Summertime is high season for festival theaters; that is, a theater which is itself a destination rather than an add-on to a vacation trip. Typically, a festival theater offers three, four, even six or more plays in rotating repertory, often with daily matinee and evening performances. The area may offer art galleries, good restaurants, antiquing, golf, swimming, etc. but theater is the main event. As my old friend William Hurt ( yes, the William Hurt ) used to say, long before he was famous, "Stay three days, see six plays, fuck a future star." Our annual list includes festival theaters within one day's drive of Chicago, described in alphabetical order:
American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wis.—The June 10-Oct. 17 season features five plays in the main outdoor amphitheatre and three more in a new, intimate indoor space. Choose from Shakespeare, Shaw, Lillian Hellmann, Somerset Maugham, Samuel Beckett and even Athol Fugard. Increasingly, many APT actors and directors are splitting their time between Spring Green ( which has a core ensemble company ) and Chicago, so directors such as William Brown, James Bohnen ( artistic director of Remy Bumppo Theatre ) and Kate Buckley may be familiar, as will be actors such as Matt Schwader, Marcus Truschinski and Tracy Michelle Arnold. The setting is perfection, in rolling land bordering the Wisconsin River an hour west of Madison. Full info: www.americanplayers.org
Door Shakespeare Festival, Baileys Harbor, Wis.—Located on the so-called quiet side of the Door County peninsula, Door Shakes offers Much Ado About Nothing and Sheridan's 18th-century comedy, The Rivals, in rotating rep July 9-Aug. 21. Set amidst the gardens of Bjorklunden, a 425-acre former private estate—the 12-year-old Door Shakespeare Festival is not quite a full-fledged destination, but Door County offers plenty of diversions to fill in the blanks ( including the summer stock Peninsular Players and American Folklore Theater a short drive away in Fish Creek, Wis. ) . Full info: www.doorshakespeare.com
Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Bloomington—The June 24-Aug. 8 season presents The Tempest and The Merry Wives of Windsor by The Bard, plus yet another world premiere stage adaptation of The Three Musketeers ( by Chicago playwright Robert Kauzlaric ) . Among this year's artists are esteemed Chicago directors Joel Fink and Karen Kessler. The outdoor setting, amidst the formal gardens of Ewing Manor ( an old Tudor-style estate ) , is lovely, picnics are encouraged and there's a pre-theater performance of sketches and madrigals on the "greens" of the grounds. Bloomington also is prime B&B and antiques territory. Full info: www.thefestival.org
Latino Theatre Festival, Goodman Theatre, Chicago—The biennial Latino Theatre Festival has grown exponentially over the last decade and will run for five weeks this year, June 19-July 25, offering performances by Cuba's Teatro Buendia as well as a gaggle of local Latino troupes such as Teatro Vista, Aguijon Theater Company, Teatro Luna and the Albany Park Theatre Project. Performances in both Spanish and English ( with appropriate projected surtitles ) at the Goodman Theatre and at Millennium Park. In addition to the various theater companies participating, creative partners include the Grant Park Music Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Latino Music Festival. Full info: www.goodmantheatre.org
Ravinia Festival, Highland Park—Yeah, Ravinia chiefly is a music festival but the season always includes several musical theater events with big stars. This summer is no exception. Garrison Keilor brings A Prairie Home Companion—complete with a Guy Noir mystery—to Ravinia on July 3, while July 31 offers Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a gala Stephen Sondheim concert. Broadway's Kelli O'Hara presents a one-woman show on August 4, while LuPone and Brian Stokes Mitchell join the CSO Aug. 13-15 for three concert performances of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun. Full info: www.ravinia.org
Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario—Alas, the Canadian dollar no longer is a bargain but that doesn't make Canadian theater any less attractive nor the picture-postcard town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Yes, you can drive there in a day from Chicago, albeit a long one. Already underway and continuing through Oct. 31, the Shaw Festival presents 10 plays and musicals in three indoor venues. In addition to works by Shaw himself, 2010 features such tasty treats at Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's One Touch of Venus, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, and The Women by Clare Boothe Luce. The town is a tourist's paradise, not overbuilt and not over-commercialized but it fills up quickly. Full info: www.shawfest.com
Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario—Alas, the Canadian dollar no longer is a bargain but that doesn't make Canadian theater any less attractive nor the American visitor any less welcome to the Mother of All North American Theater Festivals, already going and extending through Oct. 31. Among Stratford's dozen productions this season ( in three indoor playhouses ) are The Tempest ( with Christopher Plummer as Prospero ) , the wizard ) , James M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Evita ( directed by our own Gary Griffin ) , As You Like It, The Winter's Tale and Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate. Stratford is one of those magical places where you always run in to someone you know, or see someone famous.
Full info: www.stratfordfestival.ca
Theater on the Lake, Chicago—Last but not least, our own homegrown festival, which really is more like summer stock. Each year, for many seasons now, the Chicago Park District has presented a summertime "best of" series, offering one-week revivals of hits of the Off-Loop theater season. It's a wonderful opportunity to see a show again, or catch one you missed, and the price is right, although the inadequately-equipped theater pavilion at Fullerton Avenue and the lake does take the polish off things. Among the eight shows this year, June 16-Aug. 8, are Abigail's Party ( A Red Orchid Theatre ) , Red Noses ( Strawdog Theatre ) , Mary's Wedding ( Rivendell Theatre ) and Under Milkwood ( Caffeine Theatre ) . Full info: www.chicagoparkdistrict.com . TIP: It's easier to Google "Theater on the Lake" then navigate the Chicago Park District site.
Remember, for all those outdoors venues, check the weather, bring a sweater or sweatshirt 'gainst the cool night air and bring some insect repellant. Mosquitoes love theater, too!
