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THEATER Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens 2016 season Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 3:41 PM Updated Feb 17, 2016 at 3:44 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 3:41 PM Updated Feb 17, 2016 at 3:44 PM --> 2016 Oregon Shakespeare Festival 'Twelfth Night' Illyria is a topsy-turvy place full of romantics and eccentrics. At least that’s how it seems to Viola, who&rsquo... » Read more X 2016 Oregon Shakespeare Festival 'Twelfth Night' Illyria is a topsy-turvy place full of romantics and eccentrics. At least that’s how it seems to Viola, who’s been cast adrift in this merry world. Out of necessity, she disguises herself as a boy. Time eventually sorts it all out, but not before Viola and everyone around her are bewitched, bothered and bewildered. This production sets the comedy in a tune-filled 1930s Hollywood. Christopher Liam Moore directs. The show previews at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, and Tuesday, Feb. 23, opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and runs through Oct. 30 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. 'Great Expectations' Young Pip hasn’t had it easy — orphaned early, knocked about by a bad-tempered sister and headed for a life of hard labor. A terrifying encounter in a graveyard and a summons to meet the eccentric Miss Havisham complicate matters. But when a mysterious benefactor sends him to London to become a gentleman, his dreams come true. Or do they? Charles Dickens’ thrilling tale comes to life in Penny Metropulos' and Linda Alpers' adaptation of the classic novel. Metropulos directs. The show previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, and Wednesday, Feb. 24, opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and runs through Oct. 30 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. 'The River Bride' Helena is dreading her sister’s wedding. The groom, Duarte, should have been hers. And she knows that her sister, Belmira, only wants to escape their quiet Brazilian town for a new life in the city. But three days before the wedding, fishermen pull a mysterious stranger out of the river — a man with no past who offers both sisters an alluring, possibly dangerous future in Marisela Trevino Orta's heartrending tale of love, grudges and transformation. Laurie Woolery directs. The show previews at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, and Thursday, Feb. 25, opens at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, and runs through July 7 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. 'The Yeomen of the Guard' How do you save a good man who’s wrongly accused and facing the ax in 24 hours? That’s how high the stakes are in W.S. Gilbert's and Arthur Sullivan’s funny, pun-filled musical that mines a richer emotional world than the duo’s other comic operettas. This premiere adaptation by Sean Graney, Andra Velis Simon and Matt Kahler is inspired by classic country and western music. Graney directs. The show previews at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Feb. 24-26, opens at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and runs through Oct. 30 in the Thomas Theatre. Tickets are $30 to $123, with discounts for previews, and can be purchased online at osfashland.org, by calling 800-219-8161, or at the box office, 15 S. Pioneer St., Ashland. » Social News The new Oregon Shakespeare Festival season is heavy on the Shakespeare. With the world marking the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, five Shakespeare plays are in OSF’s 2016 season — almost double last season’s total of three. The season's previews begin Friday, Feb. 19, with a production of Shakespeare’s gender-bending comedy “Twelfth Night,” directed by Christopher Liam Moore, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. Joining “Twelfth Night” are three premieres: An adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" starts previews Saturday, Feb. 20, and Marisela Treviño Orta’s “The River Bride” starts previews Sunday, Feb. 21, in the Bowmer Theatre. A new take on Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Yoeman of the Guard" starts previews Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the intimate Thomas Theatre. The 2016 season opens Friday, Feb. 26. OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch says the festival is dedicating this season to the memory of actor Catherine Coulson, who died in September after many years with OSF. “As devastating as her loss is personally and artistically, her light shone so brilliantly that it will continue to inspire us for many