After years on Broadway, Steffanie Leigh comes home to Ashland

After years on Broadway, Steffanie Leigh comes home to Ashland

Broadway’s Steffanie Leigh is back home at Ashland High School's Theatre to premiere a new solo cabaret about her lifelong relationship with her voice. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dc0793a/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1234x577+0+0/resize/792x370!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2c%2F56%2Fc62cb6fa4e319a5aff10861f41ec%2Fstephanie-leigh-ashland-to-broadway.png]Broadway’s https://www.steffanieleigh.com/ is back home at Ashland High School's Theatre to premiere a new solo cabaret about her lifelong relationship with her voice. 'https://ashlandhs.booktix.com/dept/Theatre/e/Stef' opens on May 29.(https://www.steffanieleigh.com/) Ashland native and Broadway performer Steffanie Leigh [https://www.steffanieleigh.com/] is returning to the stage where her theater career began. After a three-year run as Mary Poppins on Broadway, Leigh will perform her one-woman cabaret, "My Little Voice [https://ashlandhs.booktix.com/dept/Theatre/e/Stef]," at Ashland High School Theatre on June 12. Leigh said the performance feels like a full-circle moment and a tribute to the community that helped shape her career. "I feel so lucky to have grown up here," she said. "I absolutely fell in love with theater here." Leigh credits local mentors and a partnership between Ashland High School and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with helping prepare her for a professional career. While her career has taken her from Broadway to international tours performing Disney music, "My Little Voice" explores her relationship with her singing voice. The production also reunites her with director Richard Jessup, who taught her dance in Ashland and directed her senior musical. "He has made me so much better in this," Leigh said. GUEST * Steffanie Leigh [https://www.steffanieleigh.com/], cabaret performer, "My Little Voice" EVENT * "My Little Voice [https://ashlandhs.booktix.com/dept/Theatre/e/Stef]" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at Ashland High School Theatre. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/66b6ddd/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2500x1400+0+0/resize/792x444!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2F7b%2Fad4f59334850a96a91c969888ca0%2Fthe-creative-way-episode.png]

Music and pierogi: Polish festival returns to Southern Oregon

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9b812d0/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1775x1420+0+0/resize/660x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2F81%2Fb8e286cd4b2e96fd5915101bc5ab%2Fpolish-fest.jpg](Southern Oregon Polish Festival) Iwona Erbe spent years telling her friend Aga Paschal that Southern Oregon needed a Polish festival — and that Paschal Winery would be the ideal place to host one. When the first festival quickly sold out in 2025, Erbe said it confirmed her instincts. This year, the event returns with increased capacity, more food vendors and performances by regional musicians. The Polish rock/folk band Zabavva is traveling from Portland to take part in the Southern Oregon Polish Festival. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a89c546/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1600x1174+0+0/resize/720x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F96%2F81%2F1ffedcb5414c9b2807c3961ca1ba%2Fzabavva-band-image.jpeg] The Polish rock/folk band Zabavva is traveling from Portland to take part in the Southern Oregon Polish Festival.( Iwona Erbe) MUSIC HELPS PRESERVE CULTURAL IDENTITY Erbe will perform at the festival as a member of Zabavva, a Portland-based Polish rock and folk band whose name means "fun" in Polish. The group includes her husband, a conservatory-trained musician from Wisconsin, and their two adult children. Erbe said the band began as a family project but expanded over time. "Now we include other people, and we always encourage and invite young musicians from the Polish community to perform with us and promote Polish culture," she said. Between working in various ensembles in the Rogue Valley, Michal Palzewicz will perform Chopin at the Polish Festival. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/360a176/2147483647/strip/false/crop/205x307+0+0/resize/205x307!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2F9f%2Fab7a99a44d048b7a66e61741aaa5%2Fmichal.png] Between working in various ensembles in the Rogue Valley, Michal Palzewicz will perform Chopin at the Polish Festival.( Palzewicz.com ) Rogue Valley cellist Michal Palzewicz will also perform at this year's festival. He selected works by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, often called the "poet of the piano." Palzewicz said choosing music for a solo cello performance required some creativity because Chopin primarily composed for piano. "When Aga asked me to perform, I started thinking about what I could play," he said. "There is a lot of modern music for solo cello, but Chopin was mostly a pianist. There is a cello sonata, so I'll perform an excerpt from that, and I was also able to find arrangements of some of his other pieces." Agnieszka 'Aga' Stachurska Paschal loves the foods of her native Poland...and all things Christmas. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3aab171/2147483647/strip/false/crop/450x438+0+0/resize/450x438!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2Ffe%2F26bdac154e689a21bc1b32cff2da%2Faga.png] Agnieszka 'Aga' Stachurska Paschal loves the foods of her native Poland...and all things Christmas.( paschalwinery.com) FOOD CREATES CONNECTIONS TO HOME Traditional dishes such as pierogi, borscht and pastries bring another dimension to comfort food, connecting people to their heritage while giving others a taste of another culture. Paschal, who was born in Krakow and moved to Oregon in her 20s, said she has become increasingly nostalgic for the foods and traditions of her childhood. "Now in my 50s, I'm starting to look back and get nostalgic," she said. "I miss the flavors and traditions I grew up with." Festival attendees will have the chance to experience those traditions through food, music and community — elements organizers say are helping fill a cultural gap in Southern Oregon.

