ON THE U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE

OUR TOWN

by Thornton Wilder

September 12 – October 11, 2015

An irrefutable classic of the American theater, this Pulitzer Prize-winning work transports us to Grover's Corners, a small New England town at the turn of the twentieth century whose secret desires, family conflicts, loves and losses are resoundingly familiar to us today. This beloved drama receives a fresh interpretation at PCS, inviting us to ponder what Our Town is today, and celebrating both the marvel of everyday existence and the “something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.”

AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’

by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr.

October 24 – November 29, 2015

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, this sassy, sultry musical celebrates the remarkable life and talents of a legendary jazz great, Fats Waller. The delightful humor and infectious energy of this exuberant jazz revue that takes us from the Harlem Renaissance through World War II; Waller's work shows a determination to grasp life’s joys, laughter and passion, even in a community shadowed by the pain of a complex American society. With permission from the authors, PCS is creating an expanded-cast version of the original production.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

adapted from Charles Dickens by Lucinda Stroud

January 16– February 14, 2016

Based on Charles Dickens’ classic coming of age novel, Great Expectations tells the adventures of the Victorian orphan Pip. As a boy, Pip has three encounters with people that will change his life: the escaped convict Magwitch, the bewitching and cold Estella, and the unhinged Miss Havisham. When Pip comes into an unforeseen fortune and begins the life of a gentleman, though his past is not so easily left behind, and the surprising adventures of his new life are decidedly unexpected.

STUPID F**KING BIRD

by Aaron Posner

February 27 – March 27, 2016

In this irreverent, contemporary, and very funny remix of Chekhov’s The Seagull, award-winning playwright Aaron Posner wages a timeless battle between young and old, past and present, in search of the true meaning of it all: an aspiring young director rampages against the art created by his mother’s generation; a nubile young actress wrestles with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist; and everyone discovers just how disappointing growing up can be. Winner of the Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding New Play or Musical.

THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE

based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
adapted and directed by Hershey Felder

April 2 – May 1, 2016

Set in Vienna in 1938 and in London during the Blitzkrieg, The Pianist of Willesden Lane tells the true and inspirational story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish musician whose dreams are interrupted by the Nazi regime. In this poignant show, Grammy-nominated pianist Mona Golabek performs some of the world’s most stunning music as she shares her mother’s riveting true story of survival. Pianist is infused with hope and invokes the life-affirming power of music.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

by Tennessee Williams

May 14 – June 19, 2016

Tennessee Williams’ iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is an exquisite study of the unraveling of Blanche DuBois, a fading southern belle. When she arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister, Stella, and her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, Blanche is clinging desperately to a persona designed to help her survive. Over the course of one hot, sultry New Orleans summer, Blanche’s fragile facade slowly crumbles as she meets her match in the rough-hewn and hyper masculine Stanley, who is determined to expose her. Portland Center Stage’s production will star veteran stage/TV/film actor Russell Hornsby (Hank Griffin on Grimm).

IN THE ELLYN BYE STUDIO

SEX WITH STRANGERS

by Laura Eason

October 10 – November 22, 2015

A raging snowstorm traps strangers Olivia, an unsuccessful yet gifted thirty-nine-year-old writer, and Ethan, a tech- addicted and wildly successful young blogger, in a secluded cabin. Opposites instantly attract, and undeniable chemistry ignites. As the dawn rises, however, what could have just been a one-night-stand transforms into something more complicated when online exploits interfere with their real- life connection.

FOREVER

by Dael Orlandersmith

January 30 – March 20, 2016

Forever begins in Paris at the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery, where strangers from around the world make pilgrimages to the graves of legendary artists such as Marcel Proust, Richard Wright and Jim Morrison. As she visits the resting places of her idols, Orlandersmith is moved to investigate the complex legacy she received from her mother and their often harrowing life together. Riveting and powerful, Forever is about family – the ones we are born into; the strange way powerful bonds are formed with people who, though unrelated by blood, come to feel like family; and the legacies that shape us all.

EACH AND EVERY THING

by Dan Hoyle

February 6 – March 27, 2016

The newest solo show from award-winning actor/ playwright Dan Hoyle (The Real Americans) is about how we experience the world in the digital age. From a showdown with a violent felon in small-town Nebraska, to a childhood listening to anti-conformist rants in San Francisco; from the hard-scrabble corner boys of Chicago to the intellectual temple of Calcutta’s famed coffeehouse; from a Digital Detox retreat in remote Northern California to an intimate confession in Manhattan, we join Dan in his search for true community, spontaneity and wonder in our fractured, hyper-connected world.

SPECIAL holiday ENGAGEMENTS

The Second City’s A Christmas Carol:
TWIST YOUR DICKENS

by Peter Gwinn and Bobby Mort

December 9 – December 31, 2015

A complete send-up of the holiday classic, this adult comedy is adorned with the improvisational genius of the legendary comedy troupe The Second City, and includes zany holiday sketches, an ever-changing list of drop-in local celebrities and uproarious improv based on audience participation— it’s never the same show twice!

(Recommended for high school age and up.)

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

by David Sedaris
adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello

December 2 – December 27, 2015

Based on the true chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s Santaland display, this cult classic riffs on a few of Sedaris’ truly odd encounters with his fellow man during the height of the holiday crunch.