Smithfields

Location: Ashland, Oregon

Food: American/Barbecue

Close to: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Cabaret Theatre

Smithfields’ slogan is “Meat-centric,” but this isn’t an ordinary barbecue joint. Located on a steep hill near the historic Ashland Springs Hotel, Smithfields takes a modern upscale approach to the art of meat. Their menu features some of the great American classics, transformed through careful attention to ingredient quality and the cooking process. Even in a city filled with excellent restaurants, Smithfields stands as one of the most interesting and unique.

The entree menu at Smithfields is split between “Meat,” cuts of meat largely allowed to stand by themselves, and “Developed,” which includes familiar American meat entrees as well as innovative new dishes. Standing out in the former section is a 10-ounce brisket ($17) and a perfectly cooked half roast chicken, served with lemon and thyme ($18). Like many steakhouses, Smithfields offers add-on sides and sauces if you want a particular flavor experience with your meal.

The “Developed” menu boasts some equally outstanding food. The fried chicken, served with chive mashed potatoes and crimini mushroom gravy ($16), hides juicy chicken meat within a crisp, well-seasoned coating. Pork belly is common on the menu in modern eateries; Smithfields’ variation ($26) uses the tangy flavor of apples both as a sauce and as a robust chutney served alongside the thick-cut pork. Chewy bacon-braised collard greens round out the flavors of the dish. Even the vegetarian option is excellent: A goat cheese soufflé ($18) that accentuates the delicacy of the cheese with the earthy sweetness of beets.

While you’re waiting for your meal, you may want to take advantage of Smithfields’ extensive bar, which has dozens of varieties of whiskey in addition to several signature cocktails. There are plenty of appetizers to choose from as well, including a fresh-baked loaf of bread with seeds and cracked pepper ($3) and a charcuterie board ($18). (Bread is on the menu because your meals are served with complimentary cayenne popcorn.) If you have room for dessert, try the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake ($8), an incredibly rich concoction that makes use of honeycomb to add a layer of crunch to its thick, creamy filling.

Smithfields provides an impactful eating experience that appeals to many tastes. Whether you’re looking for something upscale without the frills, want to make an event out of an evening, or simply like eating delicious food, Smithfields has excellent options for you. 

Morning Glory

Location: Ashland, Oregon

Food: Breakfast food, American food, cocktails

Close to: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Cabaret Theatre

The Morning Glory’s atmosphere speaks to the kind of food it serves. The building was originally a house, and it retains its screened-in porch, but the walls have been painted with cheery murals of plants and fields. Coffee is served in mismatched mugs, and jars of marionberry preserves are available at every table. The food – excellently made breakfast favorites served in huge portions – matches the charm of the decor, making a stop at the Morning Glory mandatory for any Ashland tourist.

The breakfast menu is essentially divided into two parts: Egg dishes and pancake variants. The egg dishes also come with a number of sides, such as crisp hash browns and light, airy muffins; if you prefer breakfasts made up of many small components, ordering off the egg side of the menu might work better for you. One of the best egg dishes is the black forest ham and white cheddar scramble ($12/$10 for a half portion), which accents the classic American flavors of ham and eggs with a sharper variety of cheese.

Although the egg dishes and sides are delicious, it’s difficult to beat the impression made by the Morning Glory’s pancakes, waffles, and French toast when they’re brought to the table. Most astonishing of all is the lemon ricotta stuffed French toast with raspberry syrup ($11.50), two giant slices of French toast with a thick cheese filling. Tangy syrup poured on top helps cut the richness of the ricotta while accentuating the flavor with the taste of raspberry. Other items to choose from include the filling oatmeal pancakes with walnut butter ($11) and the Belgian waffle ($10.50), an American breakfast standard served with lemon butter.

A set breakfast menu isn’t the only thing the Morning Glory has to offer. A smaller lunch menu offers burgers and sandwiches, while brunch-style alcoholic libations like mimosas and Bloody Marys are available all day. There is also a rotating series of specials, displayed at the chalkboard close to the entrance: If something there interests you, it’s a good idea to order it while you can.

Many people who make a habit out of going to Ashland each year for vacation make sure to stop at the Morning Glory at least once. Should you choose to experience the incredible food, quirky environment, and relaxing atmosphere of the restaurant for yourself, the Morning Glory is very likely to become your tradition, as well. 

Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2017: Coverage Overview

Julius Caesar at OSF. Left to right: Rodney Gardiner, Armando Durán, Danforth Comins. Photo courtesy Jenny Graham and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Check here to see our comprehensive coverage of the OSF 2017 season as it is posted.

Introducing the Season:

Season Preview

Coverage Overview

Visiting the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (coming soon)

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Plays We've Covered:

UniSon: UNIVERSES adapts the poetry of August Wilson to the stage.

The performance troupe UNIVERSES, also responsible for 2012’s intriguing Party People, adapts to the stage the little-known poetry of August Wilson (Fences, The Piano Lesson.) This daring piece reinterprets the work of one of the greatest minds of African-American theatre by combining the classic language of the 20^thCentury with the structure of the 21^st.

Hannah And The Dread Gazebo: A world premiere about family, identity, and the ghost of Kim Jong Il.

This world premiere from playwright Jiehae Park grapples with questions of family and national identity in a tight 90-minute show. Much of the action concerns the tensions between North and South Korea and the DMZ in between them.

Julius Caesar: Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy about leadership, violence, and betrayal.

Shakespeare’s political thriller Julius Caesar occupies a position among his greatest tragic works, alongside such plays as Hamlet and King Lear. While OSF’s previous production, in 2011, was a general look at leaders whose deeds were both great and terrible, the 2017 version, as described in the “From The Director” statement on OSF’s website, more specifically examines the culture of American violence and politics. Armando Durán, who also played roles in Hamlet, King Lear, and The Tempest in his 18-year residency at OSF, takes on the part of Caesar.

Henry IV, Part 1: A young Prince Hal is torn between duty to his country and his rollicking life with Falstaff.

The first part of the Henry V trilogy features a youthful, irresponsible Prince Hal (Daniel José Molina) beginning to choose between the responsibilities of leading a country and the pleasures of tavern life with his friend John Falstaff. OSF is producing the entire trilogy over two seasons, performing Parts 1 and 2 of Henry IV this year and Henry V as part of the 2018 season.

The Merry Wives of Windsor: A small town conspires to trick the mischievous Falstaff (yes, the same Falstaff).

This classic comedy features the lecherous drunk Falstaff, a returning character from the Henry IV cycle. K.T. Vogt, who appeared in other OSF comedies like Animal Crackers and The Yeomen of the Guard, assumes the role in this production, which uses the play’s original setting of Elizabethan England – a place and time Shakespeare rarely used. This is the first time since 2006 that OSF has produced this play, though the company produced a modern adaptation called The Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa in 2012.

The Odyssey: Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of Homer’s epic story of adventure.

Director Mary Zimmerman (see my reviews for two other plays she directed, Guys and Dolls at OSF and Treasure Island at Berkeley Rep) brings one of the oldest adventure stories known to humankind to the Ashland stage. The Odyssey is set in the Elizabethan Theatre, which possesses significantly more vertical space than OSF’s other two venues; Zimmerman's movement-oriented direction should put this extra room to great use. 

Beauty And The Beast: The classic Disney musical, brought to the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre.

OSF’s musical this year is a stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, an animated movie from Disney’s early-90s renaissance. Though the decision to run a Disney musical may raise some eyebrows, the show boasts a score from the legendary Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors). This music, combined with OSF’s ability to breathe new life even into Broadway’s most venerable standards, promises an exciting show.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Restaurants We've Enjoyed:

Morning Glory

Smithfields

Thai Pepper

Flip

Dragon Productions: The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church

Left to right: Jennifer Tipton, Lisa Burton, Stephanie Crowley. Photo courtesy Lance Huntley.

While many plays have steep dramatic arcs, others are more laid-back, content to welcome the audience into the characters’ daily lives. The women of The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church by Bo Wilson, now running at the Dragon Theatre, aren’t caught in life-shattering dilemmas: They’re chatting, trading jokes, and attempting to eke out a little good in the world. This down-to-earth comedy, occasionally punctuated by moments of urgency, makes Charitable Sisterhood a delight.

There is no protagonist, technically, in Charitable Sisterhood. However, two characters act as pillars supporting the intricate web of relationships between the cast. One is Lorraine (Stephanie Crowley), a mother of nine with the world-weary practicality that comes with the role. Lorraine has the most centered world view; she’s a realist about her life in a small town in the South, minus the arrogance of Bea (Lisa Burton), the pastor’s wife. Crowley and Burton have some of the best interactions in the play, with Crowley precisely deflating Burton’s affectations of power without seeming too rude.

