Sunsets, fireflies, meteor showers, picnics, mosquitoes, bats, humidity … . Theater lovers can’t get through the summer without all the above, which go hand-in-hand with warm weather performances in the Great Outdoors, or in traditional summer stock venues. From the suburbs of Chicago to the North Woods, the Upper Midwest is chockablock full of opportunities to commune with nature and art in a single operation, whether at an open air Shakespeare festival, or in an old barn.

For those planning summer excursions to Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois or Indiana, theater never will be far away. And fortunately, the vacation havens of the Midwest—from Door County to Saugatuck to Amish country—offer a good supply of GLBT-friendly accommodations, especially among Bed & Breakfast establishment and small inns, some of which cater exclusively to women or to men.

In addition to advertisements you will find in the Windy City Times, GLBT-friendly lodgings can be found through several excellent online guides, such as Rainbow Destinations (www.cimarron.net/rd.html), Ferrari (www.ferrariguides.com), and Damron (www.damron.com)

OUTDOOR SHAKESPEARE—NEAR

Shakespeare on the Green, Lake Forest—Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest, a fantasy-romance set on a magical isle, is the offering this year, July 13-29, starring Craig Spidle (last year’s King Lear) as Prospero, the wizard. Shakespeare on the Green is located on the campus of Barat College on Westleigh road. All performances are free. Picnics are welcome, with gourmet foods, beer, wine and soda available on site (or byo). Info: 847-604-6344; .

Festival Theatre, Oak Park—Lovely Austin Gardens, bordering the Oak Park Historic District, is the setting for a rock and roll version of The Taming of the Shrew for Festival Theatre’s 27th season, June 26-Aug. 25; tickets, $17 & $19. Catered dinners ($12) require 24-hours notice, or bring your own picnic fare. Stroll by the Frank Lloyd Wright homes, and watch the fireflies light up the night. Info: 708-524-2050, .

First Folio Shakespeare Fesitval, Oak Brook—For its sixth season, First Folio offers Macbeth June 20-July 21, and As You Like It July 27-Sept. 2. Handicap accessible performances are on the elegant, gardened grounds of the Peabody Estate at the Mayslake Forest Preserve. Fireflies abound. Pack a picnic (the Forest Preserve says no alcohol, but people discreetly ignore the rule). Bring your own lawn chair, or rent one. Tickets: $20. Info: 630-986-8067, .

OUTDOOR SHAKESPEARE—FAR

Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Bloomington—The June 20-Aug. 5 rotating repertory includes Othello, Love’s Labours Lost and the rarely seen Roman play Coriolanus (Shakespeare’s prequel to Gladiator.). The Festival’s handsome, new permanent theater is on the stellar grounds of Ewing Manor, an English-style stone great house with Japanese and Elizabethan formal gardens. Bloomington abounds with B&B’s, antique stores and Victorian flavor, making it an excellent weekend getaway. Tickets: $15-$27.50. Food and a small café are on the grounds, or bring your own. Come early for the Greens Show of Elizabethan song and dance. Info: 309-438-2535, . There’s a link to the Bloomington tourism bureau, which can help with accomodations. This is a great weekend getaway kind-of place.

American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wisc.—You can come by car or canoe to this venue of 110 acres on the banks of the Wisconsin River, 40 miles West of Madison.

Founded in 1979, the company offers five plays in rotating rep, June 9-Oct. 7, with this year’s season including three Shakespeares, one Chekhov and one by French master Jean Anouilh, performed in lavish fashion by an acting company of 28. Bring your own food and drink, or purchase gourmet picnic dinners on site. There also are several barbecue blowouts during the season (check the website). Tickets: $24-$42 (the four-person family pass for $53 is a deal). Info: 608-588-2361, . Spring Green is cheek-by-jowl with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen, and that monument to kitsch, the House on the Rock.

