Ashland, OR

We went on our annual trip to Ashland as chaperones for the theater group at our school. Because we take the kids (our progeny, not our students), Jason and I have to take turns seeing plays. This year, I saw two, he saw one. Short reviews are below. If you get to Ashland this summer, we recommend all three shows. This is the first summer in ten years of Ashland trips that I would say this.


Fences by August Wilson - This is a story of a black man living in Chicago in, I think, the '60s. He is angry at the world and sort of creates his own hell. There was a line by August Wilson in the playbill that said something like The streets he walked in were an ocean of his own making, and he was drowning. Most of my stories are about this man. That's a paraphrase, btw. It perfectly sums up the main character of this play - he feels compelled to believe the world is set against him, that he hasn't been given a fair shake, and cannot enjoy the wonderful family he has. The script is amazing. The story touching. The set incredible. I am a sucker for an amazing, detailed set, and this one definitely fit that bill. Overall, I thought the acting was good. A couple actors weren't as strong as the others. The wife tripped on her lines a couple times - not a big deal really; she was very strong outside of that. The actress who plays the younger daughter wasn't that strong. The lead, who was a regular on Night Court, was phenomenal. He was believable as this character in every way - physically, emotionally, in demeanor.

Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream - Jason saw this; I didn't. His overall impression: the play was fanstastic. The costumes, the acting, the interpretations. The fairies, for example, were gay men dressed in fishnet muscle shirts. An over-the-top, but still appropriate to the script performance.

Altar Boyz - I saw this. It was playing in the cabaret theater, not the main theater in town. It's an hilarious comedy about a Christian boy band and makes fun of the boy band mentality. Fun, nothing that will change your world. Sometimes the singing was a little off key, or so say the music peeps at my table, but it wasn't so obvious to me. The kids laughed uproariously at this show.

Unfortunately, I gave away my playbills to a student, so I don't have names to share. In short, if you love theater, Ashland will be a good summer trip this year.