With uproarious laughter, hilarious confusion and a larger-than-life set, The Understudy is now open on our Alder Stage! Opening Night featured tour-de-force performances by actors Ayanna Berkshire, Jared Q. Miller and Gavin Hoffman. In fact, their final bows were greeted by a standing ovation...and then they were called back for an encore bow!

Dmae Roberts of Stage and Studio interviewed Resident Artist and director of The Understudy, Michael Mendelson earlier this week. Listen to the whole thing here!

With The Understudy, we’ve got an action star ready for something more, a bitterly unknown actor who swears he's not bitter, a weary actress-turned-stage manager and a long-lost play by Franz Kafka. What can go wrong? Playwright Theresa Rebeck's brilliant dialogue keeps you on the edge of your seat as these three artists bicker, rant and dance their way through what may be the oddest understudy rehearsal ever.

Audience reactions:
"Such a feel-good theatre parody!"
"Who knew the inside of theatre could be so hysterical?"
"It's the best thing I've seen in a long time!"

The Understudy runs until October 4, so be sure to book your tickets now!
Wednesday – Sunday @ 7:30
Sundays @ 2pm
Get your tickets now!

We'd like to thank our season sponsor Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate for her outstanding support, as well as our media sponsors The Oregonian/OregonLive.com and KINK. Artists Rep's 2015/16 season is presented with additional support from The Oregon Community Foundation, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Work for Art, Meyer Memorial Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and The Collins Foundation. Supporting The Understudy specifically, a special thanks to our show sponsors John & Jan Swanson and Karl & Linda Boekelheide.

Next Monday, September 21 from 5-7pm, Artists Rep hosts a FREE concert with three-time Grammy-nominated band, Tiempo Libre! It's a special sneak peek at the music driving Cuba Libre and the phenomenal energy this band will bring to the stage!

In the heart of downtown Portland, join us for a one-of-a-kind evening in Director Park, filled with music and dance as we celebrate the start of our world-premiere, Broadway-scale musical Cuba Libre!

The musical is inspired by the band's collective stories, as well as their jaw-dropping passion and infectious energy. This evening is a small taste of what the band will be bringing onstage when Cuba Libre opens at the Winningstad Theatre in October, and more! DJ Blas will be spinning salsa music before and after the set, to bring everyone into the spirit of the evening.

“To us, music is not just a way of life, it is a way of experiencing life. We all grew up together during a difficult time in Cuba’s history, called the Special Period, when Russia had pulled out its support. Times were very hard, but music was a way in which we could escape our worries and enjoy ourselves. Later it was our dreams of playing the music we wanted to play that gave us the strength to leave Cuba and come to the U.S., a country which has made so many possibilities come true for us. We hope you will come to the concert and we hope you will come see Cuba Libre, because, to us, you won’t just be the audience, you will be a guest in our house, a part of our celebration, and a part of our story."
– Tiempo Libre founder and Cuba Libre music director, Jorge Gómez

Tiempo Libre will be playing songs from their new album, Panamericano. Check out their music videos here for a preview of their incredible sound!

Monday, September 21
5 – 7pm
Director Park
815 SW Park Ave

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for another FREE Cuba Libre-inspired event!
Next Thursday, join us for FREE Cuban casino rueda dance class for beginners with Cuba Libre Choreographer Maija Garcia and dancers Oscar Trujillo and Nican Robinson!
Morrison Lobby at Artists Repertory Theatre at 5:30pm, class is from 6-7pm.

Last year, the world-premiere of sketch comedy show Bath Night sold out 12 straight performances. Now, a revamped script and a refreshed cast are performing at CoHo Theater until September 19!

Check out the trailer here!

Bath Night is a sketch comedy show scripted by writer/director/producer Sean McGrath and produced by Jill Westerby, starring Tony St. Clair, Lorraine Bahr, Katie Michels and Andrew Harris.

Friend and often Emcee of many Artists Rep events, Sean McGrath, has written sketch and comedy segments for ten years on P.R.I’s Live Wire Radio! and co-wrote the theatrical adaptation of Weekend at Bernie's (Funhouse Lounge). He's also a founding member of the now obsolete SWEAT sketch comedy group, and the director and co -writer of the CiNEMA SYNDICATE short films (youtube.com). Other writing credits include: the web-series Hundredaires (FKR.tv), Peter and the Wolf (Oregon Ballet Theater), and Soap Street Theater (Blue Monk.)

CoHo Theater
September 4 – 19
Thursdays –  Saturdays at 7:30pm
Get your tickets now!

The 2015/16 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate. Our season media sponsors are The Oregonian and KINK. Cuba Libre is sponsored by The Standard and Oakwood Worldwide, with funding from The Kinsman Foundation, media sponsorship from Portland Monthly Magazine and Unavision, and media partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Other season support comes from the Regional Arts Culture Council, Oregon Community Foundation, Collins Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and Work for Art.