Plenty of theater action on tap this summer

If you love theater or even have a casual relationship with the art form, summer is your time of year. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day approximately two dozen theater companies within an hour drive from here will produced nearly 100 plays.

It’s hard to recommend any specific show in advance but here’s a rule of thumb based on tastes and pocketbook.

For t he minimum amount of driving, Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, Curtain Call Theatre in Latham or Local Actors Guild of Saratoga.

For new work, look for Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls or Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Mass.

For the classics there is Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass.

For consistent quality theater on multiple stages, you can’t go wrong with either Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass., WTF in Williamstown or Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

For free theater rely on Saratoga Shakespeare performing in Saratoga Springs’ Congress Park, Park Playhouse in Albany’s Washington Park or Not So Common Theatre in Clifton Park

For standard musicals or comedy try Theatre Barn in New Lebanon or MacHaydn Theatre in Chatham.

For cutting edge theater, most second stages of major festival theater and Adirondack Theatre Festival.

For having a meal with your theater, Lake Theatre in Lake George.

For an under-the radar theatre company, Dorset Theatre Festival in Dorset, Vt.. or Oldcastle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vt..

Plus, there are a lot more theaters that do not fit a specific genre. Stay tuned to these pages over the summer for updates and guidance for the best in area theater.

Here’s a look at what’s coming for the summer theater season.

Adirondack Theater Festival

Charles Wood Theatre, 207 Glen St., Glens Falls, (518) 798-WOOD, www.atfestival.org; performances Thursdays through Saturdays.

• June 21 – July 1: Nikola Telsa Drops the Beat

• July 11- July 20: Knights of the Sales Office

• July 26 – Aug. 4: Boys in the Bathroom

• Aug. 7- Aug. 12: Glitches in Reality (magic)

Barrington Stage Company

30 Union St., Pittsfield, Mass., (413) 528- 8888, www. barringtonstageco. org; performances Tuesdays through Sundays.

• June 21 – July 15: Ragtime

• July 20 – Aug. 5: Taking Steps

• Aug. 10 - Sept. 2: Company

• Oct 4 - Oct. 22 Gaslight St. Germain Second Stage 36 Linden St., Pittsfield, Mass.

• Now– June 10: Kunstler • June 15 - July 8: The Birds

• July 13 - July 29: Speech and Debate

• Aug 3 - Aug. 27: This Berkshire Theatre Group Stockbridge, Mass., (413) 288- 5576, www.berkshiretheatre.org; performances Mondays through Saturdays

• At Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield, Mass., July 6 – Aug. 3: The Music Man

• Main Stage at Stockbridge: July 27 – Aug. 19: Arsenic and Old Lace

• BTG @ Unicorn Theatre: June 14 – July 15: Million Dollar Quartet; July 19 – Aug. 26: Zoo Story

Capital Rep Theatre

Pearl Street, Albany, (518) 445-7469, www.capitalrep. org, performances Tuesdays through Sundays.

• July 7 – Aug. 13: Mama Mia

Curtain Call Theater

210 Old Loudon Road, Latham, (518) 877- 7529, www. curtaincalltheatre. com, performances Thursdays through Sundays.

• Now - June 24 Steel Magnolias

• July 8 - Aug. 5: Buyer and Cellar

Dorset Theatre Festival

Dorset, Vt.

• June 22 – July 8: Downstairs

• July 13 - July 29: Baskervilles, A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

• July 28 - Aug. 13: The Legend of Georgia McBride

• Aug. 18 - Sept. 3 American Buffalo

Fort Salem Theater

11 East Broadway, Salem. • June 23 - June 25: Rip Van Winkle

• July 14 - July 16: Souvenir

• July 21- July 24: Happy If … Happy When Lake Theatre

Turf Inn, Lake George, (518) 668-5781, www.lakegeorgedinnertheatre.com.

• July 20 – Sept. 2: Last of the Red Hot Lovers

• Sept. 14- Oct. 20: The Great …. Fishing Derby

Local Actors Guild of Saratoga

Dee Sarno Theatre, Saratoga Arts Center, Broadway, Saratoga Springs, performances Fridays through Sundays.

• Aug. 18 - Aug. 28: Avenue Q

Mac-Haydn Theatre

Route 203, Chatham, (518) 392-9292, www.machaydntheatre. org, performances Thursdays through Sundays.

• Now - June 4: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

• June 8 – June 18: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

• June 22 - July 2: Anything Goes

• July 6 - July 23: Saturday Night Fever

• July 27 - Aug. 6: Sweeney Todd

• Aug. 10 - Aug 20: Spamalot

• Aug. 24 - Sept. 3 Hello Dolly

Not So Common Players

Clifton Park Commons, performances Thursdays through Sundays.

• July 14 – July 23: Fiddler on the Roof

Oldcastle Theatre Company

331 Main St., Bennington, Vt., (802) 447- 0564

• Now – June 4: Shipwrecked! An Entertainment

• June 23 - July 9: Moonlight & Magnolias

• July 21 - Aug. 6: Mauritius

• Aug. 18 – Sept 3 A Comedy of Tenors

Park Playhouse

Washington Park, Albany, (518) 434- 0776 www. parkplayhouse.com, performances Tuesdays through Sundays.

• June 29 – July 29: Rag- time

• Park II Youth Theater: Aug. 4 – Aug. 19: The Music Man

• Park II at Cohoes Music Hall: Aug. 22-26: The Lion King

Russell SageCollege

Schact Fine Arts Center, 5 Division St., Troy, theatre. sage.edu

• May 31-June 11: Freckleface Strawberry

Saratoga Shakespeare

Congress Park, Saratoga Springs, (518) 584-4947, performances 6 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays,

• July 18 – 29: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Aug. 1 –5: A Winter”s Tale Shakespeare & Company 70 Kimble St., Lenox, Mass., (413) 637-3353, www. shakespeare.org, performances in rolling repertory

Packer Playhouse;

Lenox, Mass.: July 4 - Aug. 6: Cymbeline; Aug. 10 – Sept. 3: The Tempest (by Twilight)

• Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre: May 25 – July 16: 4,000 Miles; June 20 - Aug. 13: Intimate Apparel ; Aug. 17 - Sept. 10; Edith Wharton: OneActs; Sept. 14 - Oct. 8: God of Carnage

• WhartonEstate: July 11 – Aug. 12: Midsummer Night’s Dream (90 minutes)

Theatre Barn

Route 20, New Lebanon, (518) 794-8989, www.theatrebarn.com; performances Thursdays through Sundays

• June 23 – July 2: A Comedy of Tenors

• July 6 - July 23: Spider’s Web

• July 27 - Aug. 6: Nunsense

• Aug. 10 - Aug. 20: Godspell

• Aug. 24 - Sept 3: Guys and Dolls

• Sept. 8 - Sept. 24: Lucky Me

Williamstown Theatre Festival

‘62 Center, Williamstown, Mass., (413) 597-3400 www. wtfestival.org; performances Tuesdays through Sundays.

• Main Stage: June 27 – July 16: The Roommate; July 19 - July 29: TheCleanHouse; Aug. 3 - Aug. 20 A Legendary Romance (a musical)

• Nikos Theatre: July 12 – July 23: Where Storms are Born; July 26 - Aug. 6; Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow; Aug. 9 – Aug. 20: Actually