Romance can be the thing for theater lovers headed to Ashland

Ashland, Oregon, has a reputation as an ideal vacation spot for the theatrically inclined. It is, after all, home to the 83-year-old Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

What's less known is that the Southern Oregon town is also a fine place for romance, boasting scenic splendors, romantic restaurants and even mineral springs, which were the town's main attraction before the plays were the thing.

This season, the folks at the festival, which offers 11 shows running in repertory from February to October, seem to have romance on their minds, too.

“Romeo and Juliet” — one of the Western world’s most familiar love stories — is among the offerings, along with “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” the only Shakespeare play with “love” in the title. And even "Henry V," a history play about a time of unending war, includes both a proposal and a wedding.

Among the non-Shakespeare selections are a gender-bending take on “Oklahoma,” the feel-good classic about love and lust on the frontier; an adaptation of Jane Austen's marriage-minded “Sense and Sensibility;” and the delightfully sudsy musical “Destiny of Desire,” a hilarious telenovela takeoff in which virtually every character is involved in a love triangle or rectangle or even pentagon.

Of course, not all of the on-stage romance ends happily. (Besides the star-crossed “Romeo and Juliet,” the festival is doing a version of “Othello" in which the title character has been re-envisioned as one of the lost boys of Sudan.)

But there’s a good chance a long weekend (or even a week) of romance in Ashland will.

Here’s one formula for a trip for two:

• A play or two (or more). The light and fluffy “Destiny of Desire” has been getting raves, but you might want to stay away from it if your relationship bears much resemblance to a soap opera. The joyous “Oklahoma,” which takes a benign view of the none-too-moral Ado Andy (the gay revision of the original’s Ado Annie), is a safer bet for those who thrive on drama and should be on the list of those hankering for an inclusive romance.

However, none of those are in the open-air Elizabethan Theater, a re-creation of the kind of theater in which the bard’s work was meant to be performed. Seeing a play in the grand theater is a real highlight of any trip to Ashland, although a few performances have been canceled or cut short in recent summers due to poor air quality from forest fires.

This season’s outdoor options are the aforementioned “Romeo & Juliet” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost” along with “The Book of Will,” a world-premiere comedy about the First Folio that the festival’s website calls “a love letter to theater and the printed word.”

• A romantic dinner or two (or more). Alchemy Restaurant (35 S. Second St., Ashland; 541-488-1115) has a creative menu, a lovely garden view and servers who give excellent wine recommendations. Local favorite Cucina Biazzi (568 E. Main St., Ashland; 541-488-3739) serves a multicourse Italian feast and has a sweet patio for times when the weather is hot but not too hot. In nearby Talent, New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro (2210 S. Pacific Hwy.; 541-535-2779) pairs kitschy décor with outstanding food made with local and organic ingredients.

• A glass of wine or two (or maybe more, but not all at once). Vineyards abound in the surrounding Applegate Valley. In 2016, Wine Enthusiast named Ashland among the top 10 best wine-travel destinations in the world. Two to try: Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden (1665 Eastside Road, Jacksonville; 541-899-6876), worth the drive for its biodynamic Rhone-style wines, and Irvine and Roberts (1614 Emigrant Creek Road, Ashland; 541-482-9383), which has an emphasis on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and a splendid view.

Add some leisurely strolls in Ashland’s famed Lithia Park (59 Winburn Way, Ashland; 541-488-5340) and through its historic neighborhoods, a dip in the hot springs at Jackson Wellsprings (2253 Hwy. 99, Ashland; 541-482-3776) and maybe a stop at Love Revolution (383 E. Main St., Ashland; 541-201-2060), an upscale shop for sexy stuff from basic to blushworthy.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 7:37 AM.