IDAHO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

Idaho Shakespeare Festival Amphitheater

5657 Warm Springs Ave., Boise, 336-9221

www.IdahoShakespeare.org

Idaho Shakespeare Festival has won this category for seven years running, and why not? The summer theater company offers one of the most dynamic experiences in the region, producing world-class theater by William Shakespeare and others, musicals, and wacky comedies in its park-like amphitheater nestled in the Boise Foothills.

Actors, directors, designers and other theater artists converge on Boise each summer, and year after year create interesting, often contemporary twists on classical plays performed in repertory. During the height of the summer, you can see three different plays in the course of a week.

Under producing artistic director Charlie Fee, the company has developed a broad, accessible theatrical style that fits its glorious outdoor setting. And they’ve taken it on the road to its sister companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland and the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Incline Village, Nev. The productions travel between these three venues, keeping the company working nearly year-round.

But the Boise experience is still something special. You bring a picnic and wine or buy it at Cafe Shakespeare and enjoy a stellar night of theater under the stars.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Trey McIntyre Project, 2285 Warm Springs Ave., Boise, (877) 867-2320. www.TreyMcIntyre.com.

• Boise Philharmonic, 516 S. 9th St., Boise, 344-7849. www.BoisePhilharmonic.org.

• Red Light Variety Show www.RedLightVarietyShow.com.

Æ Oinkari Basque Dancers, 557-1960. www.Oinkari.org.