Introducing Entr'acte PDX

Entr'acte PDX was conceived in a Portland, OR living room by a group of musical theatre professionals and enthusiasts looking for a way to explore the rich history and tradition of American Musicals in an informal setting. Instead of creating a new theatre production company, or even presenting musicals-in-concert, we've chosen a different path we think will be both fun and enriching for everyone who participates.

The idea is both simple and, we hope, powerful: bring together musical theatre performers and artists periodically to read and sing through lost gems of American Musical literature. There is a treasure-trove of great works out there which, for many reasons, don't get revived. We hope to explore a diverse set of works from great composers like Harold Arlen, Vincent Youmans, Jule Styne, Burton Lane, William Finn, Cy Coleman, and Burt Bacharach, just to name a few. We also hope to explore lesser-known works of some of the masters of the genre like Loesser, Adler, Rodgers, Bock, and Sondheim.

Much like a book club, we envision having participants read and learn the work in advance and gather for a single read/sing-thru of each piece. Not only do we think this is a great way to connect with our Musical Theatre heritage, but it's also a great networking opportunity for Portland-area artists, and, we hope, may become an incubator for producing more Musical Theatre in our community.