Pub #12 -- Von Ebert Brewing, Portland, September 14

We thought this was a new brewpub for us in the Pearl District of Portland, and it was, sort of. The cavernous space seemed familiar, though, and sure enough, we had been there before when it was Fathead's.  The beer was good, though, with creative Belgians and sours, so I was happy.

Play #10 -- In the Heights, Portland Center Stage, September 14

Lin-Manuel Miranda is known primarily for Hamilton these days, but in the late 2000s, his first musical, In the Heights, was also a big hit, won a Tony, and ran on Broadway for a number of years. We actually saw it on Broadway in 2009, and loved it.  Its Latin musical styles and inspiring story lines pulled us in.  So when we saw it was touring at Portland Center Stage, our "local" theater of choice in Portland, we decided to see it again.  I was glad we did.

Play #9 -- She Stoops to Conquer, American Players Theatre, September 1

The American Players Theatre was formed almost 30 years ago in rural south-central Wisconsin, near the town of Spring Green. There must have been something special here (the Wisconsin River runs through it), because Frank Lloyd Wright had one of his homes here, named Taliesin.  The theatre has a lovely outdoor amphitheater nestled in a nook near the top of a hill.  There is a shuttle van that transports those who don't want to walk it, which is quite a large percentage of their clientele, one would think.  (Theater audiences can be a bit... elderly, say.)

She Stoops to Conquer is an English play from the 1700s, and quite funny.  It's one of the few plays from the 18th century that is still performed today.  We weren't sure what to expect, but found it better than a mere fancy costume farce.  It actually raised some interesting questions about women, men, relationships, truth, etc., and seemed somewhat ahead of its time.  We saw this with most of the Wert clan.

https://americanplayers.org/plays/she-stoops-to-conquer

Pub #11 -- New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wisc., September 1

New Glarus Brewing is hugely popular, but most people outside of Wisconsin know nothing about it. Brewing in a small Swiss-heritage town south of Madison for 25 years, I first learned of them from my brother, who shared their Apple Ale with me.  But since they don't sell any beer outside of Wisconsin, few people elsewhere know much about them.  In the past few years they have built a massive new brewery and tasting room on the hills above New Glarus, so big and faux-ruins/Germanic village that it led C to refer to it as the Disneyland of Wisconsin "micro"-breweries. They specialize in sweet, fruity beers, which suits me just fine.  We were here with the Wert family as well.

Pub #10 -- Vintage Brewing, Sauk Prairie, Wisc., August 31

On our trip to Wisconsin with the Wert clan, we made sure to go to a few new brew pubs.  Vintage, along the Wisconsin River in Sauk Prairie, had a nice porch where we could overlook the river and observe more cornhole being played, while waiting for a table to eat.  First beer on the patio was Meadow Muffin (think blueberry muffin). The taster included Sweet Nut Things, Butternut Road, Sahti (an unusual Finnish ale), Key Lime Wit, and Cherry Bluff.

Later on, we went to the nearby Wollersheim Winery and Distillery, one of the larger wineries in Wisconsin.

Play #8 -- On Golden Pond, Red Octopus Theatre, August 2

On Golden Pond was presented by the Red Octopus Theatre in the Newport Performing Arts Center.  It was directed by C's friend Barbara, director of the Newport show C was in, Other Desert Cities.  We saw it with our gamer friends (and C's high school theater friend) Heather and Mark, before playing a marathon of games the next day at the Yach-port* beach house.

* (between Yachats and Waldport)

Pub #9 -- Long Timber Brewing Company, Monroe, July 30

Long Timber Brewing in Monroe! Gorgeous new brewpub with impressive clear timber beams from Hull-Oakes. Great food and beer. Corvallis folks, take the short 20-minute drive south for a fine experience.  We were there with our friends Joe and Lisa, and stopped at the Monroe Farmers Market beforehand.  Fun trip to our small-town neighbor to the south.

Play #7 -- Hamlet, Valley Shakespeare Company, July 27

This production was an interesting one.  Performed in a small outdoor amphitheater on the campus of Western Oregon University in Monmouth, the cast included students as well as professionals.  Hamlet was played by a recent alum, who happened to be a female.  Interesting dynamics with Ophelia, parents, etc.

