Just back from a week in Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare festival. It was fabulous.

We stayed at the Oak Street Cottages which is a block and half from Main Street and 2 blocks to the theatres. They have cottages for larger groups and we stayed in one that sleeps 6, the Oak Hideaway. It has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a sleeper sofa in the living room. It also has a full kitchen and dinning area. The kitchen is fully stocked with dishes, pots, pans, refrigerator, stove, microwave, etc. I can’t really think of anything bad to say about this place, especially for the price. It is $210 a night, but if you stay 6 nights the 7th is free, so we only paid $180. It is nicely decorated and the beds are comfortable. There is not maid service every day, but you do get new sheets and towels after 3 days.

As for the plays, we saw Twelfth Night, Dr. Faustus, Love’s Labors Lost, Richard III and The Philanderer. I liked Love’s Labors Lost and Twelfth Night the best. I also enjoyed Richard III very much. The other two probably could not have been done better; I just don’t think they are great plays. The weather outside at night in the Elizabethan theatre was very comfortable. I get cold easily, but I never needed more than a sweater and jacket. My blanket and many other layers went unused.

During the day, the weather was in the 80s and sunny just about the entire time. Perfect, in my opinion.

Other than the plays, we didn’t do too much. Ashland is just a great place to take it easy and relax. For those of you who haven’t been there, it is a beautiful little town nestled at the foot of mountains and amongst a good deal of greenery. There are pretty little houses with beautiful yards in the residential areas, and a really nice main street with fun little shops, ice cream parlors and lots of restaurants.

We hung out in Lithia Park, watched the Fourth of July parade, took in the fireworks, strolled Main Street, and visited a number of art galleries. We picked up a brochure at one gallery that included a map and a list of galleries. It was very useful and we enjoyed the galleries. We also took a 5 hour hike from Lithia Park that looped up to the ridge of the mountain above it and back. It was very pretty and we enjoyed that a lot. We saw no other hikers after we got out of Lithia Park.

We also took a backstage tour, which I’ve taken at least twice before and it never disappoints. The tours are conducted by members of the company (actors, directors, set designers, etc.) and ours was a costume designer. He was fabulous and very knowledgeable about the history of the OSF, the way the company works now, the productions themselves and the history of theatre in general.

We ate a lot of good food in Ashland, but the restaurants I liked the best were not the ones I expected to. My favorites were Tabu (Nuevo Latino), Thai Pepper and Deep’s (Indian). My husband agreed.

We also went to Peerless (Pacific Northwest, I think), which I read about in Gourmet and that restaurant was my father’s favorite. I liked it too, but not as much as the others above.

We also ate at New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro in Talent, which was a fun and funky experience although the food was not as good as I expected. I had heard that this place has a cult following and expected more. I liked the experience though and would go back. This was my mom’s favorite restaurant. They are located in a run down, unmarked shack and it is run by a husband and wife who grow a lot of their own vegetables and herbs in the garden outside. The entire restaurant has about 6 tables. They could not accommodate our party of 7 all at one table, so we had to occupy 2 of their tables. A fun adventure to be sure.

The biggest disappointment was Cucina Biazzi, which I read a lot of good things about on Chowhound. I thought the food at this place was mediocre at best. I would definitely not go back. If you love Italian food and are selective about it, I would not recommend this restaurant.

Ashland is great. Wish I were back there now.

Nice report. We really enjoyed our meal at Peerless a couple of weeks ago. Last summer we had a bad experience at Cucina Biazzi. We were offered a complimentary meal, but haven't made it back yet, maybe when we're back in Ashland in a few days.

Sounds like you saw a lot of nice plays. We had a nice meal (but horrid service) at Quinz last month. I want to try Larks, the new restaurant at the Ashland Springs Hotel next time. We also really like Chateaulin right in downtown Ashland for a cozy French meal. I agree, Ashland is a great little place to spend some time. ***kim***

Can't wait until we arrive July 28, seeing a total of 7 shows. We passed on Love's Labor's Lost and Dr. Faustus, and The Philanderer just ended its run. So we have five to see you missed! Sure a lot of choices.

Is the place in Talent open for lunch? We couldn't do dinner since we have shows each night, but might be able to do lunch and be back for a 2 PM matinee. Sounds sort of fun.

Hi Patrick! Sammy's is only open for dinner on Thurs.-Sun. from 5-9. There are only six tables and I hear it books up pretty fast in the summer months. 541-535-2779 is the phone number for the restaurant. Have a great time in Ashland! ***kim***

Thanks for the report! I'm glad to hear a good opinion on Twelfth Night and LLL since we're seeing them, too.

