August | 2015 | Ashland Theatre

Randy McKay, executive director of Jefferson Live!, is coordinating the upcoming blues concert with Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts at the EdenVale Winery on Aug. 29 to benefit the restoration of Medford’s historic Holly Theatre. McKay also manages the Cascade Theatre in Redding, Calif. I met McKay at the Holly Theatre one afternoon.

EH: Walking into this theater takes your breath away.

RM: I’m here almost every day and have been for several years. Every time I walk in here, it’s still pretty impressive.

EH: Is it the dimensions?

RM: I think that’s part of it, because we don’t have a balcony. There’s nothing to break up this huge open space, so it feels even bigger than it otherwise would. If it were a traditional theater, with an orchestra level and a balcony cutting it in half, it wouldn’t seem quite so huge. Continue reading Historic theater bridges Roaring ’20s, Depression era →

Helena de Crespo is on her way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her one-woman-performance of “Elective Affinities” by David Adjmi. The play is often staged in a beautiful home, featuring Alice Hauptmann, full of charm and charisma.

In 2012, De Crespo performed the piece for an invited audience at Stan and Maurine Mazor’s chateau in Ashland. In 2011, “Elective Affinities” was performed by Zoe Caldwell in the Soho Rep’s site-specific production in an Upper East Side apartment in New York City.

De Crespo and I visited as we drove through heavy traffic to the Portland Airport.

EH: What is the Fringe Festival? Continue reading Helena de Crespo to perform at Fringe Festival →