The Moth Mainstage

Spectacular heartfelt storytelling, diverse and substantive

The production was very well done and went very smoothly. Intelligent, relatable folks opening up to eloquently allow us into their lives. Bravo. For me, as a Moth addict, I was a bit concerned when I realized I had already heard the opening story. I was worried that all of the stories would be 'reruns'. No worries, though. Only 1 other was a repeat. Dan Kennedy was a charming host, as always. Now the negative: The Portland State Theater suffers from very poor circulation. The temperature in the balcony must have topped 85*. We were roasting, panting, and sweating by the time the show wrapped up.

The Moth is an amazing evening. Stories are great, heartwarming, hilarious and everything in between. However, the "musical guest", while she seems to be a wonderfully trained violinist, her first "tune" was nothing but noise. I played violin for 8 years, and what she played was noise. Maybe have an acoustic guitarist? Horn player? Not a screeching violinist. Thank you! JLCT p.s. I LOVE The Moth!!!

I laughed and cried and loved it all! Great stories from real people.

I loved the stories. But with all the available alcohol and the loud mikes and the booming voice of the host, I spent the whole time with my ears covered except when the actual story tellers were presenting. They were really fun and fascinating. Left with a huge headache and a high stress level.

This was a great storytelling show with different levels of expertise. But all stories were captivating and I'd go again in a minute.

What a night! Following intermission the family in back of me found the evening too long for their children. When Mom decided to leave the children's cries of "No, mom, please, don't make us leave." said it all. There is truly something for all regulars listening on Sundays and in attendance that night.

Great chance to hear real life drama more interesting (and compelling) than fiction any day. These are real people with real stories, not over produced, slik tripe. The humor, the pathos, it's all there. I'd go several times a year if they came to Maine more often. Hint hint. Soldout house. I'd wager most of us there would go more than once a year.

All five storytellers were great, each with their own personal stories and styles. Really enjoyed it.

Completely different experience live vs taped radio show. Equally fabulous. Cannot wait until next show.

I've been to one other Moth show, so this wasn't new to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it again! The story tellers were great and interesting. The host was good, if not a bit overplayed... On a bummer note, my husband and I lost each other for about 45 minutes. While he was getting drinks for us, I was directed to the wrong seat...while he made his way to the correct ones. Cells phones had to be turned off and we couldn't call/text each other, so we missed out on sharing the majority of the show together. Bummer. :( I love love love the box seats!! We had them last time too and they are great! The lower box (which I was mistakenly sent to) was better, but both are nice and worth the little difference in price.

I really enjoyed the evening. All of the individuals from the emcee to the violinist to the storytellers were wonderful. I would highly recommend this event. The stories were full of humor and humanity.

The host with the odd Jewish name was worth the cost of admission alone. She was so smooth and comfortable on stage. The storytellers were also very good, but maybe a little too rehearsed. The music was also very nice. Overall it was a really nice night of entertainment.

5 story tellers, 5 amazing stories, 1 exceeding funny hostess, 1 humbly wonderful violinist. I've been listening to the Moth podcast for years (ever since Ira Glass got me hooked years ago when he first recommended it on ThisAmLife). I so value the ability to tell stories well, because I couldn't tell one if my life depended upon it. Although the Fitzgerald was a wonderful venue for "the Moth Mainstage", the lines at the 2 restrooms may give me pause before buying tickets to an event there in the future. It'll really have to be a performance I'm strongly interested in - at least cross-my-legs so I won't miss anything worthy, cuz there ain't no way I'm waiting in that line to the bathroom - and that's the MEN'S room folks! Women bathroom was surprisingly only marginally worse. Hope y'all have a story worthy week. Bennychickenlegs

I had a wonderful night at The Moth, like always. They put on a great show. The stories were funny and touching. And the Fitz is a beautiful theater.

As a diehard Moth fan I was disappointed by this show. With the exception of Simon and Kemp, who were excellent, the other presenters did not seem to follow the Moth criteria about storytelling. The other folks seemed to be performing, or had an agenda, but they did not tell what I felt were spontaneous stories. Which is the Moth's trademark. I hope this was due to the Town Hall setting. Not typical for the Moth. This show would not represent the Moth well for a first time viewer. Adam Gopnik was fantastic as the host, however.

An absolutely wonderful evening! The stories were beautifully written, performed and received. The venue was large but intimate and I had no trouble seeing the performers from the balcony. I look forward to seeing my next show!!

In each amazing story there was one line that was delivered, a very, very emotional line that changed the demeanor in the room and you were drawn in immediately by that one sentence and could feel (more than sense) the emotions in the person delivering it. It was as though all the air was sucked out of the room and you could hear a pin drop.

