herself. Nick Cearley (Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors) returns to The Armory as Alex.

A celebration of the simple beauty of being human, this funny and deeply touching exploration of resilience is based on Cheryl Strayed’s (Wild) journey as the beloved anonymous advice columnist for “Dear Sugar.” Over the years, thousands of people turned to Sugar for words of wisdom, compassion, and hope. At first unsure of herself, Sugar finds a way to weave her own life experiences together with the deep yearning and heartrending questions from her readers. Brilliantly adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, the Academy Award-nominated writer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Pulitzer Prize finalist and celebrated performer Dael Orlandersmith (Forever) explores the social uprising in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of teenager Michael Brown. Pulling from her extensive interviews with Missouri residents, Orlandersmith crafts a stunning theatrical experience that must be seen. The Chicago Tribune called it “palpably compassionate” and raved that it “achieves a great beauty by bringing us together rather than driving us apart."

Crossing Mnisose tells the story of one of America's first feminists, Sacajawea, and draws a line from a completely original view of Lewis and Clark to the present day, as descendants of the Dakota and Lakota Nations continue their fight for the Mnisose (or what Europeans named the “Missouri River”) and the lands that contain the burials of their ancestors. From celebrated playwright, activist and attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee Nation), whose Manahatta captivated audiences at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Frances was Martin's dutiful wife. Madeleine was his not-so-dutiful long-term lover. When Martin moves to America with a younger woman, the two women he leaves behind meet face to face for the first time to discuss their relationships with the elusive man who profoundly impacted them. With caustic wit and sharp intelligence, they challenge each other to take away Martin's power over them and to feel the breath of life again.

In this hilarious hot-button comedy, cultures and gardens clash, turning well-intentioned neighbors into feuding enemies. When a questionable fence line puts a prize-worthy garden in jeopardy, neighborly rivalry escalates into an all-out border dispute, challenging everyone’s notions of race, privilege, class, and good taste. From the outrageous mind of playwright Karen Zacarías, whose play Destiny of Desire was a hit at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Crazy Enough returns for a special 10th anniversary engagement! Portland legend Storm Large’s autobiographical musical is an exploration through story and song of how a girl can live, nearly die, and live again by praying to the holy trinity: Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll. Featuring original songs by Storm and James Beaton, including the raunchy, hilarious and incredibly addictive “My Vagina is Eight Miles Wide.” Crazy Enough is one of The Armory’s all-time biggest hits, playing a record sold-out, 21-week run in 2009.