American Shakespeare CenteR’S
Blackfriars Playhouse

April 29 - May 1, 2022

Shakespeare, then lunch. Shakespeare, then dinner. Shakespeare, then ice cream. What’s not to like? We even started a new tradition during this (our twelfth annual) trip to Staunton: Cheesecake at the Clocktower Eats & Sweets restaurant on Saturday night!

We had a combat-staging seminar on Friday afternoon. We followed that with dinner at the super-scrumptious Baja Bean on Beverly. Then we took-in a lecture on herbalism which included many of the drugs used in Shakespeare’s plays (including the unlikelihood that any of them would have done what the Bard suggested they would have done on stage)! Then a leisurely walk through town for fresh made gelato at the Split Banana! Super fun, super delicious!

CAPTIVATED BY two shows, a workshop, AND a lecture

Saturday started with breakfast at the Clocktower Eats & Sweets Restaurant. Then we attended the two amazing shows, and what a contrast: Laughing so hard at the Comedy of Errors, and weeping so hard during Romeo and Juliet! The actors, as always, were amazing! They performed both shows with aplomb and performed pop songs (related to the themes of the plays) before the shows and during intermission. They were spectacular! Between the shows we had a fine-dining experience at the Mill Street Grill. Saturday ended with another trip to the Clocktower and their exquisite bakery section! Mostly we stuck with the flavored cheesecakes, but pies and cakes and cream-filled cannoli were not in short supply!

enjoying the town & RESTAURANTS of staunton, va

Sunday (as if that were not enough) many of us opted-in for the second breakfast and then we headed to the east side of town and the Frontier Culture Museum. We spent the rest of the day watching the sheering of sheep (with 18th century technology—poor sheep!), petting pigs and goats and cows, and marveling at the conditions that frontier people were able to survive in and thrive in throughout many centuries gone by. The one-room schoolhouse was especially awe-inspiring!

We grabbed some lunch (not from Cracker Barrel) and got back on the highway. Two hours later we were back in Springfield. Good trip. Good times. Good chance we will be going again in November!