years to come,” Rauch said in a press release. In addition to "Twelfth Night," other Shakespeare plays on tap in 2016 are “Hamlet,” “The Winter’s Tale,” “Richard II” and “Timon of Athens.” The season also includes Lisa Loomer’s “Roe,” a drama concerned with the landmark Roe v. Wade case, Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone,” a comedy about young Vietnamese immigrants in the '70s, and “The Wiz,” the musical that put an African-American spin on the Oz story and won seven Tony awards on Broadway. Playgoers will see some changes in the Bowmer on entering the lobby. An elevator has been installed, giving access to the auditorium and the wheelchair seating. Other tweaks to the building are wider hallways and a wheelchair-accessible restroom. The changes are the first phase of a two-year project with a goal of completing changes to “the bricks” — the area between OSF’s administrative offices and its theaters — by February of next year. “Twelfth Night,” which director Moore calls “as close to a perfect play as has ever been written,” is the story of Viola, who washes up in Illyria and disguises herself as the boy Sebastian to work for a nobleman who thinks he’s in love with the noble Olivia before the sex roles get complicated. Moore has set the tale in 1930s Hollywood. “And 1930s Hollywood is one of my favorite time periods in terms of the phenomenally beautiful fashion styles that we have not equaled since, and the great films and movie stars of that period,” Moore said in the press release. Sara Bruner plays Viola and Sebastian. Ted Deasy is Malvolio, with Gina Daniels as Olivia and Elijah Alexander as Orsino. Set design is by Christopher Acebo, with costumes by Susan Tsu. Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Yeoman of the Guard” will be seen in a new adaptation by Sean Graney — who also is directing, along with Andra Velis Simon and Matt Kahler. Graney’s Chicago-based theater company, The Hypocrites, has a reputation for zany productions of Gilbert and Sullivan. This time out, they’ll turn OSF’s black box — the Thomas Theatre — into a country-and-western spectacular complete with promenade tickets that will seat those who buy them on some of the scenery or props on the stage. About 70 such tickets will be sold for each performance. The heart of the story is about a good man who’s been wrongly convicted and is facing execution in 24 hours. Other elements of the tale are unrequited love, a prison break and a plethora of world-class puns. Jeremy Peter Johnson is Fairfax, with Joseph Anthony Foronda as Major Merril and Anthony Heald as Deputy Dick Chumlee. Scenic design is by Regina Garcia, with costumes by Alison Siple. Longtime OSF stalwarts Penny Metropulos and Linda Alper have adapted Dickens’ “Great Expectations” for the stage. Metropulos also directs. It’s the story of orphan Pip and his involvement with the eccentric Miss Havisham, the convict Magwitch and all the other Dickens characters. “There’s almost nothing I’d rather see than a Dickens story,” Alper said in the press release. Benjamin Bonenfant plays Pip, Judith-Marie Bergan is Miss Havisham, Nemuna Ceesay is Estella, Derrick Lee Weeden plays Magwitch and Al Espinosa portrays Joe Gargery. Scenic design is by Collette Pollard, with costumes by Deborah M. Dryden. OSF’s premiere production of “The River Bride,” directed by Laura Woolery, is just the second professional production of a play by the up-and-coming Treviño Orta. The play is a modern fairy tale in which Helena dreads the wedding of her sister, Belmira, to the man who should have been hers, knowing that Belmira merely wants to escape their village in Brazil for life in the big city. Then there’s a legend that dolphins from the river magically turn into handsome young men at certain times. Nancy Rodriguez plays Helena, with Jamie Ann Romero as Belmira, Armando McClain as Moises and Vilma Silva as Senora Costa. Mariana Sanchez has designed the scenery, and costumes are by Raquel Barreto. Orta, who grew up in Texas but has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last 13 years, described the play as “a fairly tale for adults.” She earned an Master of Fine Art in poetry but later switched to playwrighting. She said she’s used to having her plays produced in little theaters. “It’s wonderful to find myself at OSF,” she said. “I don’t even have an agent.” Tickets range from $30 to $123, with discounts for previews. Call the box office at 800 219-8161 or visit osfashland.org . By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 3:41 PM Updated Feb 17, 2016 at 3:44 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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