FRONT ROW: The Scene on Stage

Explore theater in Salem with these shows

PENTACLE THEATRE

An Inspector Calls — The unsuspecting Birling family is visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole, arriving just as they are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. The Inspector reveals that a girl called Eva Smith, has taken her own life by drinking disinfectant. The family is horrified yet confused as to why the Inspector has called to see them. What follows is a tense and uncomfortable investigation by an all-knowing Inspector through which the family discovers they are all in fact caught up in this poor girl's death.

ON STAGE: February 2-4 at Pentacle Theatre | pentacletheatre.org

Terra Nova — Drawn from the journals and letters found on the frozen body of Captain Scott, this play is a dramatic apogee, capturing with chilling intensity the awesome bravery of men who must accept the bitter knowledge that suffering and death will be the only reward for their heroism.

ON STAGE: February 9 & 11 at Pentacle Theatre | pentacletheatre.org

Shrek the Musical — A mythical adventure tale about a hulking green ogre, homeless fairytale characters, an obnoxious lord and a pretty, pretty princess, who is more than she seems.

ON STAGE: March 3-25 at Pentacle Theatre | pentacletheatre.org

ENLIGHTENED THEATRICS

Dear Elizabeth — A moving and innovative play by Sarah Ruhl based on one of the greatest correspondences in American literature. Between 1947 and 1977, Robert Lowell (played by Ronan Baker) and Elizabeth Bishop (played by Diane Slamp) exchanged more than four hundred letters. Describing the writing of their poems, their travel and daily illnesses, the pyrotechnics of their romantic relationships, and the profound affection they had for each other, these missives are the most intimate record available of both poets.

ON STAGE: March 10-19 at Salem's Grand Theatre | enlightenedtheatrics.org

WILLAMETTE U. THEATRE

The Secretaries — There is a special kind of cattiness that rules the secretaries at Cooney Lumber Mill in Big Bone, Oregon. But could they also be luring people into a cult behind recent “accidental” lumberjack deaths? Oil up the chainsaws and buckle in for this hilarious, outrageous feminist satire of admins over the edge. Written by The Five Lesbian Brothers. Directed by Stephanie Mulligan.

ON STAGE: February 17-26 at M. Lee Pelton Theatre at Willamette University | wutheatre. com