Theater

'AMERICAN LIVING ROOM 2006'
HERE Arts Center,
145 Sixth Avenue,
212-868-4444,
here.org

July 28–August 30:For 16 years the American Living Room has delighted audiences with its wide array of emerging artists from directors to puppeteers to choreographers. Highlights include choreographer Megan Metcalf's 29 Friends (July 28–29), with "non-dancers" dancing to their favorite songs, and Sara Kraft and Ed Purver's Remote (August 18–19), a multimedia theater piece about the history of military experiments.

'BARD SUMMERSCAPE 2006'
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College,
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York,
845-758-7900,
bard.edu/fishercenter

July 6–August 12: Opera fans rejoice, for Bard College's SummerScape festival will present Robert Schumann's Genoveva (July 28–August 5) and an evening of comic operettas by Jacques Offenbach (August 3–12). "The World of Franz Liszt" is another seasonal highlight, and dance premieres by Donna Uchizono (June 29–July 1) showcase Liszt in a whole new light. The summer program also includes Neil Bartlett's Camille (July 6–16), a theatrical adaptation of Alexandre Dumas fils' novel La Dame aux Camélias. COEN

'BURLESQUE AT THE BEACH'
Sideshows by the Seashore,
Surf Avenue and West 12th Street,
Coney Island, Brooklyn,
718-372-5159, coneyisland.com

Through September 15:charscalex100Burlesque performances every Friday night at 10 p.m. Highlights include Badass Burlesque (May 26), Julie Atlas Muz (June 2), Le Scandal (June 30), Starshine Burlesque (July 7), the World Famous Pontani Sisters (July 21), Dirty Martini (August 4), Red Hots Burlesque (September 1) and the Miss Coney Island Burlesque Beauty Pageant (September 8).

'HIP-HOP THEATER FESTIVAL'
Various venues,
718-497-4282,
hiphoptheaterfest.com

June 15–June 24: This sixth annual festival features rappers, dancers, and more from the U.S. and beyond.

'HOT!: THE NYC CELEBRATION OF QUEER CULTURE'
Dixon Place, 258 Bowery;
Dixon Place at the Marquee,
356 Bowery,
212-219-0736,
dixonplace.org

June 28–August 13:A festival of new works by lesbian, gay, and bisexual artists including Penny Arcade, Taylor Mac, Michelle Matlock, Henry Hill and Kelly Bartnik, Dan Fishback, Nick Hallett, and many more.

'ICE FACTORY '06'
Ohio Theatre,
66 Wooster Street,
212-868-4444,
sohothinktank.org

July 5–August 12: Ice isn't the substance that comes to mind when visiting the un-air-conditioned Ohio Theatre in the summer—indeed, your thoughts may run more to infernos, bonfires, or sun's searing heat. But artistic director Robert Lyons has kept things cool for 13 years with this festival offering new theater and performance works. Featured works will range from the basements of clandestine Midwesterners (Particularly in the Heartland, July 19–22) to the tents of a traveling carnival troupe (Achtung Grimm!, July 26–29) to Aruba (Aruba, July 12–15, natch). SOLOSKI

'LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2006'
Various venues,
212-875-5456,
lincolncenter.org

July 10–July 30: At the close of its first decade, the Lincoln Center Festival should stand at the top of the class, continually offering challenging, lambent, well-curated performances. This season's roster includes a Julie Taymor–directed version of Grendel (July 11–16), a one-man Beowulf, and the complete works of John Millington Synge (July 10–23). SOLOSKI

'LINCOLN CENTER OUT OF DOORS 2006'
Various venues,
212-875-5766,
lincolncenter.org

August 4–27: Lincoln Center is paying tribute to "the spirit of the blues" and other artistic incarnations. What could be sweeter than spending a cool summer night listening to the musical stylings of Eddie Palmieri or devoting an afternoon to learning the art of African dance? The festival features more than 100 free performances from local and international artists. Best bets for kids (or those just young at heart) include the giant-puppet pageant by the Puppeteers Cooperative (August 5), Arm-of-the-Sea's puppet-theater spectacular At the Turning of the Tide (August 8), and the acrobatic stilt walkers of the Carpetbag Brigade Physical Theater Company (August 15). COEN

