Spring is performance season in Oregon’s Washington County, with a host of plays opening in the coming weeks. Choose which talent you’d like to see showcased on stage in these spring theater debuts. Get your tickets now; any weekend will do!
Here’s a rundown, sorted by opening date:
Performances are always entertaining here. Photo courtesy of Bag&Baggage.
Chicago Theatre in the Grove
April 13 – 29
Come see this classic–a drama set in the Roaring 1920s in Chicago.
The Andrews Brothers Broadway Rose – at the New Stage in Tigard
April 19 – May 20
This entertaining musical comedy is based on mistaken identities, madcap humor and well-known songs from the 1940s, including “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”
The Miracle Worker Beaverton Civic Theatre – at Beaverton City Library Auditorium
April 27 – May 13
This is the true story of Annie Sullivan, the persistent teacher who helped Helen Keller learn to communicate and overcome the challenges of being both deaf and blind.
Murder at Brackenfern Mask & Mirror
May 4 – 20
An award-winning play by a local author, this comedic mystery pokes fun at Northwest lifestyles.
Dangerous Liasions Bag&Baggage Productions – at Venetian Theatre in Hillsboro
May 9 – 27
Witness a thrilling game of revenge and power set in pre-Revolutionary France.
Broadway Dreamers — On Our Way Northwest Senior Theatre – at Alpenrose Dairy Opera House
May 16 – 19
In this production, the group wins a trip to Broadway and sings their way across the United States. Broadway hits will include “Hello Dolly” and “Show Boat.”
Amadeus Hillsboro Artists’ Regional Theatre (HART)
May 25 – June 10
Learn more about the dramatic story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and how his musical genius trumped his foul mouth and lack of grace.
Now is the time to select which coming events fit your viewing bill. Numerous live musical performances and theater productions are some of the highlights in Oregon’s Washington County slated for March and April.
PERFORMANCE
Pendulum Aerial Arts, known for its stunning visuals and technical aerial ability, offers the performance “Up, Up and Away!” at the French American School that will include a piece inspired by the musical Chicago (8500 NW Johnson St., Portland; April 20-22, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; $15).
EXHIBITIONS
The Washington County Museum (17677 NW Springville Rd., Portland, on the Portland Community College Rock Creek campus) presents “Snapshots!” (through April 21; $3), a retrospective of Washington County’s history told through photographs ranging from the late 19th century to the Roaring Twenties.
LIVE MUSIC
Bottom Line Duo will perform in Hillsboro on April 20.
It’s “21st Century Parlor Music” performed by the Bottom Line Duo (bass and cello)at the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center (527 E. Main St., Hillsboro; April 20, 7:30 p.m.; $20).
Enjoy a daylong celebration of the 90th birthday of McMenamins Grand Lodge (3505 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove; March 3). There will be live music beginning at 4 p.m., as well as coffee samples, a free showing of the movie “The Princess Bride,” kids’ activities and special distillery, wine and beer tastings, along with food specials.
It’s “Dance, Dance, Dance!” by theHillsboro Symphony Orchestra with tango music and more (21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro; March 2; 8 p.m.; $5-8)
The Beaverton Symphony Orchestra presents its spring concert, featuring pieces by Schumann (3300 SW Murray Blvd., Beaverton; March 9-11; $10).
LIVE THEATER
Enjoy a comedy of errors about a six-foot invisible rabbit with Beaverton Civic Theatre’s “Harvey” (12375 SW 5th St., Beaverton; February 24-March 11, $5-$15).
Theatre in the Grove is presenting the family comedy “Over the Tavern” (February 24-March 11; $12-14), which takes place in 1950s New York in the religious household of a six-person family.
Enjoy a performance of “Robin Hood – The Musical” (multiple locations, Feb. 24-March 18, $12), which is a family-oriented, unique retelling of the classic by local group Mask and Mirror.
Professional Theater company Bag&Baggage presents “Romeo and Juliet” at the Venetian Theatre (253 E. Main St., Hillsboro; March 2-18, 7:30 p.m.; $25). This version, known as “R&J” is text-based Shakespeare with a twist, and described as a “play within a play.”
Watch the popular comedy performance “Rumors” by Hillsboro Artists’ Repertory Theatre (HART), a Neil Simon play that had a long Broadway run (185 E. Washington St., Hillsboro; March 16-April 1, 2 and 7:30 p.m. shows; $10-14).
The award-winning Broadway Rose Theatre Company (12850 SW Grant Ave., Tigard) presents “The Andrews Brothers,” (April 19-May 13, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; $40), a musical comedy set in 1943 in the South Pacific when an Andrews Sisters scheduled performance goes sideways.
