Great Summer Theater Festivals

Some of the United States' most popular gay destinations first developed a queer following because of their summer-stock theaters - Provincetown, Laguna Beach, Ogunquit, and New Hope come to mind. Theater festivals across North America continue to draw lesbians and gay men, both as sources of employment and of entertainment. Ashland, Oregon and Williamstown, Massachusetts may not be queer social hubs, but these two attractive communities with bucolic, mountainous settings host world-renowned theater festivals during the warmer months. Whether you're simply a casual theater-goer looking for an idyllic retreat or a die-hard drama diva, keep these two places in mind as you plan your summer vacations.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), Ashland, Oregon
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival kicked off in 1935 with a production of Twelfth Night. Since then, except for closing during World War II, the festival has enjoyed a prosperous run. Additional theaters have been added, including the festival's main stage, the impressive Allen Pavilion of the Elizabethan Theatre, which opened in June 1992.

Ticket prices range from $28 to $58 in high season (June-October), with significant discounts during the shoulder months; numerous lectures, tours, and talks are also offered. Because plays rotate throughout the season, you can potentially see three or four plays during any given week.

Ashland, just north of the California border, has much more going for it than access to world-class theater. About four hours' drive south of Portland and some six hours' north of San Francisco, this verdant town contains a bounty of outdoor diversions ranging from hiking to mountain-biking. Free spirits, feminists, and gays have long been attracted by the area's generally progressive politics.

This is a great town for eating out, with many fairly affordable queer-popular options. The owners of San Francisco's Flying Saucer restaurant operate the Firefly Restaurant, where inventive New American cuisine delights regulars. For contemporary French cuisine, including bountiful salads, try Monet, which has both indoor and garden seating. Quinz specializes in tapas-style portions of Italian, Greek, Spanish, and Middle Eastern food. For a light meal or some espresso, drop by the Rogue Valley Roasting Co., a funky neighborhood hangout.

Ashland has seen its crop of gay-friendly B&Bs grow dramatically over the past decade. A longtime favorite is the Country Willows, an 1896 clapboard farmhouse where guests can mingle with each other and a menagerie of ducks, geese, and goats that roam the 5 acres of willow trees. This romantic inn also has a pool and hot tub. The Arden Forest Inn has a theatrical theme: Each morning at breakfast, innkeepers William Faiia and Corbet Unmack host a spirited discussion concerning the festival's upcoming theatrical events. The neatly restored 1890s farmhouse and separate carriage house contain five guest rooms decorated in rich, bold colors. A bit off the beaten path, and with stunning grounds in the mountains just east of Ashland, the moderately priced Green Springs Inn offers rustic, low-keyed accommodations nestled beneath towering fir trees. Some suites have whirlpool tubs.

Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF), Williamstown, Massachusetts
One of the most conservative schools in the country, Williams College has matriculated the likes of former education czar William Bennett and California gubernatorial hopeful Bill Simon. This neatly preened college campus in northwestern corner of the Berkshires seems like an unlikely venue for a summer festival that regularly showcases iconoclastic theatrical works, but many of the plays presented here are either written by queer writers or contain gay themes.

The WTF is one of the top theater venues in the country, consistently staging both cutting-edge and classic works. Past performers well-known in the gay community include David Marshall Grant (of Angels in America fame), B.D. Wong, Nathan Lane, Lea DeLaria, and Cherry Jones, not to mention universally beloved acting icons like Mary Tyler Moore, Stockard Channing, Holly Hunter, John Lithgow, and Sam Waterston.

It was in 1955 that leaders of the Williams College drama department developed a plan to turn the school's Adams Memorial Theatre into an in-residence summer-theater program - Williamstown resident Cole Porter was one of the original backers. Success was immediate, and the WTF has grown in respect ever since, staging hundreds of works that have moved immediately to Broadway and Off-Broadway. The season runs from mid-June through August and mounts 11 productions, most of them in the 520-seat (Main Stage) Adams Memorial Theatre, and others in the 96-seat Nikos Stage. Additionally, free stagings and readings, workshops, cabarets, and lectures are presented. Tickets cost about $25 to $45 at the Adams Memorial, and about $20 at the
Nikos.

The Berkshires are renowned for fine- and performing-arts venues, from Tanglewood, the acclaimed summer-music center in Lenox, to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (Mass MoCA) in North Adams. Summer is the prime time to visit, so try to book a hotel room as soon as you know your plans. In North Adams, the Porches Inn opened in 2001 right across the street from Mass MoCA, just a 10-minute drive from Williamstown. This hip, gay-popular inn was fashioned out of a row of mill-workers' houses built in the 1890s. The 52-room property balances high-tech amenities (in-room DVD players, DSL lines, cordless phones, Jacuzzi tubs) with historic, often funky, design elements (retro '50s lamps, Arts and Crafts furniture, mirrors made of old window frames).

Slightly less expensive but still highly charming, the Blackinton Manor B&B occupies an eye-catching Italianate Victorian house filled with museum-quality antiques. The owners - both classical musicians - often host chamber-music workshops and concerts. Although it's an hour south, don't overlook the Gateways Inn, a highly gay-friendly property in Lenox. This 12-room 1912 mansion, the former summer "cottage" of Harley Proctor (as in Proctor & Gamble), has stately guest rooms, a snazzy bar stocked with rare single-malts and grappas, and a wonderful restaurant specializing in creative Italian fare. It's steps from the town's several other great restaurants, and also near Tanglewood.

There are several excellent pre-theater dining options in Williamstown, including the elegant Main Street Cafe, where you might sample pan-seared jumbo shrimp Toscana with prosciutto, sage, and fresh seasonal melon; or the more festive 101 North, which serves globally inspired food and has a lively bar open well after theater performances. There are no gay bars in the Berkshires, but 101 North is an enjoyable place to hang out. If you simply must darken the doorway of a queer bar, make the 75-minute scenic drive to Northampton's fabulous Diva's nightclub, where you can impress the crowd with your knowledge of the Berkshires theater scene.