Portland Public Schools

For student actors in Portland Public Schools, years of studying and honing their craft will hit a high point of their time in school: the high school play. Starting this week, our high schools will begin performances of their big winter/spring productions. 

Our actors and backstage crew have been rehearsing for weeks and are ready to dazzle. We highly recommend you see as many as you can to take in the full breadth of our students’ talent and dedication. Here’s the list:

CLEVELAND: The school’s Company of Warriors will stage “Twelve Angry Jurors,” a 1955 classic courtroom drama that was originally called “Twelve Angry Men.” It depicts the murder trial of a 19-year-old charged with killing his father.
Dates: Feb. 19-21 at 7 p.m. (Black Box Theatre)
Also: The troupe will stage student-directed one-act plays as “The Groundlings” to finish its performance year.
Dates: May 28-29 at 7 p.m. (Mainstage Auditorium)
Learn more: See the Company of Warriors website.

FRANKLIN: The school will put on “Clue on Stage,” a snappy comedy whodunit based on the classic board game.
Dates: Feb. 28-29, March 5-7 at 7 p.m.; March 1 at 2 p.m.
Learn more: See the staging’s EventBrite page.

GRANT: The school will stage “The Wizard of Oz,” a musical based on the classic 1939 movie, as adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams.
Dates: March 4-7 at 7 p.m.; matinee March 7 at 2 p.m. with kids dress-up parade and a "meet the characters" session.
Learn more: See the Grant performing arts webpage.

JEFFERSON: The school’s re-established drama program will stage "Anon(ymous)" by Naomi Iizuka, an adaptation of Homer's "Odyssey." The story depicts a young refugee who journeys through the United States and encounters a wide variety of people while searching for his family in an ever-changing landscape.
Dates: April 24-25 at 7 p.m., April 26 at 2 p.m.
Learn more: Email director Ellie McIvor-Baker.

LINCOLN: The school’s drama department will stage “Fiddler on the Roof,” the 1964 musical set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905.
Dates: April 23-25, April 30-May 2 at 7:30 p.m.; April 25 (sing-a-long with sign language interpretation), May 2 at 2 p.m.
Learn more: See the Lincoln Drama website.

MADISON: The MadTheatre Company will stage “The Crucible,” which examines the political events of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthy era communist trials, and similar issues transpiring in today's political climate.
Dates: April 30-May 1 at 7 p.m.; May 2 at 2 p.m.
Learn more: See the MadTheatre Company website.

ROOSEVELT: The school’s Opening Act Theatre Company will stage “Bring It On, The Musical,” which is loosely based on a 2000 film and focuses on the competitive world of cheerleading and over-the-top team rivalries. The music was co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame.
Dates: March 5-7, March 12-13 at 7 p.m.; March 14 at 2 p.m.
Learn more: See the Roosevelt Theatre website.

WILSON: The school’s SouthWest StageWorks Theatre Company will put on “Teen West Project: Year 8 - You Cannot Undo This Action,” a thriller about connection in the media age. It is part of an ongoing partnership with Portland playwright/performer Matthew B. Zrebski.
Dates: Feb. 20-22, 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. (Note: Because of strong language and intense situations, this play is recommended for mature teens and older.)
Also: The troupe will produce "Revenge of the Space Pandas, or, Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock," a wild comedy written by David Mamet.
Dates: May 7-9 at 7:30 p.m., May 13-15 at 7:15 p.m.
Learn more: See the Southwest Stageworks website.