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Directed by Hershell Norwood
Jefferson, an innocent young Black man, is condemned to death in backwoods Louisiana in 1948. At the trial his lawyer, trying to save his life, called him no more a human being than a hog. In prison, he acts like one, insisting that he will be dragged like that hog to his death in the electric chair. His godmother asks a struggling school teacher to teach him to die like a man. The teacher, Grant Wiggins, faces both Jefferson and himself as execution day arrives.
Ernest J. Gaines’ celebrated novel makes an engrossing, moving, and deeply important play.
TICKETS ON SALE JANUARY 2, 2023
The Very Little Theatre has produced plays every year since our founding in 1929 – through the Great Depression, a World War, a great recession, and most recently pivoting to online and parking lot performances so we could continue producing during Covid. We just can’t help ourselves – we love making and sharing theatre.
We welcome you back to our newly renovated Main Stage Theatre for a season full of comedy,
mystery, touching drama, fantasy, and TWO great musicals.
August
5 – 20
October
14 – 30
January 20 –
February 5
March 17 –
April 2
May
12 – 28
February
17 – 26
2023
April
14 – 23
2023
September
23 – 25
2022
November
12 – 13
2022
February
17 – 26
2023
April
14 – 23
2023
September
23 – 25
2022
November
12 – 13
2022
The Very Little Theatre is run by its Members, and has been since its founding in March, 1929.
Members are the backbone of the organization, responsible for everything from choosing the plays we present to electing our board of directors, from build sets and costumes to greeting our audiences on the nights of performances, and creating the policies that keep us all feeling welcome and safe.
We have fun making theatre. Please consider joining us.
Very Little Theatre would like to acknowledge that our building sits on the traditional Indigenous homelands of the Kalapuya peoples. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to what is now the Grand Ronde and Siletz Reservations in Western Oregon. Today, descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. We share this information out of humility and respect for this indigenous homeland, and for the Kalapuya peoples who continue to live and thrive in what is now called the State of Oregon.
Very Little Theatre would like to acknowledge that our building sits on the traditional Indigenous homelands of the Kalapuya peoples. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to what is now the Grand Ronde and Siletz Reservations in Western Oregon. Today, descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. We share this information out of humility and respect for this indigenous homeland, and for the Kalapuya peoples who continue to live and thrive in what is now called the State of Oregon.
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©2022 Very Little Theatre. All Right Reserved.
Site Design and Hosting by Mudpaw Design House.
Join our mailing list
Already A Member
©2022 Very Little Theatre. All Right Reserved.
Site Design and Hosting by Mudpaw Design House
Book by Allan Knee
Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Music by Jason Howland
Directed by Kari Boldon Welch
Rebellious Jo March and her sisters have delighted readers for decades in the beloved novel Little Women, known all around the world as a fierce story about an extraordinary family.
This Tony Award-winning musical brings the story of the March sisters to life. Featuring many of the original cast members from the pandemic-halted March 2020 production, Little Women, the Musical really is “Astonishing!”
Tickets Go On Sale July 18, 2022
Adapted for the stage
by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Maggie Hadley
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.
Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case they decide to strike again.
This new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic novel perfectly balances mystery and comedy to create a deeply enjoyable evening at the theatre.
Tickets Go On Sale September 26, 2022
By Romulus Linney, Based on the Novel by Ernest J. Gaines
Directed by Hershell Norwood
Jefferson, an innocent young Black man, is condemned to death in backwoods Louisiana in 1948. At the trial his lawyer, trying to save his life, called him no more a human being than a hog.
In prison, he acts like one, insisting that he will be dragged like that hog to his death in the electric chair. His godmother asks a struggling schoolteacher to teach him to die like a man. The teacher, Grant Wiggins, faces both Jefferson and himself as execution day arrives.
Ernest J. Gaines’ celebrated novel makes an engrossing, moving and deeply important play.
Tickets Go On Sale January 2, 2023
By Craig Lucas
Directed by Darlene Rhoden
This is the story of Peter and Rita, a couple that falls in love despite Rita’s pessimistic fear of the world. Shortly after their wedding, a supernatural event tests the strength of their love and commitment to each other.
At times funny, heartbreaking, and revelatory, Prelude to a Kiss explores themes of love and loss, and the many ways we view the people dearest to us.
Tickets Go On Sale February 27, 2023
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music & Lyrics by
Jeff Lynne & John Farrar
Directed by Russell Dyball
Based on the 1980 cult classic of the same name, this musical is sure to “roll” into your hearts at the first note! It’s your typical story: boy meets Muse, Muse inspires boy, Muse and boy team up to create GREAT ART in the form of converting an old theatre into a roller disco. Pull out your legwarmers and neon jackets for this Tony Award-nominated musical and our 94th season finale!
Tickets Go On Sale April 24, 2023
By Dorothy Velasco
Directed by Karen Scheeland
Raucously funny, a bit bawdy, and full of action, surprises, and laughter through tears. A women’s Shakespeare study group learns how to face life’s afflictions with humor.
Tickets Go On Sale January 30, 2023
By Jen Ferro
Directed by Kali Kardas
The story of a woman who can’t help herself because she helps everyone else. Cats and humans run amok in this hilarious and heartfelt play about family and relationships.
Tickets Go On Sale March 27, 2022
MVT is proud to produce a weekend with illioo Native Theatre as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Klamath River fish kill with a reading of the play Salmon is Everything by Theresa May in collaboration with the Klamath Theatre Project.
The play follows the story of three families on the Klamath River during the drought, salmon crisis, and devastating fish kill of 2002. Its message about the kinship among salmon, people and the land is as relevant today – for all great rivers in the Pacific Northwest — as it was 20 years ago.
Tickets Go On Sale September 5, 2022
MVT presents is an evening of one-acts. In Hattie’s Vote, by local playwright Dorothy Velasco, we meet Hattie Redmond, a Black woman who was instrumental in the fight for Oregon women’s suffrage. Nat Turner’s Last Struggle: Finding His Way Home by P.A. Wray, explores the final hour of the life of Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher who led one of the bloodiest slave rebellions in the American South, as he searches for meaning on the day of his execution.
Tickets Go On Sale October 24, 2022