Ashland Fringe Festival returns with eclectic art and local performers

"Heaven is not blue" is a work of art by Biru, which is featured as part of the 2026 Ashland Fringe Festival. The festival runs May 15-17, and includes 55 live events and 11 art installations. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0186358/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1161x598+0+0/resize/792x408!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F27%2F61%2Fb6a0e8eb412f8920aed77ce69cba%2Fbiru-heave-is-not-blue-art-piece.png]"Heaven is not blue" is a work of art by https://www.instagram.com/studiiobiru/, which is featured as part of the 2026 Ashland Fringe Festival. The festival runs May 15-17, and includes 55 live events and 11 art installations.(https://ashlandfringe.org/heaven-is-hot-blue/) Ashland is preparing for a wave of eccentric, out-of-the-box creativity as the Ashland Fringe Festival [https://ashlandfringe.org/] takes over the city from May 15-17. Featuring 55 live events and 11 visual arts installations, the festival, now a standalone nonprofit, continues its mission to amplify underrepresented voices and connect them with the Rogue Valley community. Executive Director Mary Snelgrove said the festival's focus remains local. "About 80% of our artists are local," Snelgrove said. She added that the organization’s mission is to increase access to the arts by keeping the festival free and open to the public. The diverse lineup includes theater, film, and eclectic arts such as puppetry and drag, alongside interactive experiences like wheat-paste workshops in Lithia Park. One local highlight is Mitchell Winters, the creative force behind the indie rock/electronic pop project Slow Corpse [https://www.instagram.com/slowcorpse/], which performs Saturday at the Butler Bandshell in Lithia Park. The band got its start at the Ashland Fringe Festival, and Winters said the event reflects the festival’s grassroots spirit. Having built his career with a simple home studio, he encouraged aspiring artists to start creating with whatever tools they have. "I encourage people, don't worry about having big crazy stuff," Winters said. "You can get this stuff down with just a computer." Winters said the festival has helped artists build both confidence and community. “Our first year at Fringe really showed me that if you put your mind to it, people are going to come and support you,” he said. From films focused on sustainability to music from Southern Oregon University students, the Ashland Fringe Festival offers events for a wide range of interests. Most performances and installations will take place in and around Lithia Park. GUESTS * Mary Snelgrove [https://ashlandfringe.org/about/], founder, Ashland Fringe Festival * Mitchell Winters [https://slowcorpse.bandcamp.com/], band leader, Slow Corpse EVENT * Ashland Fringe Festival [https://ashlandfringe.org/schedule/] takes place May 15-17. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/66b6ddd/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2500x1400+0+0/resize/792x444!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2F7b%2Fad4f59334850a96a91c969888ca0%2Fthe-creative-way-episode.png]