After listening to the Moth radio for years it was wonderful being physically present to hear their stories live!!! The speakers were poignant, powerful and even funny. The venue was perfect!!

I think this was my 8th main stage Moth. Loved the venue...especially reserved seating. Each compelling story gripped my heart and my attention. We left exhilerated and exhausted. Another fantastic Moth night.

The Moth shows always surprise, delight, & move. Each story was riveting and really grabbed you and moved you in unexpected ways.

A great program of compelling tales and relatable storytellers and host! Terrific night!

My husband and I are fairly new listeners to NPR and Moth, but we and our 2 teenage sons look forward to hearing the show every week. When we heard it was conming to Portland, we bought tickets without hesitating! My husband and I went and really enjoyed it. Part of the fun is never really knowing what kind of stories you will hear. Hearing from people from our state made it especially enthralling, It was great to see it live and to hear the host's own story interspersed with the featured speakers, something we don't hear on the radio. His story was as good as the featured ones! Glad we went.

For the most part the night was filled with good stories and storytellers. Several of the storytellers had more compelling stories than polished storytelling ability, but all in all it was a good night. Dan Kennedy had some great stories, and is an excellent host for such an event. Overall, I'd say, worth checking out.

It was as I expected. I listen to the Moth all the time. I was not disappointed.

Really enjoyed stories and the host. I would have preferred another humorous story in place of one of the sad/serious stories.

My wife and I came to the event to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The building was beautiful albeit a bit warm. The flow of the evening was well coordinated. As with any story I resonated with some of the stories more than the others. The feel of the evening was quite personal. The MC did a good job of tying one act in to another.

We had never gone to a Moth presentation. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good time and listen to storytelling.

Was pretty disappointed with most of the speakers and hope most of it doesn't make it to NPR.

Genuinely enjoyed ALL but one of the story tellers. They are true artist and so skilled at engaging and entertaining.

This was our first Moth Event even though we ve been listening to the podcast for a while. The story tellers were great but the host made the show. He was hilarious.

I was touched by each story and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

I'm a huge fan of the Moth radio hour. I've listened to the podcast when we were traveling. But the stage version was the best. Great mix of people and stories. I'll be in the audience at another live show.

Show was good. MC was very funny. Theatre was uncomfortably warm in mezzanine. Heat distracted from performance.

I love listening to the Moth's podcast, and it was a wonderful experience to hear the stories told live. I really enjoyed the diverse group of speakers who presented at the Moth Mainstage! One speaker had the entire audience bursting with laughter as he recounted his time writing silly speeches for President Obama. Another speaker had us captivated in suspense as she described a time when the hospital where she worked in Columbia was seized by a guerrilla group. I would highly recommend attending the Moth live! I look forward to going again.

Six different storytellers came to the stage and each one shared an incredible tale. It was a wonderful, memorable evening. I love The Moth!

Seeing The Moth in person was amazing! Each story was so different but all were moving and well told. I could not recommend this experience more highly!!!

This was a wonderful evening. My wife and I took my parents and everyone loved the stories and had a great time.

The stories were an interesting mix; some very funny, others heart-wrenching, and all engaging. A couple of the stories sounded a little too rehearsed for my taste. I prefer it when it sounds like the story-teller is really speaking to me, not just reciting a monologue.I was disappointed that the show started 20 minutes late, but when the host came out, she made up for it with her personality and humor. My teen-aged daughter and I had a great time!

I was frustrated to discover the venue had no AC which made it rather warm as it was a fairly warm evening. Our tickets indicated the show would start at 7:30 and did not begin until a half hour later at 8:00 PM. We enjoyed 60% of the stories. Two were very depressing. It is too bad that prior to buying tickets, that there is not a way to give an idea of topic of each storyteller.

The story tellers were absolutely amazing and the stories were even more amazing. Would totally attend the show.

We enjoyed all of the stories. I think there could have been one more (6 rather than 5). Maybe a little less talking by MC between stories. It was a good evening.

Incredible moving stories told by gifted storytellers. I experienced the full range of emotions and was spellbound throughout. Amazing experience. Loved it!

The stories were great as usual - bring a hankie... The venue was a little warm, but the sound was great and all the seats in the house have good line of sight.

Always enjoy The Moth Radio Hour on the radio, but this wasn't the best of nights. Location: State Theater in Portland, balcony. Was unbelievably cramped and HOT! My 5'4" companion and had to sit with her knees sideways. Staff was really nice and accommodating, though. Show: 3 of the 5 stories involved sad deaths. While they were lovely, moving stories, the overall tone was morose, rather than uplifting. Guess the show is more of a crap shoot than I'd realized. That said, I will still tune in and attend another local show. Just want to prepare folks for the possibilities.

