Music Millennium

Oregon Music News


Musical Musical

South Pacific’s David Pittsinger talks about having one foot in opera and the other in musicals

Crossover artist sings the role of Emile de Becque in South Pacific’s national tour.



“King and I” at Broadway Rose Combines Lovely Music, Tough Themes

Charm, imagination and great visuals mark “The King and I” offered by Broadway Rose Theater as its first summer offering


Kay Ragsdale talks about playing 15 flutes in The Lion King

The multicultural show uses flutes from around the world.


‘Glorious Feeling,’ back(stage)story of ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ debuts

The story of the creators of the movie classic “Singin’ in the Rain,” made its East Coast premiere June 23 as the opening show of the Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls, NY.


“Good storytelling makes good Musicals” — Rick Lewis, and he should know

A transplant who came to Portland from New York City in 1993, Rick Lewis is a composer, voice coach, musical director and performer who believes a musical can have the greatest songs in the world, but without a story, it’s toast.


Touring “Lion King” the Monarch of Musicals, A Brilliant Feast of Sights and Sounds that Honor Africa

“The Lion King” is a favorite for children, but adults that love folk art, African music and the pageantry of Broadway at its best shouldn’t miss this show.


Staged! Portland’s Musical Theatre Series Leaps Back onto the Scene with a Summer of Jason Robert Brown

After a brief hiatus, Staged! takes an in-depth look at Tony Award-winning musical-theatre composer Jason Robert Brown, who will be in Portland for a solo concert


Ambition, Insanity Fuel ‘Spelling Bee,’ a Musical about Pressure, Success and Oddballs

Competition becomes a source of uproarious humor and pathos in this quirky musical with some sweet and clever songs.


‘Planet Eden’ lights up the musical firmament with a workshop launch

Lyricist/writer Aaron Kirk Douglas and composer Kurt Crowley are in the process of creating a satirical yet serious musical about the end of the world and the coming of UFOs.


Holcombe Waller, local bands sing to support ‘Many Hats’

Many Hats Collaboration, an original theater group, presents a fundraising evening of live music by local bands at the Laurelhurst Public House.


Lena Horne, dead at 92

She was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio…went on to achieve international fame.


Lakewood Theatre Company offers musical whodunit ‘Curtains’

Curtains, the satirical hit musical sending up murder mysteries, theater critics, blockbuster musicals and more, plays in Lake Oswego through mid-June.


Coming-of-age Musical ‘Gracie and the Atom’: Vibrant, angry and tender

The world premiere of Portland singer-songwriter McKinley’s first musical mixes dark lyrics with hopeful ones, folk/pop sounds with rock.


1963 Musical “She Loves Me” Celebrates Romance, Reveals Hidden Identities

The Tony Award winning musical at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, inspired the film “You’ve Got Mail”


‘Wild Space a Go Go’ spoofs sci-fi ’60s movies and more

Sexy and camp, sassy and funny, the new musical “Wild Space” takes off on “Barbarella,” “Wild Wild Planet” and other Vintage B movies


Astaire Awards to Honor Ortega with Lifetime Achievement Honor

“High School Musical” director and choreographer Kenny Ortega will receive the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award


Portland Writer/Musician McKinley Cuts Loose with Her First Musical

McKinley explores science and religion through the eyes of a teen-age girl in her first musical “Gracie and the Atom”