Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Easter Edition
I bought my tickets for the 2010 season of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last year, but I didn't really have a plan for who I was going with. The date was getting closer, and I decided to ask my mom if she was interested in flying out to join me. She had a little time before taking a bus with the twins and their classmates to their robotics competition, so she said yes and rushed to book her flight. It ended up being a really fun trip that perhaps we'll repeat again!
The funny way that weather works, Mom left 80 degree, sunny weather in Indiana and flew to the Pacific Northwest, which welcomed her with 40 degree weather with rain and wind. (Thankfully the hail stopped before she landed) I took the day off Friday and we drove to Portland, where we attempted to raise our spirits by looking for flowers in the Portland Japanese Gardens. Now, the Japanese would never let their flowers get out of control, but there were still some nice ones to look at, and the design of the gardens was nice. We also stopped by the nearby Rose Garden, but those hadn't bloomed yet. Walked around the Portland waterfront for awhile, made a long stop at Powell's, where we both walked out with books (how can you not?), and then headed to Eugene to spend the night there.
I'd already picked out the plays before I knew my mom was coming, so they weren't the best fit in the world, but I think she enjoyed them for the most part. Our first one was "Pride & Prejudice," a very appropriate choice, though it's always going to be hard for me to appreciate any adaptation more than the BBC miniseries. That evening, we had Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," over 3 hours with two intermissions, starting at 8pm! Fortunately, it was a wonderful play with some amazing actors playing the leads. A lot of powerful, raw emotion, and all done very believably. That is one messed up family, though. The last play of the weekend was called "Well," a more non-traditional play dealing with issues like sickness/wellness and racial integration. There was a lot of jumping between scenes from the main character's past, a play within a play, etc., which kept things entertaining, but it was also a little hard to understand what the point was.
Sunday, the weather cleared up a bit, so we enjoyed nice countryside views between Ashland and Portland, where my mom caught a flight back to the Midwest. But not before we stopped for oysters! I found an oyster bar serving some Cajun food, so we enjoyed oysters on the half shell, shrimp etouffee, and an oyster po-boy. There was no shortage of good food on this trip... we found a nice restaurant in Ashland for a pre-show dinner as well.
I'm really liking my trips down for the festival, and the plays haven't been disappointing so far. By purchasing so far in advance, I'm able to get the cheap $20 seats, so it works out to be a good value. Next trip is planned for August... who's joining me? :)