OK, it's the last day of August and the last true weekend of summer. That typically means there's almost no theater, since most of the stages in town are readying their season openers. But you do have a few choices:

At the Clifton Performance Theatre you can see the last few performances of Nothing, a production brought back from this year's Cincinnati Fringe Festival. It's a one-man show about bullying and autism, told with lots of illustrative video. It was a popular item during the Fringe in June, so it's certainly worth checking out. Tickets: 513-861-7469.

Another Fringe-like option this weekend is a mash-up of OTR Improv and True Theatre, happening at Know Theater, which is kind of like the crazy uncle of these two groups that make the Over-the-Rhine venue their home. On Saturday evening at 8 p.m., they'll present another installment of The Chronicle, a long-form improvisation based on the real-life stories of special guests. Dave Levy and Jeff Groh, the guys who make True Theatre go, are the starting point for the evening's fun and games. They'll tell stories, and then the improv folks will turn them into something more. You can get tickets (for $5) at the door — located at 1127 Jackson Street in OTR.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park opens its new season (with a new artistic director) next Thursday with The Three Musketeers. But here's a tip: You can see previews starting Saturday, and tickets are more affordable than during the actual run of the show. You might know the story of D'Artagnan and his three swashbuckling buddies, Athos, Porthos and Aramis — but I bet you've never seen such a rollicking, have-a-great-time production as this one. I just finished reading the very conversational and funny script, and I suspect that audiences will love this show, especially if it's pulled off with visual panache. It's our first chance to see a work directed by Blake Robison, the new guy in charge. He says this is the kind of work he wants to bring to the stage regularly. Be among the first to see what he's up to. Box office: 513-421-3555.

Other theaters opening shows next week include Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati on Wednesday (Good People is about unemployed folks dealing with the "new normal") and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company starts its production of To Kill a Mockingbird on Friday. Both productions have fine casts: Annie Fitzpatrick is playing the hard-pressed central character in Good People; Bruce Cromer is the virtuous attorney Atticus Finch in Mockingbird. Both are among our most watchable actors.

My Curtain Call column in CityBeat this week offers more about these shows and others that are opening this month.

Artistic Director Jim Stump tells me that they've been notifying the actors and designers who had been recruited for a staging of Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio that the production, scheduled to open on Sept. 27, is not going to happen. He wrote to me in an email, "This is due to a number of factors, not the least of which was the suddenness of our losing the Columbia with little warning.  This meant we spent a significant portion of the time we would normally dedicate to the first production to the search for a new venue. In the end, we didn't feel we could present a production of the quality our audiences would expect."

NET is still seeking a permanent solution to its venue needs, but Stump says the company will present The Santaland Diaries and The 12 Dates of Christmas at the Aronoff's Fifth Third Bank Theater in December.

Most of the theaters in town are gathering their strength for the fall season, so there's not much to recommend this weekend — unless you haven't made it to the Carnegie in Covington yet to see the delightfully silly production of Xanadu. (Review here.) The recipe for this delicious concoction is a really lame movie from 1980, some clever new writing by playwright Douglas Carter Bean, really inventive direction by Alan Patrick Kenny (the guy who staged Jerry Springer: The Musical a few summers back) and a cast who can sing (Pop tunes from the ’80s), dance (to a disco beat, no less), act (like Greek muses, well, kind of) and do it all on roller skates! This weekend is your final chance to see the production.

After Xanadu closes on Sunday, our local theaters will pretty much be dark for a week or so. Then right after Labor Day, you'll have tons of choices. Look for my Curtain Call column in the upcoming issue of CityBeat for a glimpse of what's in store for September.

If it weren't for the Carnegie's production of Xanadu, there wouldn't much to point you for theater choices in mid-August. I'm happy to report that the judges from the League of Cincinnati Theatres and I  are in agreement that this frothy piece of roller-disco and Greek mythology is a great piece of silly entertainment. (Review here.) It's great to see the work of Alan Patrick Kenny onstage again in Cincinnati. I should mention that this show constituted his master's thesis for his graduate degree from U.C.L.A., and his advisors came to town to pass judgment on it. They apparently gave him a passing grade, completing his academic efforts and green-lighting him for his new job teaching musical theater at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. I hope it's not too long before he gets another gig locally, but in the meantime, I bet the folks in central Wisconsin will be highly entertained. If you want to catch Xanadu, you should call for tickets now, since the positive buzz means that tickets will be getting snapped up between now and the final performance on Aug. 26. Box office: 859-957-1940.

