OUR VIEW LOGO (NEW)

In the Oscar-winning crowd-pleaser “Shakespeare in Love,” play producer Henslow tries to explain the inner workings of the theater to Fennyman, a potential investor.

“The natural condition,” Henslow says, “is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.”

“So, what do we do?” asks a naturally concerned Fennyman.

“Nothing,” reassures Henslow. “Strangely enough, it all turns out well.”

Could it be, here in the theater-rich Rogue Valley, that after a first act filled with the traumas of wildfires, a pandemic and a decrease in summer tourism, local companies are emerging from a prolonged intermission to see Henslow’s wisdom play out?

Last week’s announcement that Camelot Theatre in Talent has purchased property earmarked for the eventual expansion of its campus is just the latest in a series of plot twists which, taken together, signal that we’re in the midst of a revival of sorts on the valley’s various stages.

Camelot, according to Executive Director Dann Hauser, is experiencing its best year yet in terms of audience numbers and fundraising.

The secret behind the success of the company’s 41st season isn’t much of a mystery — “Customers want to be entertained,” Hauser says — as the analytically driven method Camelot uses to fill out its schedule focuses on keeping the audience front and center.

Elsewhere, other companies have good news of their own:

At the Oregon Cabaret Theatre, demand for tickets has led to additional shows being added to the current run of “Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” the latest in a series of extremely popular Agatha Christie adaptations by OCT co-owner Rick Robinson.

Knowing what works has kept audiences returning, which they undoubtedly will do next season when the Cabaret presents another Christie adaptation, “Sherlock Holmes and the Study in Scarlet.”

Over at the Rogue Theatre Company, founder Jessica Sage has built in four short years a reputation for quality productions that have featured many of the valley’s most well-known and beloved actors.

RTC might be the smallest in size of the area’s companies, but its ambitions are unlimited. Staging productions at Grizzly Peak Winery in Ashland, Sage doubled the number of plays produced this season, with plans for the next two years already in the works.

“RTC is financially healthy, strong and solid,” she says. “And I am determined to keep it that way.”

In Medford, the Collaborative Theatre Project is finishing its 2023 season with a pair of classics — the recently launched “Jekyll and Hyde,” followed by a holiday season production of “A Christmas Carol.”

CTP, housed at the Medford Center, announced its 2024 season late last month — a six-show slate that includes its own Christie adaptation, “Murder on the Orient Express” a musical spoof on the genre called “Something’s Afoot” and production of a Shakespeare favorite, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Speaking of Shakespeare, there’s also good news emanating from the renowned Ashland festival — where a fundraising drive allowed OSF to continue its 2023 season, a new leadership team is in place, and an announced nine-show 2024 season has been expanded.

A production of “Coriolanus” was announced this week as the 10th show to the season, which will now run through the middle of October next year.

“We appreciate their generous support for and commitment to keeping our theaters open,” Diane Yu, chair of the OSF Board of Directors, said last month. “This is good news for the region.”

Strangely enough, you might say, after the past few years of upheaval, the valley theater scene’s road to imminent disaster might turn out well after all.