NOT SHAKESPEARE

Peninsula Players, Fish Creek, Wisc.—On the shore of Green Bay in the heart of Door County, Peninsula Players has presented over 500 shows in 66 years. For its 67th season, June 19-Oct. 7, the five plays include Arsenic and Old Lace, a British farce, a musical, a new comedy by Chicago author/director Tom Mula and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, You’ll see plenty of familiar Chicago actors in the company, including Jefferson Award winners Greg Vinkler, David New and Robert Thompson. The pavilion covering the 500 seats shelters viewers from the rain, but not from the chill night air. Drinks and snack are available, but bring your own picnic. Come early to see the sunset over the bay; stay for the bonfire afterward. Tickets: $21.50-$28.00. Info: 920-868-3287; .

American Folklore Theatre, Fish Creek, Wisc.—Up the road from Peninsula Players, the American Folklore folks offer family-friendly original musicals—none more than 75 minutes long—drawn from traditional American themes and stories. The locale is a 750-seat amphitheater in Peninsula State Park (where you can camp, hike, bike, swim, golf and tour a 131-year-old lighthouse). Three shows will run in rotating repertory, June 12-Aug. 25. Picnics encouraged (only soda and snacks on site), but no alcohol in the park. Tickets (available only at the theater one hour before show time) : adults $11, teens $6.50, kids 3-12 $3.50. Call 920-854-6117, or online .

Hope Summer Repertory, Holland, Mich.—Just up the road from Douglas Dunes and Saugatuck, this June 15-Aug. 11 summer festival will offer one Shakespeare comedy, one Neil Simon comedy, one Willy Russell romantic comedy, The Wizard of Oz, and Lyly Kessler’s tawdry but effective little drama, Orphans. Tickets, $15-$24. All performances are indoors, at the Dewitt Theatre on campus of Hope College. Call 616-395-7890.

THE BARNS

Barn Theatre, Augusta, Mich.—This is traditional “straw hat” summer stock the way it used to be, with a resident company and a gaggle of young apprentices in an old dairy barn nestled halfway between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. Now is in its 54th year, the Barn Theatre offers a May-September season of popular musicals and comedies, changing every two weeks. The Barn is air conditioned, and has a cozy cabaret/bar on the grounds, but is not equipped for picnickers (although a tailgate party is possible). Jekyll & Hyde, Pippin, A Shot in the Dark and Finian’s Rainbow are among the shows for 2001. Details at 616-731-4121, or . Tickets, $24-$26.50

Round Barn Theatre, Nappanee, Ind.—This resident company is housed in a stunning, cathedral-like, 19th Century round barn; just one of the attractions at Amish Acres, an Amish Williamsburg just two hours East of Chicago. The Round Barn operates nine months a year (April-December), offering a rotating repertory of three musicals during the height of the summer season, June-August. Tickets for the theatre may be purchased separately from admission to Amish Acres. All shows are family friendly. Info: 1-800-800-4942; (the website is available in French, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese as well as English).

Red Barn Playhouse, Saugatuck, Mich.—Located in the heart of Lake Michigan’s “Gay Riviera,” the Red Barn has been a playhouse since 1954, offering summer stock fare to the region’s artists and Philistines alike. The June-September season offers several shows.

There are many more summer theaters—too numerous to mention—throughout the Midwest, from Galena to Southern Indiana, from Mammoth Cave to the Upper Peninsula.

There’s the Little Theatre-on-the-Square in Victorian Sullivan, Ill.; the Timberlake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Ill., near the Mississippi Palisades; the Canterbury Summer Theatre in Michigan City, Ind.; and an outdoor spelunker pageant, “The Death of Floyd Collins,” in Brownsville, Ky. And almost every state has a red barn theater.

Perhaps you will find an impressionable young performer to seduce, awed by your big-city suavity. But even if you don’t, you’re certain to have a pleasant evening … as long as you remember to bring the insect repellent and a sweater against the cool night air.