Austin Gardens — Attraction in Oak Park

Our first visit to Oak Park Austin Gardens on the occasion of the screening of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream turned out to be a half realized dream with August showers playing spoil sport. The park itself is located in the heart of the city and is well maintained. There are limited roadside parking but a wonderful paid parking lot just opposite the park.

The organizers are very well equipped to handle the crowd, organized and meticulous, in making the visitors' time very efficient. There are 3 permanent restrooms by the building and 2 more temporary but well-built modernized toilets, unlike those horrible port-a-johns. These toilets are better than even airline toilets.

Our experience was totally worth the price of the tickets. Though there was a light drizzle towards the end of the first part of the play, the play continued. However, after intermission, the showers were a bit more pronounced, and we made our way back. Though we read it later via email that the second part was canceled and a rain check issued, the people gathered there were well equipped for the eventuality. They had not only brought food and drinks, but the whole apparatuses like personal folding tables and coolers, warmers, jackets, ponchos, umbrellas, and other stuff to protect themselves from the elements. Even though the temperature was a good 73 degrees, the park, being an open space, was considerably cooler around 68.

We expect to go back for the second half of the play. We even got to see a rainbow...

If you like Shakespeare even a little, or like outdoor theatre, or just like sitting in a park on beautiful summer evenings, RUN - do not walk - to see the Oak Park Festival Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. I have seen this performed over a dozen times in different formats, and this one may be the most fun riff I have ever seen.

The whole production is wild - flipping back and forth from the poignancy of forbidden love encapsulated in that lovely Shakespearean prose to corny joking and ridiculous costumes. There are plenty of cringe-worthy moments, but somehow in a good way. And then you bounced right back into the severe dilemma these young lovers and their respective posses face. It is deliciously cathartic. There is so much happening so fast that I am sure I missed enough that I am reading the play before I go back to see the performance again before the run ends, on August 17th.

The cast is great, but Juliet - played by Rachel J. Jones - (please pardon the cliche here) STEALS THE SHOW. She may be the best, most fun, most engaging Juliet I personally have ever seen.

This show is a must-see for Summer 2024. Bravo to the OPFT team for this wonderful...

My brother and I went here to see Shakespeare in the Park. The play was The Tempest. We saw the 1st professional show in the Chicago area since the state reopened after the 2020 pandemic. It was a beautiful summer night. There was a cool breeze. Fabulous night to be outside. The stage was set kind of down hill, this was great because there was no where bad to pick your spot to watch. Very nice people ran the event. My only negative would be they really should have had refreshments. Even if they only had bottled water it would be better than nothing. It’s my fault I didn’t bring anything. The reason I didn’t was because all the events usually sell things. Nice place definitely check it out.

It was at night of course so the only picture I took was the scanner to read...