Allen Elizabethan Theatre - Oregon Shakespeare Festival — Attraction in Ashland

My son and I had tickets for tonight's performance of Jane Eyre. We are traveling from Arkansas, and greatly altered our trip plans to include the performance as part of our trip itinerary. Additionally, we picked this particular performance when there was an equally appealing production tonight at Oregon Cabaret Theater. When we arrived at the theater for tonight's performance everything seemed okay, except for a delay in opening the doors to the theater. Several of the ushers where perplexed by this. Finally, we were allowed to be seated... about 20 minutes late. There were hundreds in attendance for a near sold-out crowd. And then finally, someone came on stage to announce that, "due to an illness in the cast," the performance was canceled. While I certainly understand that "things happen," I am concerned about the treatment of the patrons. I am confident that this was not a last minute discovery. Did the leadership wait until the box office had closed (at 8 pm) to make the announcement? Do they not have understudies? They claim that they do. They waited until it was too late to select a different performance, get a refund on the spot, or to be even able to "speak to someone." Was this intentional? We, the patrons, could have been notified earlier in the day, so that the entire evening was not spoiled for all of us. My son and I were, however, able to drive back to Medford and catch a late movie. The entire way in which this was handled is disrespectful and inconsiderate to the patrons to say the least. I will not be back, nor will I recommend to others.

EDIT: Here is a review from 11 months ago that beautifully speaks to my frustration regarding the way in which tonight's cancellation was handled:

I, much like A LOT, of your patrons today are HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED in the way you conducted business. I got all the way there to see the play, AND IT'S CANCELED??? No email, no communication, I checked the website before leaving for the show, and there was NO ANNOUNCEMENT. I wasted my time and gas all because you can't even let everyone know???...

We were fortunate enough to see the presentation of Much Ado about Nothing in the 2024 season.

The theater is gorgeous. I was there last in probably 1986 as a teen and there have, of course, been significant upgrades. My only tiny complaint is that the theater no longer feels as rustic and open air as it did back then. That complaint, however, clearly defines me as an old man 🙄

The performance was amazing. It included some musical numbers that fit well enough to feel as if they could have been in the original work. The musicians themselves were phenomenal. And the actors did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.

I can not recommend enough seeing shows here. I find it hard to believe you could go wrong with any show you pick in the future and the theater is definitely worth...

We saw Into the Woods The play itself was great. I did however have issues with the facility. Concession prices of course too high. 5.00 bottle of water as an example. Line up for food and bathroom crazy.. Barely made it back after intermission. By biggest issue was the seat design. We were main floor near the back in the middle. I thought by the seat chart I had picked an end row area but it was just a pillar. We were forced to walk all the way to thrle seats which were now in the middle . No row access in case of an emergency. I felt trapped. I did like the set up of the stage and the use of the stage exist was awesome. Stage great. Issues...