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OSF, valley get thumbs-up from theater critics National meeting could boost area's tourism By JOHN DARLING ASHLAND - Some 70 theater critics from all around the United States are soaking up theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, rafting the Rogue, shopping historic Jacksonville and going home to write stories that will promote area tourism. The critics, all members of the American Theatre Critics Association, each year combine their annual meeting with an enriching cultural getaway. They last gathered in Ashland in 1985, just after OSF had won its Tony Award as Best Regional Theater. Time magazine then did a story credited with putting OSF on the national theater map. "It's been terrific," said Sherry Eaker, editor of New York's influential Back Stage Magazine, after the group viewed OSF's "Merchant of Venice" and Oregon Cabaret Theatre's "EAT-TV." "It's very professional, very impressive - and this comes from a New Yorker who sees a lot of theater and, like a lot of New Yorkers, is very critical." "It's very impressive," said Glenda Frank, of Melus Magazine, a New York multicultural scholarly publication. "Excellent theater, beautiful surroundings and a very knowledgeable panel of Shakespeare staff today." ACTA members reach an audience of 2 million and are instrumental in Tony awards (OSF can win it only once, however). Critics on Wednesday night saw OSF's "Troilus and Cressida." During the rest of the week, they will see its "Fuddy Meers," "The Tempest" and "Two Sisters and a Piano," said trip organizer Al Reiss, former entertainment editor for the Mail Tribune. Many of the critics double as feature and travel writers and said they planned to write articles describing the region as a destination adventure, said Mary Pat Parker, of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce. One critic, Celia Baker of the Salt Lake City Tribune, said OSF's productions were performed with less intimacy but a more "edgy spirit of adventure" than those by the Utah Shakespeare Festival. "The festival here is a great example of 'build it and they will come.' It's a charming small town that's reached critical mass and maybe become too yuppie-fied," said Larry Bommer, of the Chicago Tribune. Jim Giancarlo, OCT artistic director, said these are the first critics outside the Northwest ever to visit his 16-year old theater. "Hopefully, we'll get some recognition," he said. OSF, one of the sponsors of the visit, hopes the tour will encourage people to put up with the multiple flight changes and the trip over the Rockies, as they learn to consider the Rogue Valley a destination resort, said Amy Richard, OSF media chief. Today the group will meet in Jacksonville Inn for a talk, "Perspectives in Criticism," by Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Chronicle and sponsored by the Mail Tribune. This evening, they will dine at Peerless Hotel and Restaurant in Ashland, with drinks and food catered by a dozen Ashland restaurants and wineries. Friday the critics will have breakfast at McCully House in Jacksonville, attend an association meeting at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, shop Harry and David in Medford and ride a bus to Grants Pass for shopping and a jet boat ride on the Rogue. The ATCA was founded in 1974 by Dan Sullivan of the Los Angeles Times, Henry Hewes of the Saturday Review, Richard L. Coe of the Washington Post and others. Last year's conference was in Louisville, Ky., which was also serving as the home of the Humana Festival of New American Plays. The 2002 conference will be in Chicago. The ATCA holds two meetings a year, the first a mini-meeting in New York City, the second a national meeting at a regional theater. On the Net: [email protected] or americantheatrecritics.org. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.