Thanks for the restaurant reviews too - its seems that there's always something new to enjoy along with the old reliables like Chateaulin.

Note to Patrick: If you see a group of 5 adults and 2 kids bickering over whose seat is whose, that'll be us ;-)

Andother vote of thanks for the report and recommendations, daria.

dsquared, How old are your kids, and are they going to the plays with you? I'm trying to remember if there were many kids in the audience the last time we saw plays in Ashland. Right now, my teenage daughter isn't too excited at the prospect of going. I think we're seeing the same plays as you.

I live in Ashland and have seen seven plays so far. My favorites have been Twelfth Night and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, but there really isn't a bad play this year.
I almost hate to post this restaurant recommendation, as I fear it may become flooded with tourists. Many locals would agree with me that perhaps the best restaurant in Ashland is Lela's, located in the railroad district on A Street. Really a creative menu-the dinner menu changes monthly. It is open for both lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. It is far enough from the theaters to remain undiscovered by tourists yet, but is often filled with locals.

Hi beachbum!

My nephew is 13 and my niece is 10. It will be a first Ashland trip for my niece, but my nephew has been there for each of the past two seasons. They are both going to Twelfth Night and LLL; we also picked Room Service especially for them. Several of the adults will be going to see Faustus.

I can never tell what teens will like, but I think the experience of seeing a play in the outdoor theatre is memorable, even if the average teen doesn't seem enthusiastic about it at the time!

Enjoy!

Hey thanks, dsquared,

Yeah, isn't that the way it always is with teenagers? You practically have to drag them to these kinds of things, then they rave about them for days afterwards. I just don't want my daughter to be disruptive to other playgoers.

And thanks for trusting us with Lela's, renaissanceman. I promise not to let you know if we go there!

daria, tonight I had dinner with friends -- a professional stage director and his actress wife. They just returned from their annual trip to Ashland where they saw ALL the current plays. Funny, but they mentioned that The Philanderer is the worst production they have ever seen at Ashland, and Dr. Faustus was a close second. They loved the rest, but raved about Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as being the best thing they've ever seen there. I can't wait now for that as well as others, and even more happy we aren't seeing Philanderer or Dr. Faustus. They also think it was a particularly good production of Twelfth Night.

Hi all,

About kids at the theaters, we saw a lot of children at LLL and Twelfth Night which makes sense as those were the comedies I saw. I believe the kids we saw were in the age range of 8 and up. Don't recall seeing any at the other plays. I definitely wouldn't recommend taking kids to see Richard III. I read the play beforehand (since I hadn't read it before) and I think I would have had trouble understanding it otherwise. Dr. Faustus had trouble hanging together for most of the adults in our party, so I wouldn't suggest that for children either. See comments above about The Philanderer.

Although I didn't see Ma Rainy, my parents did and they really loved it. They also saw Gibralter and liked that a lot too.

kimamom, we ate lunch at Lark's outside on the sidewalk and really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful place to sit. I had a cream of tomato soup that was really good and a half a grilled cheese that was ok. My husband had something he really liked, although I can't remember what it was.

Patick, are you seeing Belle's Stratagem? I really wanted to see that, but it wasn't starting until after we left. If you do, please report on it.

Yes, indeed. Eighteenth Century British comedies are my favorites, and I actually studied this one in a course in college, but have never had the change to see it. I jumped when I saw it on this year's list.

Also looking forward to Napoli Milionaria. But my friends said despite being a very good play, did not get the best production.

Funny thing. We'll be traveling with friends for 12 days. On our final night -- the twelfth night -- we see Twelfth Night. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

Wanted to let Patrick, etc. in on my personal opinions of the plays i have seen in Ashland this year. I agree Napoli Millionaria is a good play, but is one of the few Ashland productions that I felt did not do justice to the play. Dr. Faustus is a mediocre play, but is done very well. See it if you have a desire to see a Marlowe play, but otherwise it can be missed. Room Service is just a farce, but it is good for some laughs. Not a memorable play, however. Richard III is well worth seeing. I happened to like the last version in the 90s with Marco Barricelli, but this one is also very good and really emphasizes the comedy and the role of the women. Haven't seen Love labor's Lost. The two best, as i said before in my humble opinion, are Twelfth Night and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Don't miss these two. Twelfth Night is always entertaining, and this one is no exception. Ma Rainey is not only a great play, but it is done superbly. Saw Belle's Strategem as a reading a couple of years ago, and it also promises to be top notch. Enjoy what you see!

therenaissanceman:

Thanks for reminding me of the 90's Richard! That was a terrific production, wasn't it?