This is a tricky one because I want every theatre to succeed. I also have a history with Triangle Productions. Back in its heyday Triangle produced significant and important shows, Beirut, A Snake in the Vein, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Bent, and Falsettos to name just a few. All of these shows were some of the best of those seasons. The more good theatre our community offers the higher our collective bar rises and I believe it is striving for excellence that will bring folks back to the theatre. The Quality is what will bring them back. Of course, quality is subjective….and I’m guessing so is excellence.

Theatre offers something you cannot find anywhere else. A live experience of witnessing the human condition unfolding in front of us, collectively, in a darkened theatre or the open air. We are drawn in because we recognize ourselves in the honesty expressed in front of us. A singular event and then it’s gone but ought to live in us for days after, if not years. And, I believe folks are hungry for this.

There is nothing more dissatisfying than a mediocre or sub par experience in the theatre…makes people not want to return. Hmmmm.

Whenever I go to Triangle Productions I always want the trappings of theatre- the set, lighting, props, costumes, sometimes video work , everything that supports the story telling to be better than what we get. I’m never sure where the bar of excellence is for any particular project or for the theatre in general. This was my experience with Arbus & West by Stephen Sewell directed by Donald Horn

I have to remember to critique what I saw and experienced rather than what I had hoped to see or experience.

I saw a set that tried but didn’t quite succeed. Unfinished ideas, scrappily constructed. It tried but didn’t really succeed in giving us the “penthouse” that is spoken about. Having produced theatre myself I have come to realize it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money however whatever money there is must be spent wisely. Frugality can kill a production. If a set designer (somebody skilled and trained in the art of set design) had been hired and finances smartly used there might have been greater success. A designer is so important for the overall aesthetic/ look and feel of the world that is being created. Actually if the right designer is hired, they have an imagination that will allow them to create the world- there is a lot to be said for the imagination of both the designer and the audience.

No costume designer either, or none listed in the program. Again, the “look” of the show could have been executed with more intension and accuracy. The props as well. They felt thrown together. without any spoilers, there is a reveal that feels very unfinished. The wigs were passable.

These are not new experiences with Triangle they are recurring. I’m not sure why. It would be nice to see the company up their game a bit and hire some designers- our city is full of them, good ones at all levels. Let’s help cultivate a strong and vibrant stable of designers.

And directors.

Someone asked me just a few days ago, “when you watch a show, through which lens to you experience it? Actor or director?” I think, at this point in my work, it is through the lens of the director. The director makes the final decisions and it’s the director’s responsibility to inspire and guide a production that has a sense of unification, clarity and taste. The director ought to be the one to help the actors achieve a sense of truth. Not all directors are able, capable or crafted to help actors achieve that.

It’s difficult to fault the actors for this experience. Some moments were very good though I rarely felt as if they took the time, or were allowed to take the time, to go deeper in their work. Most of their their exchanges happened too fast with easy choices, skimming the surface and I think the story, the play, is more challenging and the interactions from these two very guarded and damaged humans ought to register in a deeper and more profound way. I look at the photos on the cover of the program and I did not see those people. West, as an aging sex symbol and ground breaker in many ways desperately trying to stay relevant, and Arbus, an artist moving through the world with a profound sense of sorrow in their eyes who 7 years later takes her own life.

I have seen Ms. Sahler be exquisite on stage and I have had the opportunity to share the stage with her and it’s an absolute joy and truly when you have the opportunity to see her work you ought to go. Ms. Danner is new to me though many might know her work well as she has been on many stages in the Portland area. And, Ms. Selva, another new face to me, and I think new to this craft, had no clear reason for being there by Mae’s side.

A stronger director perhaps would help the actors find these people, their reason for being there and the orchestration of the play. It could have used stronger beat work as well. There is more there than what I experienced although I think the play is flawed and has only had two productions including a World Premiere in 2019. This is the second.

Triangle is one of the longest operating theaters in Portland, going into their 37th season. That is certainly an accomplishment and Donald Horn, the Executive Director and Founder, certainly knows how to produce and endure. Kudos to Mr. Horn for that. Season tickets are on sale now and single tickets go on sale July 1st, 2026.

Email the boxoffice at boxoffice@trianglepro.org or call 503-239-5919

The phot is taken by David Kinder for a Portland Shakespeare Project production of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. The actors are Foss Curtis as Bianca and Sam Dinkowitz as Hortensio