CoHo’s first production Bodyhold was performed in the basement of the Benson Hotel in 1995. Written by Gary Cole and directed by Robert Holden, the company’s co-founders, Bodyhold enjoyed a colorful and successful run, in part fueled by solid beverage sales and the arrival of the Portland police one evening in response to a hotel guest’s worry over hearing gun shots (the play was set in the middle of a Third World revolution).
Two Pearl District storefronts, one empty warehouse, one art gallery, a business office and one NW storefront later; a former bookbindery on NW Raleigh street became CoHo’s permanent home in 2000.
After 24 seasons, CoHo can boast over 90 co-productions, including more than 20 world premieres and the recognition of numerous Drammy nominations and awards. CoHo’s seasons have represented master playwrights like Eugene O’Neill and Marsha Norman as well as contemporary luminaries like Samuel D. Hunter and Annie Baker, while also providing an invaluable forum for local Portland playwrights like William S. Gregory, Ebbe Roe Smith, Claire Willett and Andrea Stolowitz to bring their work to life.
Our stage has been the early stomping grounds for once fledgling companies like Third Rail Rep and Profile Theatre Company who have gone on to tremendous successes as leading Portland companies. Since 2012, CoHo Summerfest continues to showcase a variety of bold, original festival-scale productions by local and touring artists. New programming models CoHo Presents, CoHo In Association With and CoHo Lab were introduced in 2014 under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Philip Cuomo to create even more opportunities to present the work of exceptional theatre artists to engaged audiences in NW Portland’s little blackbox theatre.
Production History
24th Season
Mala by Melinda Lopez
September 6 – September 28, 2019
Co-Produced by Director Brian Shnipper and A.R. Nicholas
The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas
October 25 – November 16, 2019
Co-Produced by MediaRites’ Theatre Diaspora
Director: Catherine Ming T’ien Duffly
The Found Dog Ribbon Dance by Dominic Finocchiaro
February 14 – March 7, 2020
Co-Produced by Director Connery MacRae and actor Tom Mounsey
Bee by Melody Erfani, written by Sean Michael Welch
RESCHEDULED to January 13 – January 24, 2021
Co-Produced by LES Shakespeare Co. and Director Melody Erfani
23rd Season
Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley
September 7 – September 29, 2018
Co-Produced by actors Scott Yarbrough and Kelly Godell
Director: Scott Yarbrough
The Taming by Lauden Gunderson
October 26 – November 17, 2018
Co-Produced by Director Mariel Sierra and actors McKenna Twedt, Lauren Bloom Hanover, and Katie Watkins
Pontypool by Tony Burgess
February 8 – March 2, 2019
Co-Produced by Director Gavin Hoffman, and actors Christy Bigelow and Pat Moran
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis
April 19 – May 11 2019
Co-Produced by the Beirut Wedding World Theatre Project
Director: Jamie M. Rea
Summerfest 2019
Witch Hunt by Philip Cuomo and the CoHo Clown CoHort
June 27 – 30, 2019
Coupe de Foudre by Teatro Pachuco
July 5 – 7, 2019
My Little China Girl by Soomi Kim
July 11 – 14, 2019
Summerfest Ruckus
July 18 – 21, 2019
CoHo Lab 2019
She’s Here: A One Woman Show by Andrea Parson
Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance) by the CoHo Clown CoHort
Bee روبنز by Melody Erfani
Our Mundane Flights by Rose Proctor
August 18, 2019
22nd Season
The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence by Madeline George
September 8 – Sepbember 30, 2017
Director: Philip Cuomo
Year of the Rooster by Olivia Dufault
October 27 – November 18, 2017
Co-Produced by actor Rolland Walsh
Director: Alexandra Kuechler-Caffall
This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, and This Girl Does Nothing by Finegan Kruckemeyer