I love story telling productions and The Moth is an excellent one (storycorps and This American Life are the other best two I know and love). In fact The Moth podcasts have kept me company through miles and miles of walks and hours of waiting for my kid to finish one sports practice or another. So when I was able to score these tickets for me and said kid (almost an adult now) I was psyched. Unfortunately the event was a disappointment. First of all the venue was sweltering hot and I found the violinist's song selection not compelling and almost irritating. But importantly the topics weren't particularly compelling and in one case was almost snooze worthy. I still love The Moth but I doubt I'd pay to see it unless I was guaranteed in advance what the subject was and who the speakers were.

I laughed, I cried, I gasped..... There were moments when the entire theater was silent in anticipation of the next words to be spoken. And the host put on a comedy show that was worth the price of admission on its own!!

First and foremost, I am a huge fan of The Moth. I would recommend a storytelling event over a concert anytime. But for being in a venue like the State Theater, we could barely understand our storytellers. 3 out of the five had extremely thick accents and from the balcony(in a relatively small theater), which were $47 tickets, we could hardly understand what anyone was saying! Pretty let down by that.

This is the third Moth event I have been to. It was the weakest of the three but still well worth attending. Lynn as emcee was perfect. She kept things moving, was funny, and didn't try to upstage the story tellers. I think that perhaps the story tellers had practiced a bit too much so that it felt as though they were reading from an internal script. And this time it seemed that all were working to have a moral at the end of their stories. Not really necessary. All in all, a great event and I can't wait for the next one.

Too hot in the theater. No air, miserable. Chairs in orchestra too close together, felt crammed to fit. Also, while the show was fair, being all caught up with mpbn made it a different experience than it used to be when it was small. Would rather have spent my money elsewhere rather than suffering through.

Awesome show, experience, and art form. The stories were amazing and it was an honor to hear them live.

Unforgettable....such amazing people sharing their insights to life. Thank you!

What a great experience! We listened to 5 stories, some great music, and the host of the show. Each of the stories was completely different from the others, but equally engaging. Funny, sad, suspenseful. I highly recommend you try this out, next time you have a chance.

I am sorry to say that it was disappointing. Not worth the ticket price to see it live.

Great event and great seats! Beautiful venue. I will go again next time.

The show was supposed to be at the Ebell Theater which would have been nice. I was really looking forward to the show after listening to the Moth for so long. Perhaps my expectations were too high and given the fact that this was the "Main Stage" with a $50 price tag, my expectations were high. The venue change was not for the better, as the foldable chairs in Club Nokia were extremely uncomfortable and the parking was $25. There were some memorable stories and it could be that listening on the radio or from a podcast leaves much to your imaginication. Adding the visual aspect in the live performance I thought would make the experience that much more intense. It did for a couple of the storytellers, but not all. I found myself closing my eyes during some of the stories to create the atmosphere of listening intently with no visual distractions. It did raise the intensity level and enjoyment factor, but not enough to honestly say that I was not disappointed in the venue and the evening.

The Moth is terrific, I urge everyone to give it a listen at 2PM on Sunday at KPPC 89.3. These are truly amazing stories by people who are not performers, but people just like you and I, who pour their heart out in front of a room full of strangers. The guest host is always very funny and entertaining. I can't wait until the next Moth Event.

I had been looking forward to this event for quite some time. I purchased tickets for my fiancé's birthday, and he was also very excited. We listen to the radio show and the pod cast, so we know that the subject matter is sometimes heady and not for children. We got to our seats in the upper balcony and the seats had so little leg room I had to sit in the aisle. There was physically not enough room for me to sit. I would guess that the ushers have seen people do this in the past, because they did not ask me to move. Right before the show started, a family with a boy of between 8-10 years old took the seats about two rows in front of us. As soon as the house lights went down, the little boy began twirling his drink bottle around in the air, scraping it on the seats, getting up into the aisle, running up and down the aisle, and over all being a complete nuisance to everyone around him. The parents did nothing to stop this, nor did the ushers. We left at intermission, and I would be hard pressed to tell you what the three stories we heard were even about. What a waste of money.

I've listen to The Moth on radio for years, but in person was the best! Thank you STATE THEATRE and MPBN.

The Moth was beautiful. It brought out all the elements of the human experience through shared stories. We laughed. We cried. We wanted it to keep watching after an already satisfying three hour show. The story tellers were great but as was the audience. You could feel the support radiating through the sold out theater during the moments that story tellers struggled to keep composure as they shared hard parts of their story. The support through the struggle made it all the better as we shared a night together.