Oregon Shakespeare Festival Opens Its 74th Year On 2/20-22

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its 74th year the weekend of February 20-22 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Elizabethan Stage. In honor of that milestone, OSF is dedicating the 2009 season to principal theatre and scenic designer, Richard L. Hay, acknowledging his creative work that spans more than 50 years at OSF and includes the design of all three theatre spaces, beginning with the current Elizabethan Stage in 1959, half a century ago.

"I am deeply moved as I reflect on the achievement and commitment of our extraordinary theater artist, Richard Hay," OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch said, "whose dedication to our artform and to OSF is an inspiration to all of us. The remarkable spaces he designed allow for a connection between actors and audiences that make OSF's theater experience unique and richly satisfying. And he remains an unstoppable creative force, designing scenery for two world premiere adaptations this season: The Servant of Two Masters and Don Quixote."

The 2009 season opens at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 20, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre on the battlefields of Scotland with William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth, directed by guest artist Gale Edwards.

On Saturday, February 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, theatergoers will have the opportunity to see the rarely produced Death and the King's Horseman,, written by Nigeria's Nobel Laureate playwright Wole Soyinka and directed by Goodman Theatre resident artist Chuck Smith.

At 8:00 p.m. that evening, audiences will be treated to Meredith Willson's classic American musical The Music Man, directed by Rauch.

The final opening of the weekend is Sarah Ruhl's comic tale Dead Man's Cell Phone, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, February 22 in the New Theatre, directed by guest artist Christopher Liam Moore.

Later this season OSF will open seven more plays on its three stages. Also playing in the Angus Bowmer Theatre is the world premiere production of Bill Cain's Equivocation, directed by Rauch (opening April 18); and Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost,, directed by OSF artistic director emerita Libby Appel (July 25).

Opening in the New Theatre on March 28 is Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters, adapted by Oded Gross and TraCy Young and directed by Young; and William Shakespeare's All's Well that Ends Well will open July 4 under the direction of Amanda Dehnert.

Productions on the Elizabethan Stage open the weekend of June 12-14. Kicking off the outdoor season is Shakespeare's spectacular Henry VIII, directed by John Sipes, who last directed King John in the New Theatre.

A new adaptation by Octavio Solis of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's Don Quixote will be open Saturday night and is directed by OSF veteran Laird Williamson.

One of Shakespeare's favorite comedies, Much Ado about Nothing, will open on Sunday night under the direction of Kate Buckley, who directed the wildly popular The Taming of the Shrew in 2007.

OSF's 2009 season runs from February 13 until November 1, offering 784 performances of 11 productions. The season is sponsored by US Bank. This year OSF celebrates with US Bank its 20th year as a Production Sponsor, beginning with the 1989 production of Cyrano de Bergerac to this season's production of Macbeth.

Macbeth (February 13 - November 1) by William Shakespeare

Lead Sponsor: US Bank; Production Sponsor: The Chautauqua Guild; Production Partners: James Morrison Collier, Amy and Mort Friedkin, Mrs. Donald Hare

The Scottish play is not for the faint of heart. Brutal, bloody and often deemed accursed, the play deals with the question of kingship and heirs, witches and demonology, love, sex and murder, and the Gunpowder Plot. It is believed that the play was written to honor James I and was performed in court in 1606 before the King. It was not performed again until 1611, perhaps because James feared the presentation of an assassination of a king and, quite likely, the incantations of the witches.

Directed by award-winning director Gale Edwards, the play is a must see for its language, its plots, its twists and turns, but also because it is linked closely with Bill Cain's world premiere Equivocation, opening at OSF on April 18. If Shakespeare was commissioned by King James to write a play about the Gunpowder Plot, as Cain posits, what would Shakespeare do? Is Macbeth the play? These two plays in conversation with each other, and with Henry VIII, the King responsible for centuries of religious persecution in England and creating an environment where a Gunpowder Plot could occur, will have audiences buzzing.

The cast of Macbeth features 24 actors and includes Peter Macon as Macbeth, Robin Goodrin Nordli as Lady Macbeth, Kevin Kenerly as Macduff, Rex Young as Banquo, Jeany Park as Lady Macduff, Jeremy Peter Johnson as Malcolm, and Josiah Phillips as the Porter. A complete cast list is located here in the Artist section.

Scenic design is by guest artist Scott Bradley; costumes by guest designer Murell Horton, lighting by guest artist Mark McCollough and music by resident composer Todd Barton. Lue Morgan Douthit is dramaturg; Bonnie Raphael is voice & text director; and Shana Cooper and Linda Alper are assistant directors.

Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka (February 14 - July 5)

Production Partner: American Express; Community Partner: The Black Student Union of Southern Oregon University

Based on an incident in 1946 Nigeria, Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka's great African tragedy is set against the backdrop of a colonial mindset and the vibrant Yoruba culture. According to ritual practice, Elesin, the king's horseman must die 30 days after the king's death to accompany him into the other world. At the market place, the Praise-Singer reminds Elesin of his responsibilities, but Elesin is distracted by a beautiful woman. He wishes to marry her and fulfill his physical desire before he dies. That decision to postpone his responsibility sets in motion a tragic chain of events.

