A few weeks ago I attended one of the opening performances of the 2016 season of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in nearby Ashland, Ore. The Tony Award-winning regional repertory company, founded 81 years ago, this year presents 11 different productions in three performance spaces over nine months. While its name might indicate otherwise, the plays aren’t limited to the works of the immortal bard but instead include a modern musical (The Wiz), an adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeoman of the Guard and two world premieres. Nevertheless, OSF has committed to producing Shakespeare’s entire canon in a decade (starting in 2015), with five on this year’s calendar, including the rarely performed Timon of Athens. Fortunately, I live less than 30 minutes from the Festival grounds, putting a world-class theater company almost on my doorstep. For residents of the local area, an added bonus comes in the form of reduced-price ticket packages made available during February for the entire season, allowing us to pay $30 for seats that could go for as much as $90 each. So it was that I arrived at the Angus Bowmer Theater on a Tuesday evening eager to see Twelfth Night. I’ve seen plenty of Shakespeare’s plays set in different eras and locations than those in which they were written — to greater or lesser degrees of success, and I am happy to report that director Christopher Moore’s choice to set the play in 1930s Hollywood worked beautifully for me. Duke Orsino becomes a film director of Illyria Studios (though I think I could have done without his German accent), with Olivia his leading lady and film star. The prologue is presented in the form of a black-and-white newsreel, introducing the audience to the backstory of the shipwrecked Viola and her brother Sebastian and the death of Olivia’s beloved brother. I enjoyed the costumes, the set (including the live music courtesy of pianist Ron Ochs at a grand piano on stage) and the lively performances, including the finale that would do Busby Berkeley proud. With such a great opening performance, I am anticipating the rest of the shows I’ll be seeing this year. OSF draws audiences from across the country and around the world, with the greatest concentration coming from up and down the West Coast. The season lasts until late October, and the region provides plenty of activities for visitors to enjoy outside of the theaters. Consider a visit to my part of the world this summer for outstanding performances and a whole lot more. — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor