From Avon To Ashland It’s A Long Way From Stratford, But This Oregon Town Knows The Value Of Shakespearean Theater

Some people call it Camelot. Others consider it Ashland-on-Avon. To actors dreaming of playing Othello or Lady Macbeth, it’s Off-Broadway (2500 miles off, to be exact).

Whatever you call it, the little town of Ashland in Southern Oregon lives and breathes Shakespeare.

Bright red and green banners heralding “Shakespeare” hang from lampposts downtown. Lodgings proudly name themselves As You Like It, Shrew’s Inn and Stratford Inn. The town’s most visible landmark is the Mark Antony Hotel. The local doughnut shop is called Puck’s. All’s Well is an herb and vitamin store.

Just 12 miles north of the California border at the southern end of the Rogue Valley, Ashland has been a vacation destination for years.

Visitors come to stroll its streets where locals routinely greet strangers as well as friends in passing. They like to walk through pretty Lithia Park where swans (the town’s ubiquitous motif) swim lazily in tiny ponds. Eighty-six percent of visitors to Ashland, though, come for one reason - theater!

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a three-theater complex clustered in downtown Ashland, sells some 360,000 tickets each year. Almost half of those go to people who live well over a hundred miles from Ashland.

Crown jewel of the festival’s three stages, and the one that draws most visitors, is the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre. Surrounded by an ivy-covered wall, this 1,200-seat venue is reminiscent of the three-level Globe in Stratford where William Shakespeare wrote, produced and acted in a series of plays. Professional actors present the same plays today in Ashland.

If you’re downtown around 7 on a summer evening, you’ll notice crowds of people gathering outside the Elizabethan Theatre, even though the play doesn’t start until 8:30. They’re here for the Green Show, a delightful exhibition of Elizabethan song and dance that precedes every show. The dancers perform on an outdoor stage in front or the theater. No tickets required. Just show up with your camera.

The Festival’s actors, a repertory company, vie for the chance to perform in the Elizabethan. And attendees say there’s nothing like listening to the Bard’s timeless words under the stars on a warm summer evening.

Granted, those stars sometimes disappear on a moment’s notice, and moonlight becomes raindrops. But nobody really minds a brief summer shower. Almost as one motion and without taking their eyes from the stage, hundreds of well-prepared folks open umbrellas. The skies usually clear in minutes and umbrellas go back under seats, without actors having missed a beat.

A few steps across a brick promenade stands the 600-seat Angus Bowmar Theatre, the second stage in the Festival complex. This massive red brick structure is named for the college professor who convinced a doubting city administration back in 1935 that people would actually pay good money to see plays by Shakespeare.

Whereas the Elizabethan stage hearkens back to Medieval England, the Bowmar reminds patrons more of New York than London. Thick carpets caress feet tired from a day of sightseeing, comfortable seats make even a three-hour-long Shakespeare play enjoyable, and you can assuage your thirst with fairly decent wine during intermissions ($2 per plastic cupful).

The third stage is the Black Swan, an intimate 140-seat black box theater where patrons are so close to the action they can see every flick of an eyelash, every twitch of a nose. Sets are simpler here than on either of the other stages, and fewer actors fill out the casts. Most Black Swan plays are contemporary, experimental and often hinge on controversial themes.

Costumes worn by actors in the Shakespearean productions can be truly spectacular - rich velvets studded with glittering faux jewels, elegant chiffons bordered with delicate embroidered panels and fierce Middle Ages battle dress complete with chain mail, shield and sword.

Once a play has finished its run, many of these costumes join the display at the Festival’s Exhibit Center. This is a hands-on museum where you’re encouraged, for the price of a $2 ticket, to let your imagination soar. Fling an erminetrimmed robe around your shoulders, perch on a golden throne and you can become Henry V, gracious king of England and hero of Agincourt. Don a black wig, pick up a jewel-encrusted scepter and you’re Cleopatra, temptress of the Nile.

For an additional $8 you can join an entertaining back-stage tour of the three theaters. A member of the company takes you through the costume room, the carpenter’s shop and the actors’ dressing rooms. He or she shows how a dozen actors can race off the stage and seemingly disappear into nothingness.

The mystery of turning styrofoam into a rock wall in Ireland or a temple pillar in Rome is explained in detail. No one who truly enjoys good theater should miss this chance to better understand its magic.

Occasionally a director will choose to produce a Shakespearean play in modern dress. Some nontraditionalists approve of this innovation, but many long-time attendees object to such novel theater. “It just isn’t the same,” they claim.

Yet, good theater has always been controversial. Shakespeare himself (whoever he was!) wrote many of his histories as thinly veiled comment about royal shenanigans.

While the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is undoubtedly the best-known acting company in Ashland, two other groups also present fine entertainment. Premier among them is the Oregon Cabaret Theatre, a troupe of professional actors who offer lively musicals and comedies year-round.

Ashland also has the nonprofessional but thoroughly delightful Ashland Community Theatre. Locals depend on this dedicated company for fine drama at exceptionally reasonable ticket prices.

Camelot? It would be hard to describe this pretty little town in any other way. Life does seem to have a never-never quality here. Maybe that’s the reason so many people come here first to see the plays - then come back to live.

And it never rains ‘til after sundown!

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Ashland is often called the Banana Belt of Oregon because of a much warmer and drier climate than is common in the rest of the state. During late spring, summer and fall, you won’t need a jacket or sweater except for an occasional cool evening. Bring a hat for protection against our admittedly fierce noonday sun, however, and a light poncho or umbrella for an infrequent shower.

Accommodations Ashland is home to literally dozens of delightful bed-and-breakfast inns, motels and hotels. But rooms fill quickly during the high theater season, so it’s wise to reserve in advance. Call the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce (541-482-3486) for a brochure that contains a list of all recommended lodging. Or you can reserve rooms though one of the four lodging referral services (800) 588-0338, (800) 944-0329, (800) 983-4667 or (800) 624-8523.

Theater Adult (non-member) ticket prices at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival range from $19 to $42, depending upon the season and seat location. Many shows sell out early so always phone ahead. Box office: (541) 482-8045, Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays). Mailing address: P.O. Box 158, Ashland OR 97520. Performance location: 15 S. Pioneer Street. Tickets at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre range from $9 to $15.50, depending upon date and seat location. Box office (541) 488-2902 afternoons, Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays). Mailing address, P.O. Box 1149, Ashland OR 97520. Performance location, First & Hargadine. Tickets to an Ashland Community Theatre production cost $10 for adults, $8 for seniors. Box office, daily (541)482-7532. Mailing address, 2305 Ashland Street - Ste. C-105. Performance location, Ashland Town Hall, 300 N. Pioneer Street.

Getting there Ashland is located alongside Interstate 5 about halfway between San Francisco and Portland. Either of the two freeway exits will take you directly into town. Once there, you may find little need for your car. Shopping, dining and theater-going are all within easy walking distance of the center of town. Air transportation is via the Rogue Valley International Airport in Medford, 15 miles north of Ashland. Both Horizon Airlines and Alaska Airlines schedule frequent flights into this airport. There’s no regularly scheduled van service from the airport to Ashland, but you can call Cascade Airport Shuttle (541-488-1998) for pickup. (Advance reservations are necessary.) Or you can rent a car at the airport from any of several national rental services.