One of Shakespeare’s most entertaining histories, an all female version of his most notoriously misogynistic comedies, a massive staging of a magical Sondheim musical, and the world premiere of a new stage adaptation of a beloved space hopping children’s novel. These are the newest four shows to open at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theater - note the new name - open up in the idyllic mountain town of Ashland. With five other plays already up and running, and a few more still to come, the season seems to carry an emphasis on family drama, from the power of love that holds some families together, and the corrupting power of jealousy and revenge that tears some families apart.

Richard III

One of Shakespeare’s most indelible and bloodthirsty villains, king Richard III of England has been defended by historians who claim the real fifteenth century monarch wasn’t half as bad as Shakespeare painted him to be - and probably not quite as physically deformed. If so, that’s disappointing, because, as described in the bard’s poplar history play, Richard is one exhilarating hunchback, and in OSF’s new production, Dan Donohue makes him as funny, frightening and outrageously watchable as he is truly, deplorably, unredeemably evil.

- 4-1/2 stars

A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L’Engle’s much-adored, 50-year-old novel A Wrinkle in Time has been adapted for a deeply flawed television miniseries in 2003. Even with the infinite resources of Walt Disney pictures, the project fell fall short of capturing the magic and beauty of the book. So what chance has a stage version got? Limited by earth-bound effects and the limitations of stagecraft, how can a cast of eight, and a handful of props

- 3 1/2 stars.

Into the Woods

Compared to The Tempest, Shakespeare’s much earlier A Comedy of Errors, directed by Kent Gash, is crackling with cleverness and sheer spirited fun. With the action set during the Harlem Renaissance, Gash fills the story of two long-separated sets of identical twins into an eye-popping, music-filled romp that is clever, funny, sexy and satisfying.

In Shakespeare’s play (believed by many to be his first attempt at comedy), the towns of Ephesus and Syracuse are at war, declaring death on anyone from the opposed town. In Gash’s staging, it’s New Orleans, Louisiana against Harlem, New York, where the action is set. In OSF’s small Thomas Theater (If there is a better spot for intimate, innovative interpretations of Shakespeare on the West Coast, I don’t know where it is), the story plays out on a slab of faux concrete emblazoned with the names of Harlem landmarks of the 1920’s, with a tall clock tower over looking everything from one corner.

Wandering into town are the wealthy Antipholus (Tobie Windham) and his servant Dromio (Rodnety Gardiner), both of New Orleans. They have been wandering for years, searching for their lost twin brothers, who for some reason bear the exact same names. Separated in childhood by a storm at sea (Shakespeare did like his storms), they’ve arrived in Harlem. Unbeknownst to them, their grown-up twins also live in Harlem, where Antipholus (also Tobie Windham) is a

respected businessman and Dromio is his wise-cracking, much-put-upon assistant.

Nothing that happens afterwards quite makes sense, but the fun of this staging is how entertainingly Gash and his energetic cast keep all of the various plates spinning.

- 5 stars

Two Gentlemen of Verona

From Shakespeare’s first comedy to the Marx Brothers’ first full-scale musical. One thing about OSF, they do keep their seasons varied. The Cocoanuts, energetically directed by David Ivers, reassembles the original details of the Marx Brothers’ show, which made the brothers famous in 1925, and was later turned into the film of the same name.