February 9 – March 3, 2018
Co-Produced by Director Tamara Carroll and actor Beth Thompson
Luna Gale by Rebecca Gilman
April 20 – May 12, 2018
Co-Produced by actor Danielle Weathers
Director: Brandon Woolley
Summerfest 2018
Win the War or Tell Me a Story by Sayda Trujilo
June 28 – July 1, 2018
Finding Soul: A Constellation of Stories by Andrea Parson and Susan Banyas
July 5 – 8, 2018
#//<EMBEDDED>//# by Pratik Motwani
July 12 – 15, 2018
Philip’s Glass Menagerie by the CoHo Clown CoHort
July 19 – 22, 2018
CoHo Lab 2018
House of the Living by Samantha Shay
Girl V Troll (or Dam Things) by A.R. Nicholas
Crucible by Philip Cuomo
Fire & Meat by Eve Johnstone
August 19, 2018
21st Season
The Gun Show by E.M. Lewis
September 9 – October 1, 2016
Co-Produced by Director Shawn Lee and actor Vin Shambry
The How and the Why by Sarah Treem
October 28 – November 19, 2016
Co-Produced by Director Philip Cuomo
db by Tommy Smith, created with Teddy Bergman
January 13 – February 4, 2017
Co-Produced by Director Isaac Lamb and actor Rebecca Lingafelter
Playhouse Creatures by April De Angelis
March 17 – April 8, 2017
Co-Produced by actors Brenan Dwyer and McKenna Twedt
Summerfest 2017
Mad & a Goat by Diana Lynn Small
June 15-18, 2017
How to Do a One Person Show by Kelly Kinsella
June 22-25, 2017
Come to the Table, Mike Pence by Shaking the Tree
June 29 – July 2, 2017
Red Bastard: Lie With Me by Eric Davis
July 6 – 9, 2017
Deception Unit by PETE
July 13 – 16, 2017
CoHo Lab 2017
Feltrinelli by Philip Cuomo
Ground Stability by Jen Rowe
Surburban Tribe: After France by Kate Mura
October 14, 2017
20th Season
Remme’s Run by Wayne Harrel
October 16 – November 7, 2016
Director: Jamie Rea
The Yellow Wallpaper by Sue Mach, adapted from the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
January 15 – February 6, 2016
Director: Philip Cuomo
The Few by Samuel D Hunter
March 25 – April 16, 2016
Director: Brandon Wooley
Summerfest 2016
Frank: To Be Frank by Emily June Newton
June 23 – 26, 2016
Venus and Adonis by Shaking the Tree
June 30 – July 3, 2016
Bella Culpa by A Little Bit Off
July 6 – 9, 2016
When Thought Attack by Kelly Kinsella
July 14 – 17, 2016
CoHo Lab 2016
The Intimacy Project by Sascha Blocker
Heaven or Helen by Vanessa Hopkins
The Honey of His Music Vows By Danielle Frimer, Avital Shira, Maria Difabbio, and Susannah Jones
August 28, 2016
Matter is Mother by Julia Bray
Counting Pebbles by Faultline Ensemble
August 14, 2016
19th Season
‘Night, Mother by Marsha Norman
Oct 17-Nov 8, 2014
Director: Gavin Hoffman
The Snowstorm by Sam Gregory and Eric Nordin
Jan 16- Feb 7, 2015
Director & Choreographer: Jessica Wallenfels
Grounded by George Brant
May 1-23, 2015
Director: Isaac Lamb
Summerfest 2015
The Wildly Inappropriate Poetry of Arthur Greenleaf Holmes by Gordy Boudreau
June 11-14, 2015
Butt Kapinski by Deanna Fleysher
June 18-21, 2015
LOON by The Wonderheads
June 25-28. 2015
The Dissenter’s Handbook: A Collection of Riotous Tales by Dario Fo by Shaking the Tree July 2, 3, 5, 2015
Drowned Horse Tavern: A Sea Shanty Cabaret by Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble July 9-12, 2015
18th Season
The Outgoing Tide by Bruce Graham
Oct 18-Nov 9, 2013
Director: Stephanie Mulligan
Enjoy by Toshiki Okada
Jan 17-Feb 8, 2014
Director: Michael Griggs
Maple and Vine by Jordan Harrison
May 2-May 24, 2014
Director: Megan Kate Ward
Summerfest 2014
Lust and Marriage by Eleanor O’Brien
July 3,5,6 2014
Fishing For my Father by Chris Harder
July 10-13, 2014
High Plains by Brian Watkins
Performed by Ben Newman
July 17-20, 2014
Cannibals & Cannonballs: Living in the Late Now
By Leo Daedalus
July 24-26, 2014
The Sweatermakers – Playwrights West By Andrew Wardenaar
Directed by Matthew Zrebski
Aug. 8th-30th 2014
CoHo Presents: Butt Kapinski By Deanna Fleysher
Sept. 4th & 5th 2014
17th Season