For a complete list of art and culture events and performances in Oregon’s Washington County, including community performing arts groups, visit the Event Calendar.
Alloro Vineyards, in Sherwood, Oregon, is one of several wineries in Washington County offering special Valentine's weekend tastings.
This February, bring a little romance to your Valentine’s Day with a getaway to Oregon’s Washington County. Although this year, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday, there are plenty of events and special Valentine-themed activities that will keep the romance burning between you and your special one.
Enjoy a sweet sampling of events happening just in time for Valentine’s Day:
Weekend Events
The annual Chocolate Fantasy event at Jenkins Estate returns for its 15th year, Friday, February 10. Enjoy samples of locally produced chocolates, baked goods and wine pairings from Washington County wineries. Admission is $5 per person.
Also on February 10, cut a rug, ballroom style, this Valentine’s weekend at the Valentine’s Ball with Soundstage Rhythm Orchestra. The set list will include a variety of music from the Beatles to Green Day, each performed with big orchestral flare. Tickets are $25 per person, in advance, and $30 on the day of the ball.
Saturday, February 11, Ponzi Vineyards will explore ice wines and taste various styles during its Valentine’s themed seminar, “Sweet Wines for Sweethearts: Divine Ice Wines.” Tickets are still available, and space is limited. Tickets are $30 per person.
Back by popular demand, Montinore Estate is offering its blend-your-own wine event, “Bottle Up Your Love,” this Saturday, February 11. With samples from Montinore’s three best vineyard blocks, you can blend to create your own perfect Pinot Noir that will be bottled and taken home to enjoy. The event is $45 per couple, and includes blending samples, a bottle of your perfectly blended Pinot and two wine flights.
This weekend, February 11-12, world-famous saké brewery, SakéOne will put a little “shock” in your sweetheart with a special Valentine’s Saké Shock tasting flight.
Three Washington County wineries are pairing up for a special Valentine’s weekend, February 11-12. Enjoy “Valentines in Wine Country” at Ardiri Winery and Vineyards, Alloro Vineyards and Cooper Mountain Vineyards for special tastings and more. Pick up a “passport,” have it stamped at all three wineries and become eligible to win a gift basket.
Valentine’s Day
Hillsboro’s only professional theatre company,Bag&Baggage, presents “Love Letters,” a play that explores the relationship of two people, told by a series of letters written to each other. Back by popular demand, this play takes the stage February 13-14, and tickets are $25.
Dine in style during your Washington County getaway at the area’s notable and romantic eateries. On Valentine’s Day, Hall Street Grill will serve a special four-course menu with champagne, plus wine pairings. Dinner is $55 per person, $75 including the special wine pairings. Reservations are recommended.
Ongoing Events
Put a little musical theater into your Valentine’s weekend plans, courtesy of the Broadway Rose Theatre Company. The musical with a country flair, “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” runs weekends from February 2 through March 4. This charming, humorous tale of friendship, romance and heartbreak will offer you and your sweetie foot-stomping good time. Tickets are $20-40.
Finally, add a little romance to Valentine’s Day with an overnight stay by booking a romance package at an Oregon’s Washington County hotel. Stay overnight in a romantic room or suite and enjoy the special added treats for your dream Valentine’s Day weekend getaway.
The new year begins with a slate of worthy cultural exhibits, live musical performances, spoken word and theater productions. The following are some of the highlights of happenings in Oregon’s Washington County for January and February.
Snapshots! at the Washington County Museum through April 21
EXHIBITIONS
The Washington County Museum (17677 NW Springville Rd., Portland, on the Portland Community College Rock Creek campus) presents “Snapshots!” (through April 21; $3), a retrospective of Washington County’s history told through photographs ranging from the late 19th century to the Roaring Twenties.
LIVE MUSIC
Traditional Irish music takes center stage at the Winona Grange (8340 SW Seneca St., Tualatin) with upcoming 2nd Saturday Celtic Community Concerts featuring Molly’s Revenge (January 14, 7:30 p.m.; $15) and Laurence Nugent (February 11, 7:30 p.m.; $15).
Up-and-coming jazz band Blue Cranes will be performing at the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center (527 E. Main St., Hillsboro; January 20, 7:30 p.m.; $12 in advance, $14 day of show). The band’s style has been described as “walking a thin line between improvisation and catchiness.”
Enjoy an evening of koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) as East meets West with Mitsuki Dazai & Friends at the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center (527 E. Main St., Hillsboro; February 3, 7:30 p.m.; $15 in advance, $17 day of show).