Tina (Jennifer Tipton), a former yankee from Maryland, is the other character who holds up the complex relationships in the play. Tina is the kindest of the three Sisterhood ladies, warmheartedly attempting to unite characters at each others’ throats and trying to do the proper thing even when it’s impossible. She also acts as an audience surrogate, new enough to the community to miss some of its intricacies, while trusted enough for Lorraine to explain them to her.

Yet it’s the two outsiders, Janet (Ambera De Lash) and Riley (Caley Suliak) who drive the play forward, spurring everyone’s character development. Janet comes off as a ditz, thanks to impeccable character work on De Lash’s part, but her goofy exterior belies hidden depths that are unexpected yet believable. Riley, a homeless woman who takes shelter within the church, poses numerous ethical questions to the other characters. However, she isn’t simply a plot device – Suliak interprets her with both vulnerability and resourcefulness.

The plot of Charitable Sisterhood is meandering, but it isn’t aimless. The characters don’t develop by forcing each other to confront their inner selves; rather, it is through kindness and patience that they change for the better. This is a more realistic way of approaching the relationships between women whose primary social outlet is a charitable organization, and an interesting change in a theatrical environment filled with shattered families and dramatic confrontations.

Just like the seemingly endless pile of donations onstage, the problems facing the characters in Charitable Sisterhood don’t immediately vanish. The audience is left wondering about everyone’s fate, but also understanding the quirks and relationships of a part of America detached from our own. Charitable Sisterhood at Dragon Productions is perfect for fans of character-driven shows and enthusiasts of plays set in the South.

Charitable Sisterhood runs through June 4th.

The Marsh Berkeley: East 14th

Don Reed. Photo courtesy Aaron Epstein.

A sparse wooden chair and a beaten-up red vinyl seat sit on opposite sides of the stage of Don Reed’s autobiographical one-man show East 14th. These chairs, we soon learn, are a visual metaphor for Reed’s identity as he grew up in Oakland in the 70’s, torn between an early upbringing under his strict, religious stepfather and teenage years with his laissez-faire, fun-loving dad, who he realized years later was one of Oakland’s biggest pimps. East 14^th, now running at The Marsh Berkeley, is a masterfully written show recalling a funny, complex, and, most of all, unique coming of age.

There are a sizeable number of stories that end by saying it’s important to be yourself, but East 14^th is one of the few that approaches this message with nuance and charm. The teenage Reed becomes surrounded by smooth-talking players as he spends time with his father and half-brothers, but it’s obvious that he doesn’t quite fit in. Yet Reed’s character arc isn’t simple and neat; he doesn’t realize that his stepfather was right after all and go back to his stark religious life. Instead, he learns that he has to find his own path in the world, one that draws from both sides of his family.

Like many solo performances, Reed portrays dozens of characters over the course of the show, ranging from a sour-faced neighbor kid who burned down a garage to a poorly dubbed actor from the classic kung fu movie The Five Fingers of Death. Reed primarily uses physical tics, posture, and word choice to define new characters, which makes them recognizable without dragging them into the realm of caricature. Some of these changes are remarkably subtle, most notably Reed’s stepfather – Reed merely stands a little straighter and slightly alters the inflection of his voice to transition from nervous preteen to self-confident Jehovah’s Witness.

East 14^th is mostly a comedic play, and its structure reuses jokes to powerful effect. Reed will introduce something funny  – say, that he used to blink constantly as a child – and, just when the audience has forgotten, return to it using increasingly complex setups. It’s fairly similar to the work of Eddie Izzard, a cycle of humor that increases in both complexity and payoff the later it gets in the play. But within all the comedy lie genuinely painful and frightening parts of Reed’s life; he transitions into these with lightning speed and snaps out of them with a well-timed joke. These tense moments, tightly woven into the show, remind us that this isn’t a series of comedy sketches – this is Reed opening up and showing us a strange and sometimes difficult childhood.

Don Reed’s East 14^th at The Marsh Berkeley is an astonishingly well-crafted piece of theatre and one of the best shows I’ve seen in years. The solo performance combines a bittersweet look at life growing up in East Oakland in the 1970s with a nuanced exploration of personal identity and a barrage of excellent comedy. 

East 14th runs through June 4th.