Southern Oregon Ramble - Fall 2003

-Idleyld Park and Steamboat Inn - Waterfalls! - Foreign Fauna - Driving for Vineyards - With Melpomene, Clio and Thalia - Historic Jacksonville - Up the Rogue - Crater Lake		With Melpomene, Clio and Thalia * Although there were new and unknown theatrical works to choose from, we took the more conservative approach to play selection this trip and did two Shakespeares and a Noel Coward. We also eschewed the "New Theater" (awaiting an endowment for a naming right, rumored to be available for $5 million). We saw two of our plays in the Angus Bowmer Theater, named for the founder of the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland (http://www.orshakes.org/) and one in the traditional Elizabethan outdoor theater. Even so, we ended up with a non-traditional Romeo and Juliet done in modern dress on essentially a bare stage with a clever riser system. There was a Black Romeo in dreadlocks and a Hispanic Juliet with a passing resemblance to the young Natalie Wood in "Westside Story," creating an echo of synchronicity. Or maybe it was purposeful casting. At any rate, it was a wonderful production with grand stylized fight scenes and a true teen angst feel to the young lovers' troubles. And the Romeo was absolutely gorgeous. He only took off his shirt once, but we surmised that was to avoid distracting us from the rest of the cast. Then in the evening (after a soda fountain dinner featuring real soda parlor wire chairs and Umpqua ice cream floats), Richard II in the outdoor theater. I think when I got the tickets, I had mixed up my Richards, because this is the one who took the crown as a child and was deposed by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, NOT the Lionheart, who was really Richard I and was two centuries earlier. And this produces an entirely different play, of course, so my expectations were not very close to reality. The production was good, though, and it's always fun to see something in "America's First Elizabethan Theatre." But the play wasn't very interesting to me, an exploration of the power struggle between the King and his favorites and those who "should" have had more influence because of their positions and skills. Perhaps we've just given up on that issue in the U.S. Hmmmmm? There was also another distraction for me, bumpkin that I am. The Bolingbroke actor was quite short AND he looked so much like the cartoon ruler in Shrek, Lord Faarquaad (? - the one voiced by John Lithgow) that I could NOT concentrate on his reasons for claiming the throne. Kept me awake though. The next night we did Present Laughter, which is pure Noel Coward. The central character is said to be written by him, FOR him and autobiographical or at least a self-portrait. The play was delightful -- beautiful people, sparkling dialogue, gorgeous period dresses and smoking jackets, the whole bit. And since the Festival is a repertory theater, we had the additional fun of seeing the actor who had played Richard II with such kingliness the night before turn into a flapper-era theatrical agent in a far different wig in this play. And in and around plays, we did some shopping, strolled through Lithia Park and went to historic Jacksonville. Shopping in Ashland is always interesting, because it is so tourist-reliant, they have all kinds of specialty shops with things you would never ordinarily find in a town this size (same thing is true of Jacksonville). One of my favorite stores is Paddington Station, whose book-buyer and kitchen chatzkes(?)-buyer are right in tune with my taste. This year all I bought was a puzzle book for a Christmas present for my grandson, but I sure had a good time looking. And we lost Sheila to the greeting cards for quite a while. Not much for guys to look at I guess, but I wasn't with a guy so it was fine. Lots more shopping and art shops, but not much to tell about them, you'll just have to go. Lithia Park (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/ashland/lit.htm) is another nice part of the Ashland experience, especially if you have time to really explore. It's the site of the original Shakespeare festival which was part of the Chautauqua movement. It's named for the natural water springs there, which you can get a drink of at a public fountain. Tastes terrible, yes, it's the same substance that people take for manic-depressive disorders. We didn't have time this trip, just a quick trip to the lower duck pond and back. I'll tell you about Jacksonville next.     * Oh, all right. Melpomene is the muse of Tragedy, Clio of History and Thalia of Comedy. I have lots of fun checking facts and spelling and so on for these articles on the Internet. For example, I didn't really know how far apart were Richards I and II until I checked. Two of my favorite sites (besides google, of course) are RefDesk (http://www.refdesk.com/) and the Encyclopedia Britannica (http://www.britannica.com/). You can get quite a lot from Britannica even without subscribing. Next