Pacific University Performing Arts Series presents the Good Lovelies (Pacific University, Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove; February 4, 7:30 p.m.; $22), an all-female trio from Canada performing an upbeat combination of pop, folk and western swing.
LIVE THEATER
The the acclaimed, award-winning Broadway Rose Theatre Company (12850 SW Grant Ave., Tigard) presents a one-night-only performance of an original work, titled “Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace,” (January 14, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; $40), a delightful evening of tales and songs from Broadway Rose’s 20-year history.
Broadway Rose also is presenting a staged reading of the colorful musical, “Oil Change the Musical Comedy” (January 20-21, 7:30 p.m.; January 22, 2 p.m.; $10), a family-friendly musical featuring 18 original songs ranging from rock, county and blues to rap, Latin and love ballads, all accompanied by a live band.
The 2012 Season of Great Escapes officially starts with Broadway Rose’s country music revue, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” (February 2 – March; $20-35), in a tale of friendship, romance and heartbreak.
Professional Theater company Bag&Baggage presents “Love Letters” at the Venetian Theatre (253 E. Main St., Hillsboro; February 13-14, 7:30 p.m.; $25). Back by popular demand, the performance is an exploration of two characters’ lives as they read aloud love letters they’ve written to each other over the course of their lives.
Portland-born artist Mark Rothko is the subject of January's Spoken Word series at the Walters Cultural Arts Center
SPOKEN WORD
The Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center (527 E. Main St., Hillsboro) features a spoken word discussion about Portland-born and internationally acclaimed artist Mark Rothko (January 17, 7 p.m.; $12 in advance, $14 day of show). Caroline Kim, of the Portland Art Museum, will provide a rare behind-the-scenes look at Rothko and his work.
On February 21, local historian Richard Engeman will present an illustrated history of Oregon with 49 illustrations in 49 minutes at the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center (January 20, 7 p.m.; free).
For a complete list of art and culture events and performances in Oregon’s Washington County, including community performing arts groups, visit the Event Calendar.
Let’s face it, by the time winter rolls around, we’re ready for a break, and if you have kids-especially teenagers–you know they are chomping at the bit to get out of the house. Why wait until summer for a weekend or week-long getaway? Winter is a fabulous time to venture to Oregon’s Washington County. The following is quick look at what’s going on this season:
Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals
FOR ARTS & CULTURE BUFFS: ‘Tis the season for arts and culture to take the spotlight, from performing arts to art exhibitions.
Local professional theatre companies Bag&Baggage and Broadway Rose offer a year-round slate of productions, including special holiday-themed performances.
Through April 12, 2012, the Washington County Museum is home to its latest exhibit, Snapshot!, an impressive and extensive collection of photography equipment, objects depicting home and farm life and numerous historic images.
Print Arts Northwest has a calendar of several different art exhibitions with varying themes, featuring established and up-and-coming artists from the Pacific Northwest.
FOR TEEN SPORTS FANS: See the brightest high school athletes compete in the annual basketball tournament and slam dunk contest.
Watch the college and NBA stars of tomorrow duke it out on the basketball courts when the annual Les Schwab Invitational hits the court December 26-30. This year’s tournament features the top basketball teams in Oregon and welcomes nationally ranked teams Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA), Yates High School (Houston, TX) and Riverside Academy (New Orleans, LA).
Great Blue Heron (Photo: Ed Bustya)
FOR WILDLIFE ENTHUSIASTS: Catch a glimpse, or take a photo of wildlife and birds as they “winter” in Oregon.
Not all birds fly south for the winter. Various species prefer to stay in the peaceful nature preserves of Washington County. Heron, geese, eagles, hawks, pheasants, quail, chickadees, wrens, and the occasional seagull, along with beavers, otters, coyote and deer, can be spotted in various locations throughout the area. Best places to view wildlife are the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR), Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve and Tualatin Hills Nature Park, to name a few. See what common, uncommon and rare species of birds and more can be found with the TRWNR’s handy Watchable Wildlife guide (PDF).
FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY: The family that plays together will find a host of winter-fun activities in Oregon’s Washington County.
It may be a challenge to find activities that will entertain teens, while inspiring adults. Try these family-friendly ideas on for size:
Countless hours of activities and a multitude of attractions are waiting to be explored in Oregon’s Washington County. The question isn’t what can you do in Washington County? It’s when can you get here?
