Curtain Call: Had it not been for a Maltipoo named Ollie — and a conductor named Martin — Liane Alitowski may never have decided to make Ashland her new home. The longtime performer, educator and writer became captivated by Ashland’s charms during a visit last year. Now she is a pianist for the Rogue Valley Symphony.
Jennie Greenberry: “Jane (Eyre) is the kind of person I deeply admire and strive to be. So, of course I jumped at the chance to portray her.”
Curtain Call: The Rogue Vally Symphony will launch its own blockbuster, “Hollywood’s Greatest Hits,” at 7:30 pm. Friday, Aug. 23 and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24 and 25. All three summer pops concerts will be performed at Medford’s Craterian Theater.
Curtain Call: In “Stones,” Ray Porter and Dan Donohue play extras on a Hollywood film set in rural Ireland. They also play 13 other characters, men and women, requiring them to switch gender and voice swiftly and with minimal costume change. The townsfolk are funny, flawed and brimming with hope.
Dan Donohue, an 11-year actor at OSF and on Broadway as anti-hero Scar in the “Lion King,” returns to Ashland next month for Rogue Theater Company’s three-week run of “Stones in His Pockets,” opening July 17.
Curtain Call: Weary of television and commercial work, actor Kevin Kenerly took his partner’s advice to heart: If he loved Shakespeare and microbrews, he should head to Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Now, in his 28th season at OSF, Kenerly performs as Macbeth in the Scottish Play to rave reviews.
“Spotlight on ABBA” is playing at Camelot through Sunday, May 26. At matinee and evening concerts, four talented Rogue Valley singers perform the Swedish group’s popular songs — timeless music that transcends generations and cultures.
Curtain Call: Playing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Thomas Theatre on select dates now through May 12, “Smote This” weaves a web of stories and tangents about an undocumented Black child growing up during a time of racial unrest, an immigration crisis and the drug war.
Rosa Joshi is the dramaturg this year for “Macbeth,” opening March 29 at the Angus Bowmer Theatre, and she will direct “Coriolanus,” opening July 27 at the Thomas Theatre.
OSF Artistic Director Tim Bond: “I’m looking forward to having our spaces come to life within the next couple of months…. I’m ready for the creative energy and spirit that will make all of our 10 productions come to life.”
A bright blue book locker outside the Ashland Family YMCA provides a new, more convenient way to check out materials from the library. The book locker can be accessed 24/7. Books are placed on hold through the library services website, which also has a video showing the book locker installation.
John Marciano and Leslie Dwyer: While hedge funds and rich corporate interests are buying up hospitals across the country and cutting services and staff to increase their profits, the well-being of hospital staff and patients is undermined.
KS Wild Side: With the help of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program, the state of Oregon will see its first wildlife overpass built in Ashland’s backyard. The proposed wildlife overpass is located roughly at mile marker 1.7 on Interstate 5, just north of the California border.
Editor’s note: Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne covers city government, including its ongoing efforts to find ways to shape policies around homelessness. For better insight into the issue, Rothborne spent a night in early December in the shelter when it was operated by Jobs with Justice in Calvin Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland.
An Ashland man was arrested after an ongoing investigation “into child exploitation and internet crimes against children” led to execution of a search warrant on Alida Street early Tuesday, according to a news release from the Ashland Police Department.
Reader Photo: Mary Piper took this photo of Emigrant Lake recently. As of Jan. 12, the lake was 39% full, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
(It’s free)
