What I do want to share for now is the amazing weekend I just had in Ashland, Oregon. We went up to experience the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for Paul's birthday weekend extravaganza and it was wonderful.
So much culture. So much creativity, and so much talent. Those young actors were truly something. We drove up on Friday and got there just in time to check into our hotel room at Lithia Springs Spa and Resort, grab a quick bite to eat at Pangea Cafe and then see the 8 o'clock showing of The African Company's Richard the Third.
The play wasn't actually Shakespeare's Richard the Third. It was a story based loosely on Richard the Third, but it was really about an African American group, composed of people who were newly freed and trying to bring some culture and Shakespeare into their lives. The antagonist is a white theatre owner who is opposed to the African-Americans trying to do their own version of Richard the Third and tries to shut them down in time for his own theatre's show. I won't give away the ending, but the characters were strong, funny, and very powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed this play.
After taking a nice little walk around the little town of Ashland to take in the cool night air, we headed back to our hotel room with a bottle of Oregon cab, and watched on my laptop a 50's version of Richard the Third, drinking wine, enjoying slices of sharp cheddar cheese, and laughing and smiling ourselves pink in the face. It was such a nice break from law school and the hectic craziness of our lives.
The next morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast of omelettes, berry crepes, baked apple cobbler, scones, coffee, and juice and took a walk around the facilities. Our hotel had a very nice garden set against lolling hills covered in autumn colors of orange, red, and bright yellow. It was so magical. We spent the morning reading the paper, finishing up some grading and law school homework before it was lunchtime.
We strolled back into town to have some sushi for lunch at Tarako's (our hotel gave us a 10% discount card and they did not disappoint us with their food) and we caught a 1:30 showing of Measure for Measure. Down below is the website's description of this play:
Who legislates morality?
The Duke's authoritarian deputy, Angelo, is hell-bent on stamping out moral decay. He reactivates outdated Draconian laws and aims his arrogant crosshairs at a young man whose fiancée is pregnant, sentencing him to death. Angelo is sternly incorruptible—until he meets Isabela, a beautiful religious novice whose desirability arouses him. Flavored with live music by the mariachi band Las Colibri, Rauch's vigorous, modern production of Shakespeare’s tragicomedy reveals what can happen when sex, religion and politics collide.
*****
The mariachi band was amazing. It added so much to the play. The actors in this play were excellent. They fully convinced us of their passion and pain throughout the play that made my spine and skin tingle, and we enjoyed many laughs and tears as we watched their story unfold.
After the play, we headed back to our hotel for afternoon tea and biscuits. We freshened up and changed into our finer clothes to get ready for a fancier dinner and the 8 pm showing of Paul's favorite, Julius Caesar. We took a walk through Lithia Park on our way to dinner and took some photos of the beautiful leaves strewn all around us.
For dinner, we had stuffed king salmon with buttermilk polenta and grilled asparagus at Chateaulin's. It was a very nice, romantic dinner by candlelight.
Anatomy of an assassination
The road to Hell is paved with honorable intentions. Adoring commoners would crown Caesar, but Caesar’s fellow politicians debate the popular leader’s ambition. Fearful for the Republic, tormented by uncertainty and driven by questionable motives, they plot an assassination. What justifies murder, and what is the shocking aftermath? The volatile, complex nature of government and the fallibility of those in power boil down in the intimate New Theatre to one pressure cooker of a tragedy.
********
There was blood. There were cheers. There was a revolution. Paul said some of the scenes reminded him of Gaddafi. I agreed. It was perfect timing as our world is currently witnessing a wave of revolution throughout the middle east, and as we watched this play, we thought about how there is nothing new under the sun.
Afterwards, we went back to our hotel room for more wine and laughter. It was like a dream.
Sunday was our final day in Ashland and we woke up to another wonderful breakfast, coffee, and a walk in the garden. We headed earlier into town to have a wonderful lunch of angel hair pasta in white wine and garlic sauce, fresh bruscetta and a spinach salad with goat cheese and nuts at Martino's on a balcony overlooking the town. We then did some shopping at Shakespeare Books and Antiques before heading over to the theatre for our final play. This one was my favorite. It was a very dark, twisted, funny play about a very dysfunctional family forced to come together because the father committed suicide. It will make you laugh but it will make you weep. The mother in this play is crazy, mean, and addicted to pills. The story ends with her alone in the house, after all the kids stormed out in anger, and she murmurs to herself, "And then you're gone... and then you're gone... and then you're gone...." It was extremely powerful.
Run for the storm cellar
There’s a funnel cloud over Oklahoma, coming your way. It’s American theatre’s newest twisted family, the Westons. In the eye of the storm are three damaged sisters, their pill-popping mother and a houseful of troubled relatives. Tagged by The New York Times as “probably the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years,” Tracy Letts’ comic tragedy exposes the emotional destruction that rips through generations if nothing stops its path. This Pulitzer Prize winner is a domestic disaster that’s entertaining as all get-out.
*******
I related to so many aspects of this play, and my analysis would need to be its own blog entry.
But for now, I will just leave you with my insistence that you should make the time to go and see this play.
As we drove back, I held Paul's hand and thanked him for the lovely weekend. It was such a magical weekend, full of Shakespearean wonders and inquisitive thoughts and contemplations of life and the meaning of it all. We usually like to take walks on the wild side, so it was nice to have ourselves a change of pace and enjoy a mellow, relaxing, romantic weekend in Ashland, Oregon for some culture and fun.
wow you guys were spoiled!
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