It’s a chock-full fall performance season in Oregon’s Washington County, with four plays opening this month. With so much talent showcasing onstage, you have your pick of performances. But be warned: Local productions do sell out, so getting tickets in advance is advised. I remember hearing people voice regret about not buying tickets to “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” that Broadway Rose sold out last spring. It pays to plan!
Here are this month’s openers, sorted by opening date:
Bag&Baggage presents entertaining performances
Blithe Spirit Hillsboro Artists’ Regional Theatre
now through Sept. 18
Charles Condomine, a happily married man, doing research for a book he intends to write, invites the eccentric Madame Arcati to hold a séance at his home. She unwittingly calls back the ghost of his first wife making Mr. Condomine into a sort of “astral bigamist”. Noel Coward’s acerbic wit, in this love triangle that spans the world of the living and “the other side,” makes for a charming, classic comedy. More info.
Crimes of the Heart Bag&Baggage Productions – Venetian Theatre in Hillsboro
Sept. 21 – Oct. 9
This is a twangy Southern story of the three Magrath sisters loving, feuding and fussing through a very bad day. How bad? Well, Babe has just shot her husband, Meg is fresh from the loony bin, and poor Lenny celebrates her 30th birthday alone in the kitchen by sticking a candle in a cookie and making wish after desperate wish. Her horse has been struck by lightning, and Grandpa, who raised the girls after their mother’s sensational suicide (she hung the family cat as well as herself), is laid up in the hospital, possibly forever. Beth Henley’s 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning black comedy is equal parts prickly emotional thickets and Dixie-style gallows humor. More info.
I Love You Because Broadway Rose New Stage – Tigard
Sept. 22 – Oct. 16
It’s New York City, and Austin has just discovered the woman he planned to spend his life with has other plans. His brother, Jeff, decides it’s time to get back into the dating scene and arranges dates for them both through an online dating service. Jeff and Diana hit it off straight away – after all, they’re only after a bit of fun. Things don’t go as smoothly for free-spirited Marcy and straight-laced Austin. Full of mishaps, misunderstandings, and mistakes, I Love You Because is a fun, contemporary, romantic comedy. More info.
Three Murders and It’s Only Monday! Beaverton Civic Theatre
Sept. 23 – Oct. 9
Private eye Harry Monday investigates three murders at the Peaceful Pines Sanitarium, in this spoof on old-style private-eye movies. Who killed an old sea captain? The lawyer? More info.
I fell in love with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night when I first watched the 1996 film of the same name starring Helena Bonham Carter. Shakespeare’s wit, plot entanglements, and character mistaken identities got me hooked. When I heard that Bag&Baggage Productions was performing my favorite Shakespeare play, I didn’t hesitate. And a play performed outdoors in the summer was even more tempting.
Bag&Baggage is one of two professional theater companies in Washington County and performances usually are staged at the Venetian Theatre in Hillsboro, Ore. This summer, the talented cast performed the Shakespearean comedy outdoors at the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza (also in Hillsboro) July 30 – Aug. 14.
If you weren’t able to make it to “Twelfth Night,” Bag&Baggage has four more productions coming up in their 2010-2011 season, including the Shakespearean tragedy “Macbeth.”
The next show in its season is Tennesee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, which opens September 24th, followed by The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, a twist on the well-known Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” which opens December 10th. Macbeth opens March 11th, and The Mystery of Irma Vep will wrap up the season next May.
Don your cowboy boots and hats and head over to the Washington County Fair Complex, July 30 – August 2, for the annual Washington County Fair. Of course, the fair has all of the attractions you expect to see at a county fair: farm animals, arts and crafts, baked goods, carnival rides, monster truck and tractor/truck pulls and live entertainment.
However, this year, Bag&Baggage Productionswill be bringing live theater for the entire family into the mix with productions of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Pecos Bill and Sluefoot Sue.” Also returning to the fair this year after an eight-year hiatus are “Cook’s Famous Racing Pigs.”
Some of Mexico’s hottest bands, including headliners Tierra Cali, Larry Hernandez and La Autoridad de la Sierra, will be performing at the ”Reventon de Verano Latino,” which takes place at the Demar Batchelor Amphitheater. Admission is $10 for ages 12 and up, and the event will also feature food and games.
As always, entrance into the Washington County fair and to many of the attractions is free (excluding carnival rides, motor sports demonstrations and Reventon de Verano Latino). Parking is $5.
Forgot where you put your cowboy hat? No fear, you can buy one at the fair!
ove with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night when I first watched the 1996 film of the same name starring Helena Bonham Carter. Shakespeare’s wit, plot entanglements, and character mistaken identities got me hooked. When I heard that 