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OSF 2023 season will include ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘The Three Musketeers,’ ‘Rent’ By Tempo staff Updated: Nov 03, 2022 11:02 AM A A Open to the sky, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre seats 1,200 people. Featured in the photo is the 2017 set and ensemble in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Photo by Kim Budd. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, during its 2023 season, will celebrate groundbreaking artists shaping the future of American theater. Artistic Director Nataki Garrett’s future-facing vision for theater is embodied in the season’s mix of new plays and musicals, reinvented classics, and immersive technology projects. “The 2022 season was about recovery and rebuilding,”said Garrett in a press release. “The 2023 season is about reimagining, revitalizing, and reinvigorating ... We are reimagining the future of theatre. We are reinvigorating the intersection between artist and audience by empowering the artist to create transformative experiences and by providing access for audiences to engage with powerful storytelling both in person and through our O! Digital Stage.” With affordable ticket prices and new initiatives on the O! Digital Stage, audiences will have more access than ever to the OSF theatrical experience. 2023 season “Romeo and Juliet” By William Shakespeare One of the most famous stories of young love explodes with intense passion in this contemporary production—as two star-crossed lovers from two different families and backgrounds sacrifice all to be together. Artistic Director Nataki Garrett sets her first Shakespeare production at OSF on the West Coast and explores the financial and class divisions of our current time through this beloved tale. Directed by Nataki Garrett. Performances are scheduled to run from April 18 through October 15, 2023, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. “Rent” Book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson In this Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, a group of young artists fights for justice and visibility during the AIDS crisis, drawing strength from the beautiful bonds of friendship and chosen family. With its profound message of joy and hope in the face of uncertainty, this iconic musical reminds us to measure our lives with what truly matters—love. Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene. This musical is scheduled to run from April 19 through Oct. 14, 2023, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. “Twelfth Night” By William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s hilarious yet heartbreaking tale of unrequited love takes over the Allen Elizabethan stage! A ship is wrecked on the rocks: Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother Sebastian is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. In a production by Dawn Monique Williams (The Merry Wives of Windsor) inspired by early Blues and Jazz greats like Bessie Smith, music is the food of love and nobody is quite what they seem. Directed by Dawn Monique Williams. Performances are scheduled to run from June 1 through Oct. 13, 2023, in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. “The Three Musketeers” Inspired by Alexandre Dumas, written by Kirsten Childs An inspiring tale filled with laughter and adventure, The Three Musketeers is a reminder to all that courage, honesty, and valor can change the world. Kirsten Childs’s adaptation finds its inspiration in the oft-ignored fact that writer Alexandre Dumas was of French-Haitian heritage, and award-winning director Kent Gash (The Comedy of Errors) playfully mixes swagger and swashbuckle with his all-Black cast. Directed by Kent Gash. Presented in association with The Acting Company. Performances are scheduled to run from May 31 through Oct. 14, 2023, in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre “Where We Belong” Written and performed by Madeline Sayet In 2015, Mohegan theatre- maker Madeline Sayet moves to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave, as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, she finds comfort in the journeys of her Native ancestors who had to cross the ocean in the 1700s to help her people. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece, Madeline asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world. This production marks the OSF directing debut of Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Work Mei Ann Teo. Directed by Mei Ann Teo. Presented by OSF and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in association with Folger Shakespeare Library. Performances are scheduled to run from August 24 through Oct. 15, 2023, in the Thomas Theatre. “To Feel A Thing — A Ritual for Emergence” By adrienne maree brown, in collaboration with Troy Anthony This is the world premiere of “To Feel A Thing — A Ritual for Emergence” by internationally renowned author and poet adrienne maree brown (“Emergent Strategy,” “Pleasure Activism”) in collaboration with Troy Anthony, composer and Artistic Director of the Fire Ensemble. Featuring a large choir and gospel band, these songs and sacred acts are rooted in the values and lessons found in brown’s book “Emergent Strategy” and invites listeners to find their own transformation and liberation as we explore the question “How can we get in a right relationship with change?” Commissioned by OSF and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This musical is planned to hit the Allen Elizabethan Theatre stage during the fall season of 2023. “It’s Christmas, Carol!” By Mark Bedard, Brent Hinkley, and John Tufts On Christmas Eve, three ghosts take miserly businesswoman Carol Scroogenhouse through time and space to reckon with how she’s abandoned humanity for hollow capitalism. Whisked to a Shakespearean theatre, a prehistoric holiday celebration, and a Zombie future, will Carol find her soul with the help of these apparitions? Featuring hilarious songs from the twisted minds of your favorite OSF clowns, this third edition of Carol! promises to be a fun, uplifting, and music-filled romp. Directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Performances are scheduled for November and December, 2023, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. The O! Digital Stage will feature the annual Quills Fest, online watch parties throughout the season, and the Visual Sovereignty Project — a commissioning project for Indigenous artists, among a full slate of ongoing offerings. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is located at 15 S. Pioneer St., Ashland. Tickets for live performances range in price from $35 to $75. Showtimes, ticket prices and information available online at osfashland.org or by calling the OSF Box Office at 800-219-8161.