Middletown

September 26, 2014 - October 19, 2014

Winningstad Theater - 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

The residents of Middletown lead lives that are probably not too different from ours. They wake up, go to work, say hello to their neighbors, fix the plumbing, seek advice on parenting, and try to live lives that are as rewarding as possible. It’s all fairly ordinary. And yet…ordinary doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this quirky, word-frenzied refraction of Thornton Wilder’s Our TownMiddletown is a quizzical fable about life in all its sweetness and pain, joy and wonder, beginnings and endings.

Reviews

When the play does address matters of life and death, it becomes unexpectedly moving, and yet never loses its humor. The cast of ten is uniformly terrific, capturing the language beautifully and making the characters both archetypical and very specific…As usual at Third Rail, the technical and design work is specific and excellent, and adds to the enjoyment of the play.

Broadway World

Eno’s characters speak with such disarming, if often bemused, honesty that deep emotion shines through.

Oregon ArtsWatch

The play moves briskly, yet leaves plenty of breathing space for the audience and characters…Eno may be full of surprises, but he’s got the human rhythms of thought and expression, a theatrical sense of cosmic silence, down solid in this whacky, thoughtful ode to the mystery of existence. This is a show not to miss.

The Oregonian

Artists

  • Writer Will Eno
  • Director Marcella Crowson
  • Stage Manager Jory Bowers
  • Violence Director Jon Cole
  • Choreographer Jessica Wallenfels
  • Scenic Designer Curt Enderle
  • Costume Designer Ashton Hull
  • Sound Designer Scott Thorson
  • Lighting Designer Don Crossley
  • Props Master Kaye Blankenship
  • Dramaturg Brian Myers
  • Dramaturg Ellen Walkley

Cast

  • Aunt, Female Doctor Karen Trumbo
  • Cop Bruce Burkhartsmeier
  • Greg, Man, Male Doctor Damon Kupper
  • John Dodge Michael O'Connell
  • Male Tourist, Ground Control, Freelancer, Landscaper, Janitor Darius Pierce
  • Mary Swanson Maureen Porter
  • Female Tourist, Woman, Attendant 2 Amy Newman
  • Librarian Diane Kondrat
  • Mechanic Ben Newman
  • Tour Guide, Sweetheart, Attendant Jen Rowe