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It’s a truth universally acknowledged: In Portland, Black Friday isn’t just a day to doomscroll through Amazon and wait in punishingly long lines. It’s also a time to see some damn good (and fun!) plays.
Even as Portland’s theater community reckons with seismic changes (including the ongoing troubles of Artists Repertory Theatre) and embraces creative ways to drive audience attendance back to pre-pandemic levels, there will be a dizzying array of holiday-themed shows to see starting this Friday.
We know, we know: There’s only so much time in the day and it can be hard to choose between a festive production and some delightfully perverse counterprogramming. With that in mind, we present our guide to the can’t-miss shows kicking off the holiday season.
There are many more worth checking out (including Broadway Rose’s Home for the Holidays and Portland Center Stage’s Dracula), but consider this a starting point for scheduling your winter theater plans.
Black Nativity (PassinArt)
Words can hardly do justice to the sheer joy that is PassinArt’s long-running production of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity. While hearing the music echo up to the rafters of a church is pretty spectacular, the Brunish Theatre should be the perfect arena for this ebullient, heartfelt Portland favorite. Plays through Dec. 10.
A Christmas Carol (Portland Playhouse)
Portland Playhouse always attracts top-tier talent, and this musical rendition of the Dickens’ most beloved tome is no exception: Magnificent polymath Charles Grant is in the director’s chair, overseeing a production that adds the music of Anna Lackaff and Rick Lombardo to the timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge (Lester Purry). Plays through Dec. 30.
Holiday Inn (Lakewood Theatre)
The 1942 musical comedy movie Holiday Inn could have well been titled Bing Crosby v Fred Astaire: Dawn of Vengeance (it’s only slightly less silly than 1954′s White Christmas, which it inspired). Swing by the Lakewood to see how the Lake Oswego theater company handles this goofy tale of romantic rivalry across the holidays. Plays through Dec. 17.
Taking Care of Animals (21Ten Theatre)
21Ten artistic director (and Gilmore Girls veteran!) Ted Rooney has transformed the former Shoebox Theater into an intimate space for epic personalities and ideas (the company’s recent production of 52 Pick-Up is one of the year’s best plays). His latest production, directed by Alex Hurt, is the world premiere of playwright Jerrod Jordahl’s Taking Care of Animals, which is set on an Iowa farm during a fearsome storm. If that doesn’t entice you, consider this: The cast includes Rooney and Annie Trevisan, one of 52 Pick-Up’s gifted stars. If you’re in the market for a non-Christmas-themed play, this one’s a solid bet. Plays through Dec. 10.