One of the harbingers of spring here in my part of Southern Oregon is the opening of the season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Rehearsals for the first round of shows start early in the year, and by the middle of March preview performances arrive, and then the season truly begins. This year opened with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Raisin in the Sun and the year’s only musical, Come From Away. I was very excited to see the latter on the line-up of this year’s shows, and I am happy to say I saw it just recently . . . what a wonderful experience it was!

Good friends from Portland, John and Debbie, always come down this way in the spring to see a few shows before the crowds descend later in the season, and we grabbed our tickets to Come From Away as soon as we learned they were planning to see the show. We were eager to share one of our favorite Ashland restaurants with them as well, so we made our reservations at Cocorico and arranged to meet them there.

We’ve taken many out-of-town guests to Cocorico for a meal, and everyone has been delighted with the food, service and ambience. We discovered it about four years ago, not long after it opened, and we never tire of dining there. Chef-owner Nat Borsi combines rustic influences of his Italian heritage with classic French culinary traditions he was trained in early in his career to create dishes he refers to as neo-rustic. Influences from his experiences in restaurants ranging from Bangkok to Seattle, Mediterranean to pan-Asian, show up in his menu, but it’s a natural, unforced fusion that makes sense and tastes great. Nat’s wife, Grace, reigns over the front of the house with grace and genuine warmth, and this warm hospitality is exhibited by all the staff. Service is always gracious, attentive and friendly; and if you have a show to get to, they make sure you make it with time to spare without feeling rushed through your meal.

On this cool evening we were seated in the indoor dining room rather than our usual spot outside on the four-season patio. The cozy dining room features sunny colors and warm woods, and even though this was a Wednesday evening in March, it filled up quickly. We started with some shared plates: grilled asparagus (just coming on locally), grilled garlic bread with a generous heaping of shredded Parm,   and grilled octopus with kalamata aioli, pinto beans, fingerling potatoes and a drizzle of chorizo oil. It was just enough to give us each a generous tasting of each dish as we caught up with each other.

There are several entrées we like on the menu, but this evening both Harry and I were enticed to try a few of the night’s specials. He opted for shrimp and mussels over bucatini in a delicious sauce, and I settled on the pork chop served over Boursin mashed russets and yams along with grilled asparagus and a balsamic and onion jam and pickled red onions (and took home half of it!). John and Debbie wisely decided to share what turned out to be a very large filet of petrale sole and a fresh green salad . . . just right for the two of them. We ran out of time (and room) for dessert and headed up the hill to the Angus Bowmer Theater for our show.

I was excited to see Come From Away, especially after reading the blogs of two of my GT colleagues who have seen productions of it in the past year. The Tony-, Drama Desk- and Olivier-award-winning musical takes place in Gander, Newfoundland, from September 11th through the 15th in 2001, when 38 international flights were forced to land in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The small, remote community suddenly had to feed and accommodate nearly 7,000 travelers and flight crews in the midst of fear of further attacks and little reliable information. When we entered the theater, we faced a simple set with a backdrop of a towering pile of luggage, a few rocky outcroppings and a stage which appeared to be made up of the wide planks of a wharf. A band of musicians was scattered across the rear of the space playing lively Irish folk music, perhaps not the music you would expect from a play revolving around such a somber subject.

This, however, is what I believe makes this such a well-loved play. It opens with a rousing song, “Welcome to the Rock,” where we quickly get the flavor of this community: rugged folk who endure isolation and the elements with humor and consideration of each other (even in the midst of a rather contentious bus drivers’ strike). The humor, ingenuity and can-do spirit of the townspeople, as well as their genuine concern for the strangers suddenly thrown into their midst, warms the audiences’ hearts as we are reminded of what we can accomplish in unity and love of neighbor. The story is beautifully and skillfully told by a cast of 12 who slip in and out of a variety of characters, both travelers and townspeople. The music, sometimes lively, sometimes tender, hopeful and sad, imbues the sense of place with its Celtic influences, and at the end the entire audience was on their feet, enthusiastically clapping in unison with the band and the players, expressing their appreciation of the performance and its message.

The evening proved a wonderful introduction to this year’s festival season, and I look forward to seeing some of the other productions to follow this year. And I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up returning to take in Come From Away again for the lift it gave my spirits.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor