We stopped in Ashland for one day and caught a fabulous matinee performance of "MacBeth" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Beautiful theater, excellent acting, but the things that impressed us the most were the technical aspects of the show, especially the lighting. The sound quality wasn't always great - some of the actors weren't wearing mics and it was often difficult to catch the words - but it was a great experience all in all.

Don't read the 2023 reviews. The company is back under new leadership and its old familiar excellent productions and accomplished group of actors. This was our first return, being visitors for several decades, since Covid and last year's bad season. We found both Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth superb. I agree with another reviewer that the Macbeth lighting was particularly wonderful, and the unexpectedly young Lady Macbeth was sublime. We added Lizzard Boy, with its original cast and production, a brilliant reminder that our particular difference matters, that we need to celebrate our uniqueness. More of the previous actors will be returning in 2025, so sign up! Ashland Shakespeare has been a must-vacation every year. The town and surrounding places to visit only add to the joy of this performing company. We came on a bus tour, and missed having a car to get out further.

After a wobbly few years including the devastating effects of the pandemic, we are so excited about this year’s line up of plays. Nine plays being offered with a wide variety for all interests. We saw Born with Teeth and it was magnificent. We took our young adult kids (some of whom had heard about this play in their college Shakespeare classes) and really enjoyed it. Going to see Smote This tonight. With the new leadership and return of some veteran OSF actors, I feel cautiously optimistic that OSF is back!

OSF is recovering from COVID and even more so from a poorly selected Artistic Director who thankfully quit before totally running the theatre into the ground. Now with Tim Bond at the helm, tendrils of the once great theatre are growing back. Us OSF veterans know the trauma the last several years have been for OSF, and I know us to be a resilient group who understands the heavy uplifting of essentially rebuilding a once highly-regarded theatre. So good to see veteran actors returning. Our group saw Smote and no one was unaffected; each for different reasons. Although our lives were very different than Rodney Gardnier’s, there were deep emotional crossovers to which, I believe, anyone could relate. Be prepared for an emotional dig into your own past balanced by some well-deserved laughs along with excellent acting. Welcome back to OSF Rodney!

I have volunteered for my local Shakespeare theater for 40 years. So I have seen good Shakespeare, bad Shakespeare, and everything in between. Ashland is revered among theaters across the nation for producing good Shakespeare. I attended on my birthday. My grown son had asked me, "Where do you want to be on your birthday this year." Being in the audience here was my answer. Being there meant flying 2000 miles, but it was worth it!

This year's Macbeth is awesome! After last year's disastrous season, I had vowed never to go back to OSU again. Wow, I'm sure glad I gave it a second chance! It was first-rate, and made for a very special matinee.