This production is directed by Chuck Smith who had the opportunity to see the American premiere of this play in 1979, and is thrilled to be making his debut at OSF with Death and the King's Horseman. Filled with color and music, this production will feature live drummers including Adebisi Adeleke, a Nigerian born into a lineage of professional Praise Talking Drummers. He is a fourth generation Master Drummer who learned the art from his father.

The cast of 15 features Derrick Lee Weeden as Elesin, G. Valmont Thomas as Praise-Singer, Perri Gaffney as Iyaloja, Ryan Anderson as Olunde, Rex Young as Simon Pilkings, Emily Sophia Knapp as Jane Pilkings, Tyrone Wilson as Joseph, and Tumaini Rivera as the Bride.

Scenic design is by guest artist Linda Buchanan; costumes are by guest artist Lydia Tanji; lighting by guest artist Alexander V. Nichols; composer is Michael Keck; Olusegun Ojewuyi is dramaturg; Evamarii Johnson is voice & text director; and Sheri Williams Pannell is assistant director.

The Music Man (February 15 - November 1) Book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson; Story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey

Lead Sponsor: Peter and Helen Bing; Production Sponsor: Mrs. John D. Banks; Production Partners: Katie and Sandy Farewell, James Morrison Collier, Julie Strasser Dixon and Rocky Dixon, Oregon Cultural Trust; Community Partner: Ashland City Band

Bill Rauch has had a dream to direct The Music Man for a very long time, and he's delighted to present this production that reveals and celebrates the transformative power of art. This American musical classic will be presented OSF style, with a pared down orchestra (but in a pit!), and with those same joyous iconic musical numbers. River City's folks still have that chip-on-a-shoulder attitude when Harold Hill steps off the train with a great scam...to teach the town's children music and to bilk the parents, but much to his surprise, and everyone else's, Hill colors the town with openhearted possibility and finds love in the process.

The cast of 29 (and six musicians) features Michael Elich as Harold Hill, Gwendolyn Mulamba as Marian Paroo, Richard Elmore as Mayor Shinn, Linda Alper as Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn, Demetra Pittman as Mrs. Paroo, Howie Seago as Marcellus Washburn, John Pribyl as Charlie Cowell and numerous others! A complete cast list of his production is located at this link in the artists section.

Choreography is by Darren Lee; scenic design by Rachel Hauck; costumes by Shigeru Yaji; lighting by Geoff Korf; music direction by Daniel Gary Busby, assisted by Darcy Danielson; sound design by Jeremy J. Lee. Lydia G. Garcia is dramaturg on the project, and Scott Kaiser is voice & text director.

Dead Man's Cell Phone (February 19-June 19) by Sarah Ruhl

Production Partners: The Darling Family in Memory of William G. Darling, POP

Sarah Ruhl, one of America's hottest new playwrights, has created a comic film-noir odyssey that crisscrosses life and death, isolation and connection, what's real and what's not. And it all begins with a cell phone that won't stop ringing. It turns out the owner of the cell phone is dead, and so in one impulsive move, Jean picks up. Her fateful act dials her deeply into the dead man's mysterious business and his insanely eccentric family, and her introverted life is catapulted into unexpected flowering. Guest artist Christopher Liam Moore directs this funny, off-center and magical tale.

The cast features Sarah Agnew as Jean, Jeffrey King as Gordon (the dead man), Miriam A. Laube, Brent Hinkley, Terri McMahon, Catherine E. Coulson, Khatt Taylor, Tishuan Scott and Alex Yochim.

Associate Artistic Director Christopher Acebo has designed the set. Costumes are by Alex Jaeger, lighting design by Lonnie Alcaraz and music by Paul James Prendergast. Lydia G. Garcia is dramaturg and Evamarii Johnson is voice & text director. Sheri Williams Pannell is assistant director.

Tickets remain available to previews and most opening performances. Patrons can save 40 percent on preview tickets. We invite you to check ticket availability online or call the Box Office at (541) 482-4331 or (800) 219-8161. Of special note, this season all "C" tickets are $20 for all performances. Preview and opening times and dates are as follows:

Macbeth Friday, Feb. 13, 8 p.m. (preview)
Macbeth Tuesday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m. (preview)
Macbeth Friday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m. (opening)
Death and the King's Horseman Saturday, Feb. 14, 8 p.m. (preview)
Death and the King's Horseman Wednesday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m. (preview)
Death and the King's Horseman Saturday, Feb. 21, 1:30 p.m. (opening)
The Music Man Sunday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m. (preview)
The Music Man Thursday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m. (preview)
The Music Man Saturday, Feb. 21, 8 p.m. (opening)
Dead Man's Cell Phone Tuesday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m. (preview)
Dead Man's Cell Phone Thursday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m. (preview)
Dead Man's Cell Phone Friday, Feb. 22, 1:30 p.m. (opening)