The Stratford Festival
Shakespearean plays and more
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Leaving home Tuesday morning, we made a stop on the way up in Frankenmuth on the way and had great chicken dinners at Zehnder's. After that we went to a Hush Puppies outlet store and Karen found a nice pair of casual shoes to wear. |
| We also spent a little time at Bronner's Christmas Store. It's so huge! We picked out a "Veggie Tales" ornament and Karen found one of the Statue of Liberty. Ever since our trip to New York last fall, Karen's been fascinated with the statue. | 
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We got to Stratford Tuesday night. We stayed in a "guest home" there. They are very common in Stratford. Individual families rent out the extra bedrooms in their homes and provide a very basic breakfast (not as elaborate as you might get at a Bed & Breakfast). |
| It was just half a block from the theater where two of our three plays were staged. It was also very cheap. After converting from Canadian to American dollars it was just $31 per night. Our hosts (the Chandlers) are in the picture at the right. |  |
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Wednesday afternoon we enjoyed our first play, The Three Musketeers at the Festival Theater. It was an exciting swashbuckling tale, with plenty of humor mixed in. |
| We got our tickets the day of the show at a considerable discount. This was Karen's first exposure to actor Graham Abbey, who played the lead role of D'Artagnan. |  |
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Wednesday during the morning and afternoon we strolled around Stratford, taking in the beauty of the town. A walkway lines the river. We paused to watch some folks lawn bowling. Continuing down the river we came to the beautiful Shakespearean Gardens. |
| The entire town of Stratford is one of the most flower-filled places we have ever seen. Nearly every home and store has some sort of flower garden or planter out front. |  |
 | Within the Shakespearean Gardens we happened up a bridge which made a nice setting for a picture. |
| We traded turns with the camera | 
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At the Festival Theater before each show these trumpeters appear outside about 10 minutes prior to the show to herald the start of the performance. |
| On Thursday night we took in our second play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", a hilarious comedy written by Oscar Wilde. Graham Abbey once again played the lead role, showing his diversity, as this part was vastly different than the Three Musketeers role. |  |
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Outside the Festival Theater is a small garden with a striking statue of William Shakespeare. |
| According to its inscription it is a new addition, just being dedicated in October of 1999 | 
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In front of the Festival Theater is another garden, with a walkway winding through it and signs identifying many of the plants. I thought it an excellent spot to take this picture of Karen |
| Our final play was Friday afternoon back at the Festival Theater. Hamlet was the play we most came to see. I was interested because it was one of the first plays I read when I first became interested in Shakespeare about a year and a half ago. Karen was first attracted to the play for another reason. Hamlet was being played by Canadian actor Paul Gross who starred for several years in the TV series "Due South". The play was awesome as we both sat engrossed in the action for about 3 1/2 hours. |  |
| We made our six-hour drive home Friday night so I could be up Saturday to umpire Regional baseball tournaments. We both agreed we had a great time and will most likely go again in the future. If you are curious and want more information, e-mail me or check out the Stratford Festival web site. |
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