I see about 40 plays a year in the South Sound. Some are better than others, and some make more money. At least two will tank despite being quite good indeed. End Days at Harlequin and Next to Normal at Capital Playhouse struggled to find audiences, and those were my favorite shows of their respective years. So imagine my astonishment and delight the first time I made the trek down to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As my wife and I approached the small but arty towns of Medford and Ashland, we encountered a ragtag array of buses, RVs and SUVs, all crammed with tourists. The hotels were full, the campgrounds more so. All those people, hungry for theater - oh, Gentle Reader, it plastered a smile on my face.

We'll save the question of why folks don't get as excited for cheaper theater in their own backyard for another occasion. Instead, let's call the OSF what it is: Broadway West. If you enjoy live dramatic performance of any type, whether of Shakespeare or theater in general, then Ashland should be your new Mecca.

Accommodations are cheaper in Medford, 15 minutes northwest of Ashland, but the dining in Ashland is second to none. For a delicious splurge, try Amuse on First a few blocks from the festival. The next day, save money by savoring Asian crepes at Café Nomyen on Siskiyou Boulevard or sipping mojitos at Tabu on North Pioneer.

Now! Let's delve into festival offerings this year. Contrary to popular opinion, less than half of what the OSF stages is Shakespeare, but Bardolaters have their choice of four scripts this summer: The Comedy of Errors, Richard III, The Tempest, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. The latter's enjoying a spike in popularity of late, despite near-ubiquitous critical opinion that it's among the least impressive of Shakespeare's efforts. (To be fair, it's also one of his first. Olympia's Animal Fire Theatre Company will probably stage it in en plain air this summer.) At OSF, The Tempest is earning strong reviews, Comedy of Errors less so. Richard III opens June 3, followed by an all-female production of Two Gentlemen of Verona two days later.

My wife and I are revisiting OSF in mid-July, but not for any of those shows. No, we're stoked for The Cocoanuts and A Wrinkle in Time. We caught Mark Bedard as Groucho in a sidesplitting OSF production of Animal Crackers in 2012. Now Bedard, John Tufts as Chico, Brent Hinkley as Harpo, and K. T. Vogt as Margaret Dumont are reprising their personas in a farce about a wacky hotel. A Wrinkle in Time is an adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's sci-fi-tinged youth classic. Expectations are high for The Great Society, premiering in August. It's Robert Schenkkan's sequel to All the Way, his 2012 LBJ bio-play, which has since made the leap to Broadway with Bryan Cranston in the lead. You might be more intrigued by Water by the Spoonful, a Pulitzer prizewinner, or Sondheim's melodic fantasy Into the Woods.

OSF's Elizabethan plays are preceded by free outdoor entertainment, the "Green Shows," from June to October. Oregon Cabaret Theatre offers light entertainment at a third of OSF's ticket prices; this year's summer spectacle is Ain't Misbehavin'. Get chased by dinosaurs at Ashland's ScienceWorks museum, or check out the oddity and costume shopping at Renaissance Rose on the Plaza. And it's all a mere six hours away!

Incidentally, if you must pass on Ashland this summer, you should see how nuts they go on Halloween.

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, Ashland, OR, 800.219.8161