The upcoming summer theater season brings a varied bounty of outdoor and indoor riches to the region. Shakespeare, of course, takes the lead, but this year no particular play dominates the listings. Happily, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival returns to a play by its namesake with the lyrical "Twelfth Night" scheduled.

Our own Shakespeare festival will stage one of the less-seen comedies, "As You Like It."

FAIR OAKS THEATRE FESTIVAL

• "Annie" When: 8:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, next Friday through July 24;

Where: Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre, Old Fair Oaks Village at California Street and Fair Oaks Boulevard, Fair Oaks

Tickets: $13, $15, $8 for children ages 12 and under, $25 for the opening-night gala on June 17

The lowdown: Director Bob Irvin heads up the creative forces that include choreo- graphy by Sunny Smith and musical direction by Kirt Shearer. Thandie Van Wesenbeeck plays Annie, with Corey Winfield as Daddy Warbucks and Cheryl Watson as Miss Hannigan.

Information: (916) 966-3683 or www.fairoakstheatrefestival.com

• "Stuart Little" When: 10 a.m. and noon Saturdays, July 2-23

Tickets: $4

The lowdown: Tracy Martin Shearer directs an adaptation of E.B. White's classic tale.

Where: Fair Oaks Community Clubhouse

Information: (916) 966-3683, www.fairoakstheatrefestival.com

• "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Aug. 12-Sept. 11

Where: Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre, Old Fair Oaks Village at California Street and Fair Oaks Boulevard, Fair Oaks

Tickets: $13, $15, $8 for children ages 12 and under

The lowdown: The festival changes up its fare with an adult-oriented musical it calls "South Park" meets "Desperate Housewives."

Information: (916) 966-3683, www.fairoakstheatrefestival.com

MUSIC CIRCUS

• "The Producers" July 12-17

• "Oliver!" July 19-24

• "Anything Goes" July 26-31

• "Camelot" Aug. 2-7

• "Annie Get Your Gun" Aug. 9-14

• "I Do! I Do!" Aug. 16-21

• "Miss Saigon" Aug. 23-28

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays

Where: Wells Fargo Pavilion, 1419 H St., Sacramento

Tickets: $42-$71; $30-$35 ages 4-17

The lowdown: The Sacramento summer tradition of professional musical theater in the round continues with a season featuring contemporary and classic performances.

Information: (916) 557-1999, www.californiamusicaltheatre.com

SACRAMENTO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

• "The Taming of the Shrew"

When: July 1, 2, 10, 15, 17, 22, 28 and 30

• "As You Like It"

When: July 8, 9, 14, 16, 21, 24, 29 and 31 (Gates open at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: William A. Carroll Amphitheatre in William Land Park

Tickets: $18 general; $15 students, seniors and people with disabilities; free for ages 6-12. Children under 6 are not admitted.

The lowdown: Parking is $2. Low-back lawn chairs are permitted in the bowl, and picnics are welcome. Christine Nicholson directs "The Taming of the Shrew" with a cast including Nina Breton as Kate and Rick Eldredge as Petruchio. David Harris directs "As You Like It" with a cast including Jenna Cedusky as Rosalind, Alyse Vogel as Celia, Luther Hanson as Jaques, and George Schau as Touchstone.

Information: (916) 558-2228, www.sacramentoshakespeare.net

MURPHYS CREEK THEATRE

• "Romeo and Juliet"

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights from June 24-July 30

Where: The Cornelia B. Stevenot Amphitheatre, Albeno Munari Vineyard and Winery, 2690 Domingo Road, two miles outside Murphys

Tickets: $10-$18

The lowdown: The Albeno Munari Vineyard and Winery is formerly Stevenot Winery. The amphitheatre seating area is on lawned tiers. Adirondack chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You may bring your own camp chairs, lawn chairs, beach chairs or a blanket. Dress in layers; the temperature cools as the night progresses.

Information: (209) 728-8422, www.murphyscreektheatre.org

LAKE TAHOE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

• "Twelfth Night"

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays from July 15-Aug. 21 (Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for eating and hanging out)

Where: Sand Harbor State Park, Lake Tahoe

Tickets: $15-$85

The lowdown: The festival returns to actual Shakespeare in the scenic venue at Sand Harbor on Highway 28, about 21/2 miles south of Incline Village. Festival parking is free after 5 p.m. There are no lights in the parking lot, so a flashlight or lantern is a good idea.

