February 17, 2016
Black History Month
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Page 11
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Dael Orlandersmith brings her powerful new memoir play ‘Forever’ to Portland Center Stage.
Harrowing tale
on Portland stage
“Forever” won’t last forever in Port-
land – so you might want to get your
tickets soon. The show stars Pulitizer
Prize nominee and performer Dael Or-
landersmith in her powerful new mem-
oir play that runs through March 20 at
Portland Center Stage.
“Forever” is a harrowing tale about
Orlandersmith’s troubled youth in Har-
lem and the rocky path she forged out
of it. She illuminates in acid-etched
Forever
detail her fraught relationship with her
mother, who was abusive and alcoholic
but also set an example in her hunger
for books and music and her dream of
a career as a dancer, described a review
from the New York Times.
The play begins in Paris at the
famed Père Lachaise Cemetery,
where strangers from around the
world make pilgrimages to the graves
of legendary artists such as Freder-
ick Chopin, Marcel Proust, Richard
Wright, Edith Piaf and Jim Morri-
son. As she visits the resting places
of her idols, Orlandersmith is moved
to investigate the complex legacy she
received from her mother and their
often haunting life together.
Riveting and powerful, “Forever”
is about family – the ones we are
born into; the strange way powerful
bonds are formed with people who,
though unrelated by blood, come to
feel like family; and the legacies that
shape us all.
Tickets may be purchased at pcs.org,
by calling 503-445-3700, or in person
at the Gerding Theater at the Armory
box ofice, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.