From local stories to Western epics, AIFF returns to Ashland

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/363dc0c/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1529x932+0+0/resize/792x483!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F3d%2F5c00c5304136b621c88d0b06499f%2Faiff-25-anniversary.png](https://www.ashlandfilm.org/) The Ashland Independent Film Festival returns next week, marking its 25th anniversary of bringing independent cinema to the Rogue Valley. The festival runs April 23-26 and features more than 40 programs across four venues, including narrative and documentary films. Programming director Aura Johnson said films are grouped into tracks such as environmentalism, activism and portrait documentaries, though many resist easy categorization. She said recurring themes often emerge across selections. “Sometimes themes do sort of arise, and it almost feels like a collective unconscious coming to the surface,” Johnson said. This year’s lineup includes local films “Trash Baby” and “A Simple Machine,” as well as the festival's Rogue Award presentation to interactive filmmaker Sam Green. One of the festival’s featured films is “Dead Souls,” directed by Alex Cox. The film adapts the 19th-century novel by Nikolai Gogol, reimagining it as a Western set in 1890. Cox, known for films such as “Repo Man,” used crowdfunding to finance the project and maintain creative control. “I’m always looking to find an excuse to make a cowboy film,” Cox said. He described the Western’s appeal as rooted in its “transgressive nature,” noting the genre’s revival in the 1960s as a more cynical portrayal of the American West. The festival opens with “The Big Cheese,” a documentary centered on cheesemonger Sam Rollins. Organizers say the film reflects the festival’s connection to the local community. Events throughout the weekend include filmmaker discussions and interactive experiences, such as cheese tastings. For more information on venues, times and tickets, visit the festival website at ashlandfilm.org [https://www.ashlandfilm.org/]. GUESTS * ALEX COX, FILMMAKER * Aura Johnson, director of programming, Ashland Independent Film Festival

Lorraine Hansberry’s legacy gets new spotlight in Ashland

Black-and-white portrait of Lorraine Hansberry, an American playwright known for A Raisin in the Sun. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5a16bb1/2147483647/strip/false/crop/960x768+0+0/resize/660x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faf%2F42%2F46d440c4459089b73f46a1d0116f%2Fthe-sign-in-sidney-brusteins-window-by-lorraine-hansberry-crop2.JPG]Playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway, is being honored in Ashland with a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" and a new commemorative plaque.(By Jacket design not credited - Scan via Penguin Random House / Wikimedia) Playwright Lorraine Hansberry is having a moment in the Rogue Valley, with a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun [https://www.osfashland.org/productions/2026-plays/a-raisin-in-the-sun]" at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a new permanent plaque on Ashland’s Playwrights Walk. Hansberry was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. Joi Gresham, director of the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust, said Hansberry’s work reflects her roles as an artist, activist and public intellectual. Gresham said Hansberry’s writing was shaped by her early career in journalism and grounded in what she described as a “passionate humanist” worldview. When "A Raisin in the Sun" debuted, it challenged stereotypes and minstrelsy common in American theater at the time. Gresham said Hansberry wanted the play to “tell the truth about our lives” and reflect the dignity and complexity of Black Americans. In Ashland, that legacy now has a physical presence with a commemorative plaque in Railroad Park. Gina DuQuenne said the plaque reflects a community effort and replaces a site that had previously been vandalized. “This plaque will be in the ground long after I’m gone,” DuQuenne said. The production, which runs through July 19, is bringing Hansberry’s work to new audiences. “I know Lorraine is smiling down on us and she’s proud of what we’re doing,” DuQuenne said. GUEST * Gina DuQuenne, Ashland City Counselor * Joi Gresham, Director, Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/66b6ddd/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2500x1400+0+0/resize/792x444!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2F7b%2Fad4f59334850a96a91c969888ca0%2Fthe-creative-way-episode.png]