Artists Repertory Theatre

Came here from Seattle to see my cousin with cerebral palsy, act in a play starring Phame students.
My family and I have attended almost all of Phame’s events and productions for the last 4 years. This event however I was discriminated against because of my 15 month old. First off, when I called to purchase tickets for my family I asked if my 1 year old was going to need her own ticket. The woman said yes everyone must have their own seat. No problem! I then purchased 5 tickets. Upon arrival however, I was told after my 3 hour drive, that I would not be able to even see my cousin perform. I asked why I was sold the ticket at all when you knew I would have my 1 year old? I did not receive a refund. I explained to the woman that my daughter would make more noise and be more of a distraction out here, bored, than in the theater being entertained. I also explained that my daughter has been going to Phame productions since she was 3 months old and has never cried or whined or been a distraction at all. Still I was told that the theater doesn’t allow children under 6 in the theater, which made no sense since my 5 year old nephew was allowed to watch the play! Hmmm… double standard!?! So as I sat in the lobby with my bored, whining, tired and hungry 15 month old I was told multiple times to keep her quiet. After turning on a show on my phone for her to watch and her then sitting perfectly still I was told to turn down the volume to the point where she could no longer hear the video, and in turn started to whine, I had it! If I would have been allowed in, my daughter would have laughed, smiled and been in aww of my cousin and excited to go back again! I hope phame NEVER puts a production on at this establishment again! I am so upset I had to miss my cousin’s performance!!!

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember the last time I saw a play. Wait… it was on Broadway about 10 years ago.
10 years between seeing stage performances seems way too long. My wife and I had a great time seeing a show at the ART a couple weeks ago for a performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The performance itself was fantastic. The actors were great, energetic, and didn’t forget any lines!
The theater is so cool. It’s very intimate, seating probably just a couple hundred people. The staff was friendly, handing us programs and directing us to our seats before showtime. They have nice sound equipment for any audio special effects and the lighting was great too.
Really happy to have found this place and look forward to future shows!

This past season at Artists Repertory knocked our socks off. Each production employed ingenious sets, engaging stories, great acting, skillful direction, and flawless production execution. We have subscribed for years and rather than wearying of the «same old», we are delighted and thrilled. This is a small, passionate, and talented theater company. The wonderful facility — close to downtown, with good parking, and freeway access — also houses the Profile theater company, a worthy partner in producing quality and transporting theater.

I’d like to see more productions like the locally written musical GRACIE AND THE ATOM which premiered there a few years ago

Bought season tickets this year after trying a couple of shows last year. Really great acting and they have had great stories. I hope they keep having some comedies and don’t go all serious. Pretty decent seats and easy parking helps. There are also many good places to eat nearby.

–Thought provoking themes
–Provocative writing
–Smart and funny
–Intimate seating
This is Portland theater at it’s best.
After attending a few shows last year my husband and I purchased 2013 – 2014 season tickets and so far have been more then pleased with the plays presented. But even more so with the customer service when we have need to change our ticket dates.
— No hassles, no additional charges, no void/​scan of old tickets to e-​mail, pick up at will call, any date as long as there are tickets available and as close to our original seats as available.
Extra bonus with season tickets: Free parking in the theater’s garage/​parking lot which is a big bonus for that area of town. We have yet to go on a night there is a game at the park, but hoping the garage will help with that.
The theater building itself is wonderfully modern with 2 bars, very nice lounge seating for before and during intermission. Reasonably priced drinks/​snacks and you can bring your drinks into the theater to enjoy during the performance. So no gulping down your beer/​wine when the lights blink. Some Friday nights they have karaōke from about 6 – 6:30 until just before show time. They also have rotating gallery exhibits that are somewhat related to the play themes in the upstairs lobby/​lounge area.
So go early and mingle.

You know how sometimes a relationship with a business is like a relationship with a person? You trust slowly, thinking through decisions involving them at first, until finally you just go with their ideas because you know it’s going to be great?
That’s how our relationship with Artists Rep is going. We’ve gotten past the stage during which we scrutinize every show very carefully, to the stage where we’re more likely to go and to be eager to see what they will come up with for each season. We’ve seen several great shows, had a couple of odd experiences, and we’re now at the point of being eager to see what will show up each season.
We’re past the goodnight kiss on the stoop and into drinks inside, not quite at spending the night. But we can tell that that’s coming, and the anticipation is breathtaking.
Yeah, we’ll be back.

Great productions with brain and often humor. One of my favorite local theatres.

There are two stages at the Artists Repertory Theatre – both are small and seating is in-​the-​round, stadium-​style. If there’s a better way to configure a live venue, I don’t know of it. You’re practically on stage with the performers. The sound is excellent. The seats themselves are a bit crowded, and it’s tricky getting past others who are already settled in, but once the show starts you forget about that.
The Alder street entrance stage features a drinks and snacks bar where you can get coffee, tea, or wine, and cookies and the like. Good news: you can take your purchases into the theater! Bad news is the wine is served in plastic cups: gah.
ART is a casual venue, but it’s fun to dress up a bit when you go. If you get there early you can people watch in the lobby. Parking’s not too bad – try the row of angled spaces on the slope that takes you to Burnside.

