BANGOR – A former Penobscot Theatre Company stalwart has returned to Bangor to bring a long-beloved theatrical experience to life on the Bangor Opera House stage.

Former PTC artistic director Scott R.C. Levy has made his way back to the Queen City to direct a production of “Shear Madness,” adapted from a 1963 German murder mystery by Paul Portner by Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan. The madcap and improvisational comedy is one of the longest running nonmusical plays in the world, having been running nonstop in Boston since January of 1980. The PTC production is scheduled to run from June 14 through July 8.

Once again, summer’s arrival is upon us. The weather is warming up and the days are approaching their greatest length. People near and far are going to descend on our state’s beaches, mountains and forests; people are going to swim and hike and boat and generally experience the outdoors in a fashion that one can only achieve in Maine.

But there are other summertime perks, too.

For those who love live theater, there are loads of options. Companies near and far are bringing exciting work to stages all over the region; no matter where you might be, there’s a good chance that you’ve got some excellent theater happening nearby.

Some of these companies are stalwarts of the scene, having been around for decades. Others are relative newcomers, bringing a new energy to the proceedings. Bangor, Belfast, Bar Harbor – they’ve all got something for you; Orono and Ellsworth and Stonington too.

It’s well worth your time to experience some of what our area’s summer stages have to offer. Here’s a look at just some of what’s to come.

BANGOR – Penobscot Theatre Company has cooked up another crowd pleaser.

PTC’s “The Spitfire Grill” – with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley – is currently running at the Bangor Opera House. Based on the 1996 Lee David Zlotoff film of the same name, the production – directed by Dominick Varney with musical direction by William Shuler – runs through May 13.

It’s the story of a young woman adrift in life who seeks a place to call home. Having almost randomly selected a small town in Wisconsin as her destination, she arrives to discover a slowly dying place populated largely by closed minds. But as time passes, she finds friendships unlike any she’s ever had before – friendships that may ultimately be threatened by looming shadows of the past.

BANGOR – The title intrigues you first: from an aphorism attributed to Einstein, concluding “beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own.” It is a familiar sentiment skewed sideways; a refraction, a sliver of broken mirror. A pretty rhyme for a vaguely malignant reminder, and your first indication that you are intended to witness cruelty entwined with kindness, pain with beauty.

“Ugly Lies the Bone” is still making a name for playwright Lindsey Ferrentino: appearing Off-Broadway, garnering a New York Times Critics’ Pick and eventually playing at the National Theatre of London. Its Maine premiere at Penobscot Theatre Company further emphasizes that this specific story of a single family in Titusville, Florida is universally relevant.

But “specific” should not be confused with “small.” How can one play encompass so many variations on what it means to heal? Its scope and complexity make significant demands of its artistic team and audience alike.

ORONO/BROWNFIELD - Longtime friends Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin are about to hit the road together for the first time in March for an acoustic tour of songs and stories which will include shows at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono and the Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield.

The duo will perform songs from each of their careers while swapping stories about their music and lives.

Lovett and Colvin’s first Maine stop on this tour is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6, at Orono’s Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine at 7 p.m. The next night, the pair will offer up their acoustic evening of songs and stories at Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield.

BANGOR – Many theatre patrons probably don’t associate Jeff Daniels with the stage. You might think of his Emmy-winning turn in HBO’s “The Newsroom,” one of his various Golden Globe-nominated roles or appearances in notable films - yes, even “Dumb and Dumber.”

But he’s also recently received a Tony nomination for Broadway’s “Blackbird,” and in his home state of Michigan, he’s known as the founder of the Purple Rose Theatre Company, where he wrote and produced “Escanaba in da Moonlight.” 

ORONO – A local theater company is raising the curtain on a new Orono performance space with a roar.

True North Theatre is presenting their production of James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter” at the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church – now known as the Old St. Mary’s Reception Hall - on Main Street in Orono. The show – directed by TNT artistic director Angela Bonacasa – runs through February 4.

The play was written in 1966, but the story is perhaps best known for the 1968 film version that starred Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn and landed Hepburn the third of her four Best Actress Oscars. It’s the sordid saga of King Henry II of England and his machinations and manipulations with regards to his family and his legacy as he seeks to cement his place in history.

BANGOR – Penobscot Theatre Company is inviting audiences to be their guests this holiday season as they bring to life a beloved musical version of a classic tale.

ORONO – A beloved comedic classic is springing (or summering) to life at the University of Maine.

UMaine’s School of Performing Arts is presenting their production of William Shakespeare’s beloved “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Directed by Marcia Joy Douglas, the play runs through Nov. 19 at UMaine’s Hauck Auditorium.

Some Theatre Company presents musical adaptation of King classic