The season comes to life on stage from Carmel to Salinas.

David Mamet once said, “We respond to a drama to that extent to which it corresponds to our dreamlife.” This summer, Monterey County theater seeks to rein in your subconscious and parade it about the boards, with a wildly diverse and intriguing season of great drama, comedy and musicals.

PacRep swings into summer with My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra from June 16 to July 24.

Four singers and an onstage jazz combo perform 57 songs celebrating the mystique of Old Blue Eyes and the music he made famous. Hailed for its powerful music, superb arrangements and easy-going comedy, My Way has become the most produced musical revue in America in the last two years.

PacRep follows with The Retreat from Moscow (July 6-August 7), William Nicholson’s Tony-nominated play. Incisive and often funny, Retreat tells the story of the adult son of a “happy” couple returning home to discover that his parents are strangers—not only to him, but to each other.

Yet the most anticipated play of the summer season has to be PacRep’s big budget production ofDisney’s Beauty and the Beast (Aug. 18 to Sept. 25) at the Outdoor Forest Theater. In an unprecedented move—and a major triumph for PacRep—the Disney Corporation has released the rights to its current Broadway hit and PacRep has been chosen to present the Central Coast premiere.

 “It’s unheard of to get the rights to something still running on Broadway,” says artistic director Stephen Moorer. “This will be the biggest production—in terms of budget, cast, set, everything—that we’ve ever done.”

Not to be outdone, the Forest Theater Guild mounts two of their own big musicals under the stars at the Outdoor Forest Theater. This weekend, Zorba the Greek opens (see story, pg. 47) and runs through June 18. Close on its heels is another family classic, The King and I, which runs from June 22 to July 24. Both productions will feature music direction by Don Dally and boast large casts and live orchestras.

Over at Monterey Peninsula College, Laura Akard directs and choreographs Putting It Together, a night of song celebrating the artistry of America’s premiere musical author, Stephen Sondheim, from June 17 to July 3. Then, from Aug 5-21, Gary Bolen will helm a big production of Annie on the Morgan Stock Stage.

Meanwhile, in Salinas, the Western Stage gets its season kicked off with Joseph Kesselring’s hilariously odd Arsenic and Old Lace in the Studio Theater from June 3 to July 2. This absurd farce tells the story of two disturbed old ladies and their penchant for poisoning elderly bachelors.

TWS’s main stage will weigh anchor this summer with the classic musical Anything Goes from July 16 to Aug. 6. It’s high romance on the high seas with a squall of mistaken identities and the “de-lovely” music of Cole Porter.

Later in the summer, TWS revives its tremendous adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row (Aug 5-27). More than just a play, this piece of our county’s collective heritage will open during the Steinbeck Festival.

Over on Main Street, Ariel Theatrical sprinkles some summer magic over Neverland with its children’s production of Peter Pan from July 19 through Aug 7. While in Carmel, Children’s Experimental Theatre presents the 45th Annual Spring Play Festival. Slated for the first two weekends of June, this festival will feature The Three Sillies, Baucis and Philemon, The Ghosts of Thorenshield and The Elves and the Shoemaker.

Down on Monterey’s wharf, life is a Cabaret once more when Kander and Ebb’s haunting iconic musical about decadence and disillusion at the edge of the Holocaust runs from July to August. And not to be forgotten, the Barbary Coast Theater will continue to do their bizarre and entertainingly unique brand of vaudeville all summer long. Don’t miss the opportunity to put a few back and witness the tremendously titled production, “Stupid is as Stupid Does” or “Only You, Dick Tickle, Only You.”

Yet be warned, if you find that the Barbary Coast Theater is the kind of summer theater that rings your dreamlife’s bell, you may very well be in need of some serious counseling.

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