Colorado Shakespeare Festival — Attraction in Boulder

First, I love the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. I'll tell you all the good stuff in must a minute, but first I've got to get a growing concern off my chest.

In recent years, the plays have been straying quite a bit from the traditional -- last year, two of the four plays for season ticket holders were not even Shakespeare plays, and of the two Shakespeare plays, one was set in the 1900's so, really, only one of the four plays could be considered "traditional Shakespeare". (And the only traditional Shakespeare play were not performed in the outdoor theater, which is too bad.) There's just a bit too much experimentation going on.

Okay. Beef complete. Now back to what I love...

I haven't been to many Shakespeare venues, and my favorite will always be the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, but this one is definitely one I look forward to each year. The performers, particularly the leads, are always top-notch, if not world-class. Because minor roles are often filled locally, there is some variance there, but ALL of them do a heck of a lot better job than I would.

They use two theaters for performances. The best one, the Mary Rippon stage, is outdoors and just a wonderful venue. The other is indoors and it is fine, but nothing special. I highly recommend seeing a play in the Mary Rippon is you're going for the first time.

There is a large, grassy, shaded quad that abuts both theaters, and a lot of people bring picnic lunches or dinners to enjoy before the play. Be warned that alcohol is technically prohibited but if you are careful they don't look too carefully, and there is also a beer/wine garden if you want to imbibe legal.

This is a great thing to do if you live in the area, and a great thing to take out-of-town guests to if they like...

Really enjoyed the evening! We saw Much Ado About Nothing. All the actors/actresses were great, but Benedick and the constable were particularly funny and well done.

Fun experience to sit outside, and they give you backrest seats that make the stone bench seating much more comfortable. We were seated more toward the back and didn't have any issue with the view.

Depending on where you park, you'll have to walk around some buildings and then go into a building to get to the outdoor theater, so be sure to take a look at the map on their website to make it easier.

Also, you will have to pay for parking; I suggest paying for 3 hours so you don't have to worry about it. I initially paid for less than that which wasn't enough, but luckily I had taken a picture of the sign in the parking lot and could add time via the website without having to leave in...

5th year of getting season tickets!

The Mary Rippon Outdoor Theater is an awesome place to spend a summer evening watching a play.

The play and the actors therein was presented in very professional manner.

[2020: For a rather obscure play such as Love's Labor's Lost, which contains a lot of play on words, it would be wise to study up a bit before attending.

Only negative to be said was that beer was rather expensive at $7 a can!]

The most recent performance (August 2023) I attended was King Lear, which is a drama.

In Shakespeare's time, men played all the roles, including those of female characters. It seems of late that many productions, including this one, make it a point to cast women in the male roles!

To say the least, I am not particularly a fan of such casting!

Regardless, it still is was a pleasant night...