You know how you always say that you should do something different than go to the same old watering hole with the same friends every Friday? Go to a play. Here. At Artists Rep.
What a fantastic company. Two great spaces, edgy, innovative productions with visionary direction and leadership, an all-​around professional group. I’ve been to roughly ten shows here over the last three years, and Artists Rep continues to impress and to challenge. As other reviewers have mentioned, productions here are very intimate, you feel very much a part of the action and the drama.
In a great location in a repurposed space (relatively easy street parking, and right across from Hotel DeLuxe with its fantastic Driftwood Room and champagne happy hour.) Another great Portland gem that if you are not supporting you SHOULD.

This update is to offer a quick (few performances remain) of ART’s production of RACE. David Mamet invariably stirs the pot with ferocious language and painful interpretations of whatever issue he tackles. When I have seen film versions of his work the staccato dialogue he favors has often been overemphasized at the cost of the story telling. ART has simply done a great job of story telling with RACE. You won’t walk out being uplifted, and you won’t walk out with the standard smug liberal preachings of modern theater in your ear. You will be moved, challenged and knocked about.
Kudos to ART producing Mamet. Portland’s bigger, but much weaker theater company, would never take on Mamet. Never. He’s just not PC enough.

Today I am mesmerized by my play-​going experience here. Magical just may begin to describe the afternoon… Numero Uno Son is in Honors English, and, as such, is required to see a play this semester. We purchased tickets to the debut of «The Hillsboro Story» and I cannot possibly emphasize enough how wonderful the production is. Do yourselves a favor & immediately take advantage of the holdover for 1 additional week. It is worth every single penny.
This play is based on events occurring in Hillsboro, OH in 1954 – 56, when Brown vs The Board of Education voted to de-​segregate public schools. History is powerful & I find it more than a wee bit disturbing that none of my children (ages 14, 13, & 11) have classes in a subject called ‘History’. The old saw about not knowing your history, you’re doomed to repeat it? It’s coming to fruition left & right if you look at hate-​mongering politics today… I digress.
The score is by David Ornette Cherry (Don Cherry’s son) — & is so hauntingly evocative, I have it under my skin even now. The 4 women who make this story come to life are nothing short of miraculous. The talk back section after the play is a great way to hear even more information. The lobby is filled with clippings from the time, record album covers, photographs (the Jet Magazine photos of the body of Emmett Till are so horrifying, I can only begin to imagine the impact they had in 1955).
PLEASE, PLEASE do go see this play. I had zero problem parking on the same block. The lobby, bathrooms, & venue inside the theater were immaculate. I cannot urge everyone strongly enough to go support this production. Two schools in PDX have already adopted curriculum based on this play. They are scheduled to tour nationally next year. You will be very sorry if you miss this.

This Theatre is an amazing space. Adaptive reuse (someone in line said it used to be a gym/​pool?) with a lofty/​industrial interior scheme, yet the atmosphere was still casual.
I saw Ah, Wilderness! last week on the lower level. The setting was intimate, no more than 4 rows of seating surrounded the sunken ‘stage’, and it felt like I was right there with the performers and the setup allowed me to get more ‘involved’ (involved in the sense that my ADHD didn’t kick in and I was able to pay attention for most of the play). The downside of an intimate space like this is that, if I were to get up for a drink/​air/​restroom, It would have been a highly visible, distracting move that would have required me walking along the edge of the stage to get to the exit.
Ah, Wilderness! itself was a good performance, albeit very very long. My partner and I werent the only one squirming in our seats as the show hit the 3 hour mark.
Overall, this is a nice place and I look forward to coming back.

Saw holidazed there last week. I really like the intimate setting of the stage and the production itself was top notch. Also this theater is right off the max line. I would definetly see a show here again.

ART is actually two theatres, the Morrison Street Theatre and the Alder Street Theatre, each with it’s own entrance (on Morrison, or Alder.) Makes sense, I know, but somehow I didn’t figure it out until I got there and found myself standing in the entirely wrong lobby.
I’ve only been in the Alder Street Theater, which was very intimate, informal, and really didn’t seem have a bad view in the place. There are maybe 7 rows of stadium seating surrounding the small performance area. The only complaint I have is the very limited leg room. After much maneuvering and a gross invasion of my neighbors personal space I was able to cross my legs, but I had to keep them that way until the intermission at risk of causing a scene. (disclaimer. I am outrageously tall, but still, it seemed more cramped than usual.)

It’s hard to give a review to a performing arts company, I was in diapers when A.R.T. started 23 (or so) years ago. A.R.T. is a non-​profit company that puts on mostly contemporary works, but throws in a few classics now and again as well. They also do a ton of outreach work, including «audience outreach» which allow the audience to get involves in readings and panels relating to their work and mission. Check out what they have going on!