Pub #8 -- Chatoe Rogue, Independence, July 27

First time at Chatoe Rogue (Rogue Ales), with IPA-loving friends Fred and Linda, amidst the hop fields. Great destination for a summer afternoon.  Watched some cornhole being played.  We drank Rogue's own Marionberry Cider (using their marionberries) and some other brown, I think.

Play #6 -- The Unexpected Guest, ACT, July 26

Another ACT play, with another theater friend!  This time we saw Adam, Cathy's "husband" in Wait Until Dark.

Pub #7 -- 3 Sheets Brewery & Taproom, Albany, July 26

Three Sheets Brewery in Albany. Our first time at this relatively new, German-themed nano-brewery. Guten appetit!  Cascade Amber and Raspberry Sour.

Pub #6 -- Cascade Brewing Barrel House, Portland, July 18

Portland has too many brewpubs for its own good.  We could easily go to all 50 brewpubs in the Portland Metro area, if we could stomach the IPAs some would make us drink.  So what an excellent surprise to visit Cascade Brewing's Barrel House, which specialized in barrel-aged sour ales.  How had I never been there before??
Coastal Gose, Honey Ginger Lime, Peche Fume, Tropical Embers, Kentucky Peach 2017, Berry Vlad to Meet You, and Bean to Barrel (not pictured)

Pub #5 -- 3 Magnets Brewing, Olympia, Wa., July 14

3 Magnets is a great little pub in Olympia, a cute little state capitol town.  We had been there back in 2018 to watch a World Cup semifinal between Belgium and France and quite liked it.  This time we were on our way to Anderson Island, and took a nice lunch break before heading for the ferry.  Complimentary madeleines, yum!  Blueberry Meltdown (3 Magnets) and Old Timber Nut Brown (Heathen Brewing)

Pub #4 -- Flat Tail Brewing, Corvallis, June 30

Flat Tail is one of our go-to places in Corvallis.  They always have creative sours and other ales.  We went with our avid gamer friends, Heather and Mark, after playing two full rounds of Agricola!  We got PEACH! and Tavulia Sunset.

Play #5 -- Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, Albany Civic Theatre, June 28

Directed by first-time director, Connor Riley, who was in Love & Information (the show C directed) and Pippin (the musical C acted in), we saw the Spectaculathon (play #5) at ACT, a place we frequent the past few years.

Play #4 -- Cambodian Rock Band, OSF, June 2

Cambodian Rock Band (play #4) is a somewhat unexpected tour de force: a very popular new play about the prominence of French and American rock music in Cambodian society in the 1960s and 70s, juxtaposed against the takeover and subsequent genocide by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, as well as the initial efforts to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice.  The play's actors all featured in an actual rock band that played actual full-length songs during the show.  Fun, and squirm-in-your-seat painful as well.

https://www.osfashland.org/en/productions/2019-plays/cambodian-rock-band.aspx

Play #3 -- Alice in Wonderland, OSF, June1

Alice in Wonderland (play #3), Elizabethan Theatre.  This was a different sort of adaptation that used Lewis Carroll's words entirely, and combined Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.  Highlight was using large hoops held and swirled by different actors to evoke going down the rabbit hole, the smoke rings from the caterpillar's pipe, and the rise of the water from her tears.

Pub #3 -- Caldera Brewing Company, Ashland, June 1

Caldera is another of our happy places.  The toasted coconut chocolate porter is one of our favorite beers of all time. We ate there with our friends Vicki and Mike, who also joined us for the entire weekend OSF adventure!

I got a sampler with three sours, a coconut blonde, and Himalayan Red Sea. C got her/our usual-- Toasted Coconut Chocolate Porter.

Play #2 -- Between Two Knees, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, June 1

Between Two Knees (play #2), world premiere and part of the excellent American Revolutions series, exploded out of the gate in the Thomas Theatre at Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF).  "Written" by the 1491s, a Native American improv comedy group, this piece had a chaotic energy and manic humor that helped soften the impact of an incredibly serious and depressing history (and present, alas).  (I put "written" in quotes, because we heard in a talkback by one of the lead actors who described how the show didn't even have the second act written when they started rehearsals, and was still being fine-tuned during the preview performances!)

https://www.osfashland.org/BetweenTwoKnees

We love, LOVE, OSF, and try to get there at least twice a year these days, usually once earlier in the season, and once later on (Sept/Oct).