One other show that some of you might find entertaining is Rounding Third, on board the Showboat Majestic. It's about two wildly different guys coaching a Little League team — one is a win-at-all-costs kind of guy, the other is a geek who just wants the kids to have fun. You can imagine the fireworks. The LCT judging panel recommended it, and I can say that it's got two solid actors performing it. I thought the script was a tad predictable, but it's got some good laughs, and if you love baseball (or if you played Knothole ball here in Cincinnati) you'll find a lot to identify with. Box office: 513-241-6550.

The theater scene is still in vacation mode this weekend, so there are only a few choices. Your best sure bet is the final weekend of The Hound of the Baskervilles at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company through Sunday. [REVIEW LINK]I suspect if you're a Sherlock Holmes fan with a sense of humor, you'll love this production: It does follow the plot of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle's ace detective's greatest adventure, but it does so in a very tongue-in-cheek and slapstick manner. It's also a romp for three actors who play all the roles, including veteran CSC actor Jeremy Dubin who is Holmes as well as all the villains (or potential villains) in the piece. It's as much fun watching the trio do quick costume changes as it is following the story of a cursed family on a remote moor in Northern England. It's been a busy box office for this production, so be sure to call in advance if you want a ticket. 513-381-2273, x1.

The Carnegie Center's production of Xanadu doesn't open until Saturday, but the odds are good that it will be worth seeing since it's being staged by wunderkind director Alan Patrick Kenny. Read more about Kenny here. The musical is based on the cult-favorite cinematic flop from 1980, reinvented more recently as a stage production by a clever creative team. Kenny, who dazzled local audiences for three years with productions at New Stage Collective (2007-2009), returns for a brief directing stint before he moves off to Stevens Point, Wisc., where he'll be teaching theater at a University of Wisconsin campus. He's spent the past two years studying directing at UCLA — and being engaged in some creative staging and a bit of professional work, too, while on the West Coast. He's one of the most inventive and fearless directors to stage work in Cincinnati in recent years, so Xanadu at the Carnegie s a production that's probably going to draw a crowd. (It's only having eight performances, through Aug. 26. Box office: 859-957-1940.

I saw the Showboat Majestic's Rounding Third when it opened on Wednesday evening. It's a tale of dads who coach Little League baseball from very different perspectives. I'm afraid the script is rife with cliches and stereotypes, but the actors — it's a two-man show; when they address the team, they're talking to the audience — capture the essence of their characters. Mike Sherman plays a win-at-all-costs head coach while Michael Schlotterbeck is a gentle nebbish who's trying to connect with his geeky son by offering to be an assistant coach. They're differing philosophies are the meat of the story, and they do end up learning from one another — although the story is pretty predictable from the get-go. Nevertheless, a baseball story in August might be just the thing you're looking for in some summer entertainment. 513-241-6550.

Light entertainment is what most of us are looking for onstage during August, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has just the answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles. The amusing script takes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's class Sherlock Holmes tale and turns it into a silly romp around the moor. CSC's cast of three veteran performers — Nick Rose, Jeremy Dubin and Brent Vimtrup — have just the right attitude to keep it amusing from start to finish without becoming tiresome. That's also due to the work of director Michael Evan Haney. He's the longtime associate artistic director at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and he's done fine work on other stages locally, but this is his debut with Cincy Shakes. It's a fine partnership, building on his experience with a similar show — a funny romp through Around the World in 80 Days that entertained Playhouse/Shelterhouse audiences several years back and then moved on to New York City where it had a successful run at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Hound is like drinking fine English tea from a dribble cup. Review here. Tickets: 513-381-2273, x1.

While other theaters are largely dormant, the folks at Cincy Shakes are very busy in August. In addition to the aforementioned production at their Race Street theater, they also launch their Shakespeare in the Park series this weekend with a performance of The Tempest at Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park. It gets its first outing on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Go to cincyshakes.com for more dates and locations. These are free performances, so they're definitely worth checking out.

And in case you need a reminder that we have a great theater scene locally, here's a tidbit. The Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis just announced its 2012-2013 season; this is a fine theater company, rather like Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in its presentation of new works. But they're touting their September production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson as the "Midwest Premiere," and they've given a similar designation to their January-February staging of next to normal. Um, I'm sorry to burst their bubble, but those shows have already been onstage here in Cincinnati (and I believe we're in the Midwest). Both were produced last season. In fact, ETC offered next to normal last September (not long after the Tony and Pulitzer prize winner closed in New York) and  already presented a sold-out revival in June. Know Theatre gave us the hard-rockin' version of our seventh president in a heavily sold run last spring. So the Indy theater's claims are more than a bit overblown. But we'll let them believe their own hype, and aren't we smug that we didn't have to leave town to see those shows. That being said, the Phoenix is offering Seminar, a snarky drama by Cincinnati native Theresa Rebeck (her play Dead Accounts had its world premiere at the Cincinnati Playhouse back in January) this fall (Oct. 25-Nov. 25) and Nicky Silver's dark comedy The Lyons next spring (Feb. 28-March 31). Both could be worth the drive. www.phoenixtheatre.org.