Body Awareness by Annie Baker October
18-November 10, 2012
Director: Gretchen Corbett
International Falls by Thomas Ward (world premiere)
January 24-February 16, 2013
Director and Co-Producer: Brandon Woolley
Crooked by Catherine Trieschmann
May 16-June 8, 2013
Director: Philip Cuomo
Co-Producers: Philip Cuomo & Maureen Porter
Summerfest 2013
GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies by Eleanor O’Brien
June 13-16, 2013
Threads by Tonya Jone Miller
June 20-23, 2013
My Mind is Like An Open Meadow by Erin Leddy
June 27-30. 2013
Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Tara Travis
July 5-7, 2013
Mr. Darcy Dreamboat by Camille Cettina
July 11-14, 2013
16th Season
Animals and Plants by Adam Rapp
October 14-November 19, 2011
Director: Michael O’Connell
Co-Producers: Michael O’Connell & Chris Murray
Day of the Docent by Ebbe Roe Smith (world premiere)
February 17-March 24, 2012
Director: Marcella Crowson
Co-Producers: Laura Faye Smith & Marcella Crowson
Hard Times adapted by Stephen Jeffreys from the novel by Charles Dickens
May 11-June 3, 2012
Director: Michael Gerber
Co-Producers: Ted deChatelet, Tim Manion, David Janoviak (demaniak productions)
Summerfest 2012
The Centering by Steve Patterson & Chris Harder (solo show)
June 7-17, 2012
Director: Chris Harder
Mormon Redneck Thespian by Cory Huff (solo show)
June 21- 24, 2012
The Match.com Monologues by Phil Busse (late night show)
June 23 – July 21, 2012
Director: Debbie Lamedman
Co-Producers: CoHo Productions, Phil Busse
You Belong To Me by Steven Wolfson (work-in-progress; one woman show)
June 28-July 1, 2012
Director: Jane Bement Geesman
Irregardless by Stacey Hallal (solo show)
July 5-July 14, 2012
Continuum by Patrick Wohlmut (world premiere)
August 10-September 1, 2012
Director: Stan Foote
Co-Producers: Playwrights West
15th Season
Heart Beatings by Mark LaPierre, a world premiere musical
October 15-November 20, 2010
Director: Diane Englert
Co-Producers: Diane Englert & Mark LaPierre
3rd Annual NEWxNW
Kid Simple, a radio play in the flesh by Jordan Harrison
February 18-March 26, 2011
Director and Co-Producer: Tom Moorman
Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute
May 13-June 18, 2011
Director: Gretchen Corbett
Co-Producer: Lucky Apple Productions
14th Season
Fool for Love by Sam Shepard
October 16-November 20, 2009
Director: Megan Kate Ward
Co-Producers: Val Landrum and Chris Harder
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
January 15-February 20, 2010
Director: Kristan Seemel
Co-Producer: Chris Murray
2nd Annual NEWxNW
This Lime Tree Bower by Conor McPherson
May 7-June 12, 2010
Director: Devon Allen
Co-Producer: Our Shoes Are Red, The Performance Lab
Live Girls by Natalie Rose (world premiere)
July 8-August 7, 2010
Director: Toni McDowell-Laney
Co-Producer: Natalie Rose
13th Season
The Receptionist by Adam Bock
October 17 – November 22, 2008
Director: Rose Riordan
Co-Producer: Laura Faye Smith
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally
January 16 – February 21, 2009
Director and Co-Producer: Antonio Sonera
1st Annual NEWxNW
The Uneasy Chair: A Cautionary Tale in Three Volumes by Evan Smith
May 7 – June 13, 2009
Director: Shelly Lipkin
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal
July 10-August 1, 2009
Director and Co-Producer: Brian Allard
12th Season
Collected Stories by Donald Margulies
October 26 – December 1, 2007
Director: Maureen Twohey
Co-Producers: Vana and Eleanor O’Brien
Tales of Ordinary Madness by Petr Zelenka
January 18 – February 23, 2008
Director and Translator: Stephen Simek
Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire
May 9 – June 14, 2008
Director and Co-Producer: Louanne Moldovan
11th Season
Jingle Spree by Dan Trujillo
October 13 – November 18, 2006
Director: Antonio Sonera
Chateau Joyeaux by William S. Gregory
January 19 – February 24, 2007
