Syracuse Area

Appleseed Productions. 492-9766. www.appleseedproductions.org. The company offers the Texas townie titters of Greater Tuna (July 9, 10) and a quartet of one-acts, How to Pick Up GRRLZ, Gray Matter, The Genius and Samuel Beckett’s What Where (Aug. 6-8, 13, 14), all at the Atonement Lutheran Church, 116 W. Glen Ave. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Adults, $15; students and seniors, $12.

Glen Loch Mill Restaurant. 4626 North St., Jamesville. 469-6969; www.glenloch.net. Without a Cue Productions continues with its Saturday-night dinner-theater mounting of the murder-mystery spoof Idol Assassination (July 10, 17, 24, 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28). Dinner and show per person costs $37.25. Show starts at 7:30 p.m., but a 7 p.m. arrival time is suggested.

Not Another Theater Company. The Locker Room, 528 Hiawatha Blvd. 446-1461; www.notanothertheatercompany.com. Artistic director Dustin Czarny continues his fledgling dinner-theater operation with Leading Ladies (July 30, 31, Aug. 1, 6, 7) in the Locker Room’s Fire and Ice Banquet Hall. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.; dinner available 90 minutes before showtime. Adults, $27; couples, $50; show only, $18.

Spaghetti Warehouse. 689 N. Clinton St. www.acmemysterytheater.com. The Thursday-night interactive-mystery satirists Acme Mystery Co. present No Time for Death (July 8, 15, 22, 29, Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26) at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.95, including dinner theater and show, plus tax and gratuity. Call 475-1807 for Spaghetti Warehouse information, or 622-2665 for Acme Mystery. 

Syracuse Shakespeare Festival. 476-1835. www.syracuseshakespearefestival.org. Artistic director Ronnie Bell’s Shakespeare in the Park again takes place at the Thornden Park amphitheater, off Ostrom Avenue and Madison and South Beech streets, with a free production of the Bard’s Much Ado About Nothing (Aug. 12-15, 19-22). Theatergoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic ingredients, although food vendors will be on hand. Thursdays through Saturdays, 5:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. 

The Talent Company. 479-SHOW. www.thetalentco.com. All Shook Up (July 29-31, Aug. 1, 5-8, 12-15), a 1950s-era Elvis Presley salute, will rattle and roll the New Times Theatre, Art and Home Center, New York State Fairgrounds. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Adults, $30; seniors and students, $25; under age 12, $20; group discounts available.

Heavy Hitters

Cortland Repertory Theater. Dwyer Park Pavilion, Little York Lake, Preble. (607) 756-2627, (607) 753-6161, (800) 427-6160. www.cortlandrep.org. The tiny pavilion theater (since renamed the Edward Jones Playhouse) in Dwyer Memorial Park, located on the Little York Lake shoreline, will present more productions under the stewardship of producing director Kerby Thompson: the 1950s musical The Pajama Game (July 7-11, 13-18, 20-24); the bonnie dance hit Brigadoon (July 28-30, Aug. 3-8, 10-15); the area premiere of the hoof-happy show Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (Aug. 18-22, 24-28); and the USO musical spoof The Andrews Brothers (Sept. 1-5, 7-11). 

Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.; with additional 2 p.m. matinees July 9, 14, 21, 30, Aug. 4, 11, 13, 20, 25, Sept. 3, 8. Evening prices run $25 to $27; matinees, $20 to $22; discounts for seniors and students. There will also be 10 a.m. performances of the children’s show The Jungle Book (July 29, 31, Aug. 6, 7) with a $6 admission. And talkbacks, which follow Friday’s evening shows on July 9, 16, 23, 30, Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27, Sept. 3 and 10 (plus a Thursday version on July 1), offer informative give-and-takes ’twixt the cast and audience. 