NEW YORK CLASSICAL THEATRE
Central Park, near 103rd Street and Central Park West,
212-252-4531,
newyorkclassical.org

June 1–August 27:Celebrate the reign of Queen Elizabeth I by attending the New York Classical Theatre's summer season, which will feature two Shakespearean comedies, All's Well That Ends Well (June 1–25) and The Comedy of Errors (August 3–27). Schiller's Mary Stuart (July 5–13), a play that chronicles the relationship between Elizabeth and her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, rounds out the bill. All performances are free and open to the public. COEN

'NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL'
Various venues,
fringenyc.org

August 11–27:Critics may snipe that ever since Urinetown transferred to Broadway, this August affair has turned rather conventional—offering shows a bit too well-hemmed to really qualify as fringe. They're not entirely wrong, but with a roster of some 200 companies offering 1,300 performances in 16 days, only the worst sort of curmudgeon couldn't find a piece or two to love. And as it's the 10th anniversary, some of the fest's best-loved pieces will enjoy a revival. SOLOSKI

'SELLOUT FESTIVAL'
The Brick, 575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn,
718-907-3457,
bricktheater.com

June 2–July 2:No pretensions here, just good ol' hipster humor. Creators of the Brick Theater Summer Festival have decided to sell out after finding success two years in a row; the theme last year was "moral values," so the choice seems only fitting. The season will feature a number of cheap thrills and entertainment including Die Hard—The Puppet Musical (June 4), The Kung Fu Importance of Being Earnest (June 3–June 24), and Shakespeare's King Lear (June 25–July 2). How's that for variety? COEN

'SEVENTH ANNUAL MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL'
WorkShop Theater,
312 West 36th Street;
Where Eagles Dare Theatre,
347 West 36th Street;
212-868-4444,
midtownfestival.org

July 17–August 6:This annual festival is a three-week theater extravaganza featuring about 200 performances, including musicals, comedies, and dramas.

'SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK'
Delacorte Theater,
Central Park, near West 81st Street entrance,
212-539-8750,
publictheater.org

June 13–September 3: As the new artistic director of the Public Theater, Oskar Eustis has acquitted himself quite well, but nothing will test his mettle like his oversight of the Public's most famous phenomenon, its summer season of Shakespeare plays in Central Park. For his inaugural effort, Eustis has programmed one Shakespeare play, Macbeth (June 13–July 9), and one by Brecht, Mother Courage and Her Children (August 8–September 3). He's secured some excellent actors: The dishy Liev Schreiber and the possibly dishier Jennifer Ehle will play Shakespeare's Lord and Lady M., while Meryl Streep will hitch her star to Mother Courage's wagon. SOLOSKI

'THIRD ANNUAL SUMMER PLAY FESTIVAL—SPF'
Theatre Row Theatres,
410 West 42nd Street,
212-279-4200,
spfnyc.com

July 5–July 30:In a city whose stages are consistently teeming with revivals, the Third Annual Summer Play Festival offers a respite for theatergoers looking to challenge convention and support budding artists. The low ticket prices also sugarcoat the incentive. Throughout the month of July, 15 new plays will be given full productions at the Theatre Row complex. The up-and-coming playwrights were chosen from a pool of over 1,000 competitors. Works include Peter Morris's comedy Marge, about a man who hires a prostitute to kill his wife, and Sheri Wilner's Father Joy, about a young sculptor who becomes romantically involved with her professor. COEN

'SUMMERWORKS 2006'
Ohio Theater, 66 Wooster Street,
212-868-4444,
clubbedthumb.org

June 4–24:As every child knows, correct, factual information can most easily be found on the Internet, and so we turn to the musings of handanalysis.com. The "clubbed thumb," these experts hold, "is a sign of great determination and willpower concentrated for rapid results." That's certainly true of the theater company Clubbed Thumb, which will rapidly produce its 11th season of new 90-minute plays. Selections include Anne Washburn's I Have Loved Strangers(June 4–10), Erin Courtney's Alice the Magnet (June 11–17), and Rachel Hoeffel's Quail (June 18–24). SOLOSKI