FESTIVAL'S 90th SEASON IS INVENTIVE MIX OF THOUGHT PROVOKING WORKS
KUDOS FOR ACTORS, DIRECTORS, SETS, COSTUMES, LIGHTING AND A DARING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS
PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER
thanks to OSF for supplemental photos
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| Tim Bond is OSF's seventh artistic director, a creative and thoughtful man who champions the original. He guides a gifted company in the festival's remarkable 90th season. |
WHEN ANGUS Bowmer dreamed of a festival to honor theater and the works of William Shakespeare, the clever Scotsman had only a shoe string budget. But his ideas were larger than life.
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| The Allen Elizabethan Theatre grounds post-performance. The crowds are gone; energy, enthusiasm, appreciation remain. |
Located in southern Oregon in the mid-sized town of Ashland, "The Festival,'' as locals call it, draws its company and audiences from across the United States. Its reach extends into Europe, Canada and beyond. We sat next to a couple from Mexico City at one performance. The festival's $37 million budget is a far cry from proceeds of boxing matches which funded the festival early years.
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| Actors Herbert Siguenza and Raul Cardona create magic in a modern, moving spin on Cervantes' "Don Quixote." The work is "Quixote Nuevo" by playwright Octavio Solis, directed with passion and imagination by Lisa Portes. |
WE ARE regulars at this magnificent three-theater creation. (Four venues if one counts the outdoor "Green Room" with pre-show entertainment from dance to jazz and play cuttings.) We've endowed seats, taken back stage tours, enjoyed lectures, rose from our seats in countless standing ovations, and spread the word internationally with our musings and photos. Since childhood, I've missed only two years at this gem. We've seen the festival through highs and lows: a well deserved Tony Award for best regional theater, budget cuts, staffing shake-ups, COVID woes and seven artistic directors.
We've applauded productions sunshine and rain, smog and forest fire smoke. We've shed layers in sweltering heat at the venerable Black Swan (now used for costumes, rehearsals and meetings). We've bundled up in the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre where one chilly long ago autumn, we watched in rain as "Macbeth" actors entered in garbage bags to protect their Elizabethan costumes from the fierce storm. As rain ceased, actors returned to the stage, sans garbage bags. It was a magical if soggy evening.
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| Kate Wisniewski plays the title role in "Julius Caesar," OSF's electrifying all-female production of the classic. It puts a contemporary spin on the 1599 work which featured all males, as was the tradition of the times. |
THIS YEAR'S docket is the best we've seen in a decade: varied, lively, brilliantly acted, artfully staged and directed. Sets, costumes and lighting equal any we've seen on Broadway or London's West End. Such success starts at the top, so festival artistic director Tim Bond and his key players deserve enthusiastic kudos.
Bond and his staff assembled a season both timely and compelling. There's "Quixote Nuevo," a wonderful spin on Cervantes' "Don Quixote"; a spot-on production of Oscar Wilde's a flawless "The Importance of Being Earnest" and a captivating all-female "Julius Caesar." An enthralling "Shane" features the gifted Chris Butler in a contemporary interpretation of the beloved 1953 film. One of my favorite Sondheim musicals, "Into the Woods," is stunning. "As You Like It" is delightfully fast paced and funny. There's not a clunker in the docket which runs through Oct. 25.
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| Colorful costumes set the tone for a splashy, fast-paced "As You Like It" in Thomas Theatre. |
EACH OF TODAY'S trio of OSF theaters resides in a special corner of my heart. I came of age watching Shakespeare in the Elizabethan. I endowed three seats in the beloved Bowmer. I knew the gentle spirit after whom the Thomas Theatre is named. It replaced the smaller Black Swan, long a family favorite, and carries on the same spirit of pioneering daring in its presentations. Witness a fabulous "As You Like It" with its gender bending plot and costumes to knock your socks off.
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| Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers outside the converted Baptist Church, for 40 years, the popular Oregon Cabaret Theatre. |
DON'T MISS another first-rate theatrical endeavor in Ashland. Oregon Cabaret Theatre is just across the street from OSF in a converted church. Now in its 40th season, it offers a lively range of works. We've seen polished mysteries, comedy and classic musicals, including "Sweeney Todd," and "Kinky Boots." We recommend it for a cozy venue (we like the balcony tables), delicious appetizers, brunches and dinner offerings, jazzy cocktails. It's a pleasing, energetic complement to OSF.
Ashland offers dozens of restaurant and lodging options for your visit. Our favorite places to stay -- enjoyed for decades -- are the elegant Ashland Springs Hotel, smack in town center, steps from the theaters, and Ashland Hills, in a wooded area with a pool, blackberry bushes and occasional deer.
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| Artful Ashland Springs Hotel stands gracefully in downtown Ashland, steps from the festival. |
www.AshlandSpringsHotel.com or 541-488-1700; 885 795-4545
www.AshlandHillsHotel.com 541 482-8310
www.oregoncabaret.com 541 488-2902
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| Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers are escorted on board by the gracious captain of the Anchorage-Seward route. |
UP NEXT: See Alaska's wonders by rail. Picture yourself in a comfy train car, watching the wonders of Alaska unfold outside. We recently stepped aboard a lovely train to take us from Anchorage to Seward. The wonders of Alaska were right out the window as we traveled several hours past gorgeous alpine scenery and the sea. Established in 1903 and completed in 1923, the Alaska Railroad is an iconic part of any Alaskan adventure. This historic route was the only land connector of Anchorage to Fairbanks until 1971. We'll take readers along for a ringside view of spectacular Alaskan landscape. Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, the arts, nature, famiy and more. Please share the links at: www.whereiscookie.com