Aria code:

Hangar Theater. Cass Park, Ithaca. Tickets: (607) 273-4497; (800) 284-8422. Theater: (607) 273-8588. www.hangartheatre.org. Artistic director Peter Flynn will propel the Hangar’s 36th summer season of professional theater, which since 1975 has actually taken place in a renovated airplane hangar located in picturesque Cass Park, an area with picnic grounds, a marina and other recreational facilities. The Hangar’s 349-seat venue, now renamed the Dorothy D. Park Auditorium, has undergone an extensive restoration, including winterization of the building, new seating and, at last, expanded restrooms, all in the hopes that the company can enjoy longer seasons. The slate includes the musical Man of La Mancha (July 7-11, 13-17), a tribute to the very first production mounted at the Hangar; the debut of Kenny Finkle’s Greek mythology spoof Penelope of Ithaca (July 21-25, 27-31), an original play commissioned by the Hangar; August Wilson’s  The Piano Lesson (Aug. 4-8, 10-14), which will initiate the Hangar’s intent to mount all of Wilson’s 10-play “century cycle,” perhaps taking a cue from a similar initiative already established by Syracuse Stage; and the popular musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Aug. 19-22, 24-29, 31, Sept. 1-4) closes the summer. Performances run Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, 3 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday, July 11. Tickets are $20 to $40; under 18, $16.

Kiddstuff, the Hangar’s children’s theater series, features a slew of new daytime programs: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (July 8-10, 15-17); Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (July 29-31); If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Aug. 12-14); Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr. (Aug. 26-28), running Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. and noon. Tickets are $6.

The Hangar’s Lab Company, consisting of drama students in an experimental mood, takes its act on the road this summer. Instead of the traditional repertory of free, black-box one-acts at the Wedge portion of the theater’s entranceway, the students will perform outside at the downtown Ithaca Commons on 136 State St. (July 8-10, 24, 29-31). And Tuesday Talkbacks, following evening shows on July 13, 27, Aug. 10 and 24, give the audience a chance to chat with actors and staff about the productions. 

Kitchen Theatre Company. 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca. (607) 273-4497. www.kitchentheatre.org. Wildly offbeat ventures provide the lure for this 73-seat theater located in the renovated Clinton House hotel in downtown Ithaca, at least until the troupe moves to new digs in the fall. This summer features Chesapeake (July 7-11, 14-18), the one-person show that mixes comedy with conservative politics. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 4 p.m. Tickets runs $18 to $32; discounts for seniors and students. 

Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Emerson Park, Route 38A, Auburn. 255-1785, (800) 457-8897. www.merry-go-round.com. Longtime producing director Edward Sayles, on board since 1981 at MGR, presents another roster of crowd-pleasing summer-stock musicals in the park’s renovated 501-seat carousel (renamed the Preston H. Thomas Theater) next to Owasco Lake. The season rolls on with the Burt Bacharach-Hal David musical Promises, Promises (July 7-10, 12-17, 19-24, 26-28), based on the Billy Wilder flick The Apartment; turn-of-the-20th-century nostalgia with Meet Me in St. Louis (Aug. 4-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-25); more windmill-tilting with Man of La Mancha (Sept. 1-4, 6-11, 13-18); the Johnny Cash tribute Ring of Fire (Sept. 22-25, 28-30, Oct. 1, 2, 3-9); and the area premiere of Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping (Oct. 13-16, 19-23, 24-30).

Performances are Mondays through Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees July 9, 10, 13, 14, 20, 21, 26, 28, Aug. 6, 7, 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 25, Sept. 3, 4, 7, 8, 14, 15, 24, 25, 28, 29, Oct. 2, 3, 6, 9, 15, 16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26-28. Adult tickets are $34 to $40; seniors, $31 to $38; under 18, $27 to $34. Don’t forget the $2 parking fee at Emerson Park. 

Unique Events

Glimmerglass Opera. Route 80, Cooperstown. (607) 547-2255. www.glimmerglass.org. A Cooperstown mainstay since 1975, the company continues its summertime arias with performances in the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake, one of four in the country solely devoted to opera. The repertory season includes Puccini’s Tosca (July 9, 11, 16, 24, 26, 29, 31, Aug. 3, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 21, 24); Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land (July 10, 13, 19, 25, Aug. 1, 5, 7, 14, 21); Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (July 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, Aug. 2, 6, 9, 15, 20, 22); and Handel’s Tolomeo (July 18, 23, 31, Aug. 8, 12, 14, 17, 23). The theater is eight miles north of Cooperstown and two miles south of the junctions of routes 20 and 80. Performances run Thursdays and Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sunday through Tuesday matinees, 2 p.m.; with 1:30 p.m. Saturday matinees on July 24, 31, Aug. 7, 14 and 21. Tickets range from $26 to $126.

