History of CoHo

CoHo Logo Black

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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *