It seemed like so many plays to see when I first got here, but it’s flown by and I have only one more to see tomorrow night. This afternoon I saw a very funny production of Twelfth Night. [Trailer] This was really played for laughs, but was very cleverly done. The play was set in Hollywood of the 1930s. It made for some interesting set pieces. Again, it seems to go without saying here, but the acting was outstanding. One interesting dilemma that was resolved by the setting was that the twins were played by the same actress. Not an issue till they come together at the end. As it was Hollywood, they dropped a screen, and as the actress walked behind it, you saw video of two of them. The timing was impeccable as she would walk out from behind the screen, and the images would become just one. Several other interesting blocking/choreographic aspects of the play. Very fun, and it ended with a Busby Berkeley type song and dance number that brought the audience to their feet (deservedly). A very fun play to see.
An interesting aside, as I was standing around outside the play, the lead actress came out and was recognized by some folks (one who had a service dog that was in the audience; apparently she’s a big dog lover, and wanted to take a selfie with the dog). Then later, still standing around, I saw 3 more actors who I’ve seen run into each other and have a big reunion. It’s kind of funny to see these impressive actors come out in street clothes and be very much just like the tourist crowd.
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In the morning of my 6th day in Ashland I did a little exploring and took a drive up Mt. Ashland experiencing some nice mountain scenery. In the evening I attended 
Even though it’s a long play, it flew by. The lead was played by an OSF mainstay, and he did a great job. His performance was intense and manic. The rest of the cast, and the secondary characters, were great too. The presentation of the ghost was interesting, sometimes zipping around quickly, which isn’t what you usually see. It was one of those plays that part way through I wash wishing I could watch it again. The second half didn’t quite maintain the frenetic energy of the first half, but it ended very movingly. The uber-classic Shakespeare tragedy, where most of the characters are dead at the end.
Tonight I saw OSF’s production of Richard II. [
After a break day (where I totally wussed out of going to Crater Lake), I saw my next play in my 
On my second day in Ashland, I saw one of the last two plays of Shakespeare’s canon that I’ve never seen before, Timon of Athens. Not quite knowing what to expect, I was treated to a powerful, entertaining tragedy. [
This was allegedly Karl Marx’s favorite play. It deals with the emptiness of money and wealth, and friends who are only friends when Timon’s generosity is benefiting them, but who aren’t there when he needs help. A day after I saw it it’s striking me even stronger than when it finished. Even though it dealt with serious ideas, and it’s a tragedy, there was a lot of comedy (at least on the surface) in the delivery early on. I don’t know what a standard production of this play would be like, but this particular one was striking and powerful. I’m not sure why it’s produced so infrequently. It makes me want to see it again. … and now only one left in the canon.
Forcing myself out of bed earlier than I wanted to on a Saturday morning I undertook the 6 hour trek up to Ashland for a week of what will hopefully be great theater. This evening I saw the first play from the 
One fun aspect was a a prop element being a 1970s era Yamaha enduro. An interesting surprise, I ran into Kim Cupps who was sitting in my row. This was her last of 5 plays on a visit with her family. Small world …
Tonight I saw the next play in the 
I saw the last play, on the last night of their season, of the 
In my last full day in Colorado, I decided to venture out to the eastern plains where my father grew up, and where my father, grandfathers, and great grandfather farmed. Getting out there a ways east of Denver I have to agree with my maternal grandfather’s reported assessment when he first visited out there, namely that he’d never been anywhere he could see so far, and see so little. It’s definitely flat with some gradually rolling hills, but it’s dry and somewhat barren. It’s not like the bountiful central valley of California, but there were some periodic fields with corn growing, but mostly a lot of empty space. Maybe I just missed the growing season.