Hill Cumorah Pageant. Route 21, Palmyra. 597-5851. www.hillcumorah.com. Since 1937, thousands have made the trek to Wayne County’s Palmyra for a dose of old-time religion, presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With the advertising tagline “Come feel the Savior’s love,” this year’s DeMille-ian spectacle promises the usual display of opulent props, 1,400 costumes (more than 300 wigs!), sets, special effects from Tinseltown’s Rick Josephsen (Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure, Cujo) that entail volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and a cast of more than 650. Although there are 9,000 seats available, the crowds often reach as high as 14,000, with plenty of room for lawn chairs and blankets. Food is available from local Lions and Rotary clubs from 4 to 9 p.m. (lots of salt potatoes are sold), interpreters for the hearing-impaired will be on the premises (headsets for a Spanish translation are also available), and it’s handicapped-accessible. The free outdoor event (parking’s free, too) begins at dusk, running 9:15 to 10:30 p.m., on Friday, July 9, and Saturday, July 10, and Tuesday, July 13, through Saturday, July 17, although it’s recommended to be seated by 7 p.m. It’s about two miles north of Thruway Exit 43. 

Other Upstate Theater 

Beardslee Castle. 123 Old State Road, Little Falls. 823-3000, (800) 487-5861. Bob Greene’s Acme Mystery Co. from the Spaghetti Warehouse presents the murder-mystery dinner theater show No Time for Death (Saturday, July 24, 7 p.m.) at the 1860-vintage allegedly haunted castle. $45 per person, includes tax and gratuity. 

Bristol Valley Theater. 151 S. Main St., Naples. (585) 374-6318. www.bvtnaples.org. Presented in the 200-seat theater in the former Trinity Federated Church, Bristol Valley will present the scam artist musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (July 8-11, 14-18); the cockpit comedy of Boeing, Boeing (July 22-25, 28-31, Aug. 1); and the humorous mystery Murderers (Aug. 5-8, 11-15). Junior theatergoers can also enjoy Treasure Island (July 27-30, Aug. 10-13) at 11 a.m.; tickets are $5. And Talkback Sundays, following Sunday matinees on July 11, 25 and Aug. 8, give the audience a chance to chat with actors, crew and artistic director Karin Bowersock about the shows. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays and select Wednesday and Thursday matinees, 2 p.m. Adults, $30; seniors, $28; college students, $15; children, $10.

Capitol Theater. 220 W. Dominick St., Rome. 337-6453. www.romecapitol.com. This 1,700-seat art deco theater, open for business back in 1928, continues with its Summerstage 2010 lineup: the Roaring ’20s musical spoof Chicago (July 15-17), which runs Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., and the Elvis Presley salute All Shook Up (Aug. 6-8), performed Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Adults, $17; seniors, $16; students, $13.

Yesterday’s Royal. 13 Canal St., Sylvan Beach. 762-4677. The interactive-mystery spoofers Acme Mystery Co. also hop over to Sylvan Beach with a fab foursome of dinner-theater shows presented on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m.: Dead Pull Hitter (July 14), The Y-Files: Where Are the Cows? (July 28, Aug. 4), Florence of Moravia (Aug. 11, 18, 25, Sept. 1) and No Time for Death (Sept. 16). The $29.99 tab includes dinner (prime rib, chicken saltimbocca or scallops royal) and show, plus tax and gratuity.

The Great White North

Thousand Islands Playhouse Theaters. Gananoque, Ontario. (866) 382-7020; www.1000islandsplayhouse.com. On the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence, Gananoque offers two sister venues: the Springer Theatre, 690 Charles St. S., and the Firehall Theatre, 185 South St. This summer’s plays at the 360-seat Springer includes Wingfield’s Inferno (through July 31), a musical comedy written by Shirley Valentine’s Willy Russell; the family comedy Up the River (Aug. 5-Sept. 4), which resets action from Wind in the Willows to the St. Lawrence River; the comedy Till It Hurts (Sept. 10-Oct. 9) from playwright-in-residence Doug Bowie; and theater festival favorite Freedom 85 (Oct. 14-Nov. 6). Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2:30 p.m. 

The 140-seat Firehall will present the drama Another Home Invasion (through July 17), Athol Fugard’s Master Harold and the Boys (July 22-Aug. 21) and the Inuit-themed drama Night (Sept. 17-Oct. 9). Tuesdays through Sundays, 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday matinees, 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices, in Canadian, for both theaters: $32, adults; $30, seniors; $25, under 30; $16, students and children.