I actually lived in the mountains outside of Ashland a few different times in the early 90s -- at the Oregon Extension college semester, a winter Bible Study and NT Greek lessons with John Linton, and a year with Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy.  I always love going back.

C grew up going to plays at OSF with her family, which is where she fell in love with the theater. A weeklong summer program there her junior year in high school pretty much iced it.  It's a definite happy place!

Play #1! -- Good People, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, May 31

Friday, May 31, found us at our first play of the 50 in 50!  Good People, written in 2011 by David Lindsay-Abaire, is a fascinating look at the sometimes-challenging life of working class people in South Boston, contrasted with those who "got out."  Great play, great acting.  OCT is a fine company in Eugene. I like most everything I've seen there.

Pub #2 -- Falling Sky Pour House Delicatessen, Eugene, May 31

Our visit to pub #2, Falling Sky Deli of Eugene (owned/founded by a fellow Environmental Studies grad from the University of Oregon), was the beginning of a big weekend of pubs and plays!  We drank Wolkig Hefeweissen and Dark Heart Munich Dunkel, and ate beef belly pastrami.  Yum!

Pub #1! -- Conversion Brewing, Lebanon, May 21

On the way home from the Metolius hike, we stopped in Lebanon for our first visit to Conversion Brewing.  And brewpub #1 of our 50 in 50!

Beer #s 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 (studiously avoiding all IPAs)

May 21 -- 12 mile hike, Metolius River Trail

We launched our 50 in 50 year* by doing the traditional birthday hike (10th edition!).  After a quiet, rainy night in Sisters and breakfast at the Cottonwood Cafe, we headed to one of the most famous (and cold!) cold water fisheries of the Cascades, the Metolius River.  After visiting the Head of the Metolius (the spot where it emerges from the ground as a fully-formed river), we drove downriver to Lower Canyon Creek Campground.  From there we hiked north through a fairly remote canyon, along the wild, rushing, deep blue-turquoise river.  The Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery provided a nice part-way stop both directions, as we looped further down to Lower Bridge.  Some rain, but some blue sky.  Many birds, and a few anglers waist-deep in the river.  Beautiful!

* Not actually a year.  More like 18 months.

Launching the Blog!

Well, here we go!

I've been thinking of doing this for a few months now, after a friend suggested we use a blog to track our progress in attempting to see 50 plays and visit 50 different brewpubs during our "year of 50."  Thanks to our brilliant techie friend KH's instructions, I got this set up and ready to roll.

Background, or Why in the world are you going to (try to) see 50 plays and what are the rules?

Early in 2018, we had been to something like 5 or 6 artistic events in January, including 3 or 4 plays.  This was largely the result of being married to a thespian who has acted with at least six different theater companies throughout the region (Corvallis, Albany, Newport, and Salem), and therefore has many, many theater friends who are in many, many plays in all these wonderful communities! 

I like to be supportive of local community theater and our growing group of theater friends, but frankly, not all theater productions are created (or performed) equal.  So it seemed like some kind of numeric goal might make all the theater-going more enjoyable.  Given that 2019 was going to be our Year of 50 (i.e., both of us turning 50 this year), I thought a goal of going to 50 plays in 2019 could be a fun challenge.

In discussing it with C (the sensible one), she thought it might be smarter to give ourselves more time to reach the goal.  So we came up with the idea of starting when one of us turned 50 and ending when the last one turned not-50 (i.e., 51).  This means that we have from May 2019 to November 2020 to see 50 plays.

Now you might be thinking, "Okay, you're theater geeks. So... why 50 brewpubs?"

Well, that one's easier to explain.  We like brewpubs.  We like going to new brewpubs.  We like going to brewpubs during theater-going trips.  And we wanted another goal.  It seemed like a good pairing.

One last goal, but the first one to be partially fulfilled, attempts to balance out all the beer and sitting: 50 miles of hiking.

Enough of this.  On to the posts!