Director: Maureen Towey
Co-Producers: Susan Jonsson and Sue Ellen Christensen, of Wine, Women, and Song Productions
My Matisse by Howard Ginsburg
April 27 – June 2, 2007
Director: Robert W. Holden
10th Season
Nixon’s Nixon by Russel Lees
October 21 – November 26, 2005
Director: Jack Featheringill
The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard
January 27 – March 4, 2006
Director and Co-Producer: Steve Smith
By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr
May 5 – June 10, 2006
Director: Merril Lynn Taylor
Co-Producer: Marilyn Stacey
9th Season
Boston Marriage by David Mamet
October 29 – December 4, 2004
Director and Co-producer: Micki Selvitella
Recent Tragic Events by Craig Wright
February 4 – March 12, 2005
Director: Slayden Scott
Co-producer: Third Rail Repertory Theatre
Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman
May 13 – June 18, 2005
Director: Karin Magaldi
Co-producers: Laura Faye Smith and Karin Magaldi
8th Season
A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill
October 24 – November 29, 2003
Director: Victoria Parker
Co-producers: Luisa Sermol and Victoria Parker
Loot by Joe Orton
January 30 – March 20, 2004
Director and Co-producer: Buck Skelton
Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones
May 21 – June 26, 2004
Director and Co-producer: Micki Selvitella
7th Season
The Amazing Brenda Strider by Alex Austin
October 18 – November 23, 2002
Director: Steve Smith
Child of Pleasure by William S. Gregory (local playwright)
January 24 – March 15, 2003
Director and Co-producer: Angie Lawless
Simon the Magus by Michael Kelly – Late Night Show
May 23 – June 21, 2003
Director: Michael Griggs
Memoir by John Murrell
May 16 – June 21, 2003
Director and Co-producer: James William Cox
6th Season
Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman – Original Run
October 19 – November 24, 2001
Director and Co-producer: Karin Magaldi-Unger
Mall America by Peter Sagal (host of NPR’s “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”)
March 15 – April 20, 2002
Director and Co-producer: Stephen Weeks
Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman – Second Run
July 12 – August 17, 2002
Director and Co-producer: Karin Magaldi-Unger
5th Season
The Folio by Connor Kerns
October 13 – November 19, 2000
Director and Co-producer: Connor Kerns
Venue: Floor Factors, NW 21st Avenue and Flanders Street
CoHo Productions moved into our permanent home on NW Raleigh Street
4th Season
St. Nicholas by Conor McPherson
October 29 – November 21, 1999
Director and Co-producer: James William Cox
Venue: Gallery 33, 1400 NW Everett Street
Dolls’ House by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Keith Scales (local playwright)
April 21 – May 28, 2000
Director: Keith Scales
Co-producers: Keith Scales and Linda Hayden
Venue: Flying Rhinoceros Theater, 1440 NW Overton Street
3rd Season
Mary Tudor by William S. Gregory (local playwright)
January 15 – February 28, 1999
Director and Co-producer: Robert W. Holden
Venue: Riverstone Condominium, 804 NW 12th Avenue
Dealer’s Choice by Patrick Marber
May 14 – June 20, 1999
Director and Co-producer: Jeff Meyers
Venue: Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center (now EcoTrust), NW 10th Avenue and Irving Street
2nd Season
The Monogamist by Christopher Kyle
March 20 – April 19, 1998
Director and Co-producer: Edgar Reynolds
Venue: McKenzie Lofts, NW 12th Avenue and Flanders Street
1st Season
Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock
October 24 – November 23, 1996
Director: Jane Unger
Co-producers: Jane Unger and Dmae Roberts
Inaugural Production
Bodyhold by Gary Cole (local playwright and co-founder of CoHo Productions)
April 21 – May 27, 1995
Director: Robert W. Holden (co-founder of CoHo Productions)
Co-producers: Gary Cole and Robert W. Holden
Venue: Benson Hotel, 309 SW Broadway