Summer sneaks

The Davis Shakespeare Festival will hold preview performances this weekend before it officially kicks off the formal runs for two upcoming productions. Local professional actor Matt Edwards plays the title role in the swashbuckling romance Cyrano de Bergerac, and festival co-artistic director Gia Battista plays artful switchboard operator Ella Peterson in the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing. Not only do these shows afford a sneak peek, they’re a little bit friendlier on the wallet than those staged during the official run, too. $10-$20; Cyrano de Bergerac at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; Bells Are Ringing at 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday; Veterans Memorial Theatre, 203 E. 14th Street in Davis; (530) 802-0998; www.shakespearedavis.org.