All of summer is a stage

It’s not yet officially summer, but rehearsals have already begun for the region’s warm-weather theater festivals, with shows opening in June. This year the Music Circus offers up a selection of musicals old and not-so-old, plus several regional companies and festivals will host a wealth of comedies, dramas and the usual Shakespeare suspects.

The Music Circus, a Sacramento tradition for decades, stages lighthearted Broadway-style shows. Each features professional New York actors, and every show will be presented in the round in Wells Fargo Pavilion, an air-conditioned, 2,200-seat theater. This season’s lineup includes Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (June 20-July 2). It’s based on the 1991 animated classic and the 2017 live-action remake. Bring the kids. Then there’s On The Town (July 11-July 16). This 1944 Broadway show features music by Leonard Bernstein, master of lyrics such as “New York, New York, a helluva town, The Bronx is up, but the Battery’s down.” Later in the month, clock in for Nine to Five (July 25-30). The production is based on the 1980 film about three weary working women that famously starred Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. The feminist comedy was adapted for the stage in 2009.

Kick off August with Damn Yankees (August 8-13). The musical, first staged in 1955, is about a group of diehard baseball fans who make a pact with a devil so that their team may win. Finally, the Music Circus will close its summer season with Sister Act (August 22-27). The production is, of course, based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy about a group of nuns. It was adapted for the stage in 2009. Single tickets for all Music Circus shows are $71-$45. Multishow subscriptions are also available. For more information, call (916) 557-1999 or visit www.sacramentomusiccircus.com.

For those interested in a trip across the Yolo Causeway, the Davis Shakespeare Festival will stage two shows in repertory (June 22-August 6). The festival, featuring conservatory-trained young professionals, turns to France for The Three Musketeers, an adventure with swordplay; alternating with Wonderful Town, a 1953 musical about New York City, with a Leonard Bernstein score. Performances are indoors at the Veterans Memorial Theatre, 230 E. 14th Street in Davis, and cost $25. Visit www .shakespearedavis.org or call (530) 802-0998 for tickets and information.

If outdoor shows are more your summer jam, then check out the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival, a community series hosted outdoors in the Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre. Puff on Reefer Madness (June 16-July 23), followed by Shrew! (August 11-September 17), which transfers the Shakespeare comedy to Jazz Age Paris. Tickets are $12-$18. The amphitheatre is at 7997 California Avenue in Fair Oaks; visit www.fairoakstheatrefestival.com or call (916) 966-3683 for details.

Over in Jackson, Main Street Theatre Works stages its outdoor shows in the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre. This year, the trailer-park comedy Doublewide, Texas (June 23-July 22) will feature Stetson hats and Lone Star beer. It’s followed by the Arthur Miller drama The Crucible (August 11-September 22). Tickets are $12-$20, and the theater is located at 1127 N. Main Street in Jackson. Call (209) 295-4499 or visit www.mstw.org for more information.

The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, a long-running series with community actors, will offer two comedies in repertory this season (June 30-July 30): The Comedy of Errors, set at a Mediterranean carnival circa 1900, and All’s Well That Ends Well, set in medieval times, like the tale on which the play is based. Performances are outdoors in the William A. Carroll Amphitheatre, next to Fairytale Town in William Land Park. Gates open for picnics at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $18, and performances take place at 3901 Land Park Drive. Call (916) 558-2228 or visit www.sacramentoshakespeare.net for more.