Information: (800) 747-4697, www.laketahoeshakespeare.com

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

• "The Language Archive"

through June 18

• "To Kill a Mockingbird" through July 3

• "Henry IV, Part Two" through Oct. 7

• "The Pirates of Penzance" through Oct. 8

• "Love's Labor's Lost" through Oct. 9

• "The African Company Presents Richard III" July 20-Nov. 5

• "August: Osage County" through Nov. 5

• "Measure for Measure," "The Imaginary Invalid" and "Julius Caesar" through Nov. 6

• "Ghost Light" June 28-Nov. 5

Where: Angus Bowmer Theatre, the New Theatre and the Elizabethan Stage/Allen Pavilion in Ashland, Ore.

Tickets: $17-$72

The lowdown: Show times and dates vary at this expansive festival. Check the website or telephone for information. For an extended stay, consider renting a house from Vacation Rentals By Owner, www.VRBO.com.

Information: (541) 482-4331, www.osfashland.org

CALIFORNIA SHAKESPEARE THEATRE

• "Titus Andronicus" through June 26

• "The Verona Project" July 6-31

• "Candida" Aug. 10-Sept. 4

• "The Taming of the Shrew" Sept. 21-Oct. 16

When: Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays.

Where: The Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda

Tickets: $35-$66

The lowdown: CSUS theater grad James Carpenter stars as Titus Andronicus in Cal Shakes' first-ever production of the brutal tragedy. Director Amanda Dehnert creates a world-premiere musical based on "Two Gentlemen of Verona" and artistic director Jonathan Moscone continues his exploration of George Bernard Shaw with "Candida."

Information: (510) 548-9666, www.calshakes.org

MAIN STREET THEATRE WORKS

• "A Flea in Her Ear"

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from next Friday-July 16

Where: Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre, Jackson

Tickets: $12-$17.50, $49 for a family pack (two adults, two students)

The lowdown: The amphitheater entrance is on North Main Street. The parking lot is next to the Country Squire Motel, 1105 N. Main St. A short walk takes you over a bridge before you reach the amphitheater. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnics. Allen Pontes directs a cast including Earl Victorine, Lee Marie Kelly, Julie Anchor and Scott Divine.

Information: www.mstw.org or (209) 295-4499

WEST SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY THEATRE

• "King Lear"

When: 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from June 10-26

Where: Linden Park, West Sacramento

Tickets: Free

The lowdown: Bring a blanket or lawn chair to watch this group perform perhaps Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Helen Dahlberg directs.

Information: (916) 491-1085, www.westsactheater.com

ARMISTEAD MAUPIN'S TALES OF THE CITY: MUSICAL

What: A production of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater

Where: American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco

Tickets: $40-$127

Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes, including one intermission

Information: (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org

3 1/2 stars

History's long lens can easily blur the hard edges off images if we let it. Making a story into a Broadway-ready musical often does the same trick, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The world premiere of the musical "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City" at the American Conservatory Theatre takes us back to mid-1970s San Francisco – a time after the sunny hippie heydays of the '60s but before the darkness of the AIDS pandemic later in the '80s.

Based on Maupin's series of newspaper columns that became novels, the musical takes in the broad scope of the source material while necessarily trimming many side plots and cultural nuances.

The story still revolves around the expansive boarding house at 28 Barbary Lane run by the openhearted Anna Madrigal. With luminous Judy Kaye as Anna, the production has a graceful and compelling focal point with which all the other characters effectively connect.

Anna's boarders include Michael "Mouse" Tolliver (Wesley Taylor), Mona Ramsey (Mary Birdsong), Jon Fielding (Josh Breckenridge), and Mary Ann Singleton (Betsy Wolfe). All are more or less looking for love in the city, and "Tales" follows their ups and down on their various quests. This being set in San Francisco, though, the story includes a fair amount of recreational drug use, some coming-out angst and a transgender plot point.

The musical book writer Jeff Whitty, Tony-winning writer of "Avenue Q," does a solid job with all the material, though the musical feels overly long in its first half. The second act pulls together the numerous story strands with an emotionally satisfying resolution. The bright, bouncy music and lyrics are by Jake Shears and John Garden of the pop band Scissor Sisters. Jason Moore directs with clever choreography by Larry Keigwin. The musical already has the largest advance sale in A.C.T.'s history and has had its run extended through July 24.

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Call The Bee's Marcus Crowder, (916) 321-1120.

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