After a great breakfast at Tater’s Cafe, we headed off to Ashland OR. We were really looking forward to seeing a Shakespeare play – which neither of us had ever done. We had chosen the classic – Romeo and Juliet.
Along the way we stopped at a few wineries: Hillcrest, Cooper Ridge, and Freed Estate. Along with lunch at Alexander’s Greek Restaurant.
We checked into a super cute B&B called the Mcall House. Built in the late 1800’s by the local mine owner Robert McCall, the house has been fully restored. Its gorgeous. We stayed in the McCall master bedroom. There was a copy of their wedding license dated July 4, 1876 – 100 years to the day after our country was born.
Dinner at Alchemy was scrumptious. Dave had scallops that were cooked perfectly. The restaurant was a 5 minute walk from the theatre. We grabbed some wine, ordered our intermission drinks, and headed into the theatre. At first, we thought we were in the wrong theatre. Rent is also on stage in Ashland right now. The stage was set inside a homeless encampment under a bridge. We should have walked out then before the play even began.
The first half was painfully “woke”. Filled with gun violence, pelvic thrusts, and middle fingers. White against black. Clearly a politically correct message here. And god forbid you not applaud it as you are sure to be ostracized for not appreciating this modern mockery of a classic play. Disgusting. We left at intermission, grabbed our drinks and headed back to the B&B.
We sat in the living room, had our drinks, and discussed how far gone our society seems to be – that this could be considered art. We felt ripped off. When we went back and looked at the Oregon Shakespeare festival website, they described the rendition as “modern” but certainly not “unfit for families” which is what it should have said.