I can't say that a musical based on the Adam Sandler film The Wedding Singer is going to be either edifying or educational for a bunch of teens. But I can assure you that the kids from all over the region involved in Cincinnati Young People's Theatre, which opens its production of the show tonight, will be having a blast at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. I bet their good times with this goofy show will mean contagious entertainment for everyone who shows up to see it. Whether they're related to the kids or not! It's onstage through Aug. 5. Box office: 513-241-6550.

It appears that Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has a summertime hit on its hands with its very tongue-in-cheek staging of The Hound of the Baskervilles using three of its best actors. The show opened a week ago and there is so much demand for tickets that CSC has added matinee performances through the production's three-week run. Several performances have completely sold out. It's directed by Michael Evan Haney, associate artistic director at the Cincinnati Playhouse and one of our area's best at staging witty and complicated pieces — his Cincinnati Playhouse production of Around the World in Eighty Days was a big hit several seasons back (it used four actors) and it moved on to a well-received run in New York City. While Hound retells the well known Sherlock Holmes tale, it does it with actors in multiple roles (Jeremy Dubin, who portrays Holmes, for instance, also plays all the villains) and a lot of visual humor and slapstick physicality. Through Aug. 12. Box office: 513-381-2273. 

Each week in Stage Door, Rick Pender offers theater tips for the weekend, often with a few pieces of theater news.

Some fine entertainment can be found onstage this weekend. Just opening is Cincinnati Shakespeare's production of The Hound of the Baskervilles, a clever, three-man rendition done in the style of The 39 Steps, with actors taking on multiple roles and looking for moments of humor and slapstick. In addition to using three fine actors from CSC's company — Jeremy Dubin, Nick Rose and Brent Vimtrup — the show is being staged by Michael Evan Haney, associate artistic director at the Cincinnati Playhouse. A few years back he staged a similar version of Around the World in 80 Days that was an entertaining delight. Haney is one of our finest local directors, so you can expect this to be a production definitely worth seeing. It opens tonight and runs through Aug. 12. Box office: 513-381-2273, x1.

In its final weekend onstage, Commonwealth Dinner Theatre's production of The Foreigner continues through Sunday. It's a daffy situation comedy about a shy Brit stuck at a fishing lodge in rural Georgia where there are a lot of nefarious goings-on. To help him cope, his friend tells the innkeeper that Charlie is a "foreigner" who doesn't speak English. That premise leads to all kinds of complications and a hilariously happy ending. This production is a laugh machine, but its star Roderick Justice is absolutely perfect in the role, giving it a funny physicality to match the comedic writing. Box office: 859-572-5464.

And if the weekend isn't enough for you, call up Know Theatre and make a reservation for Monday evening's quarterly dose of True Theatre. This time the theme for sincerely presented monologues is "true Grit." It will be an evening of storytelling, tales of perseverance, endurance and survival from everyday people. These programs are always fascinating because they're told with heartfelt honesty. I highly recommend attending; tickets are only $15. Box office: 513-300-5669.

Each week in Stage Door, Rick Pender offers theater tips for the weekend, often with a few pieces of theater news.

On Saturday (July 14) I spent much of my day attending two excellent events. In the afternoon, I was part of a full-to-the-rafters Music Hall (every single seat was sold, meaning more than 3,400 people were in attendance!) for the final Champions Concert, featuring 11 groups that were judged to be the best in their respective categories. I had a chance to see Fairfield High's Choraliers, named the outstanding Show Choir, as well as the heartfelt Jeremy Winston Chorale, from Wilberforce, Ohio, winners of the Gospel category. (Interestingly, Jeremy Winston was once a member of The Aeolians from Oakwood University of Huntsville, Alabama, the group that won the Spirituals category.) Several children's groups, notably the Vocalista Angels from Indonesia (Children's Choirs) and Wenzhou Children Art School Boys Choir from China (Young Children's Choirs), demonstrated incredible talent and discipline with kids who are still elementary school. The Music Contemporanea category winner was Stellenberg Girls Choir from South Africa, yet another group — this one comprised of approximately 80 adolescent girls — directed by André van der Merwe.