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.

The best theatrical entertainment onstage this weekend is The Foreigner, presented by the Commonwealth Theatre Company at Northern Kentucky University. I saw it a week ago (review here) and it's a winner — a very funny play with a marvelously inventive performance by Roderick Justice in the title role. He plays a painfully shy man who tries to avoid social contact by posing as someone who doesn't speak English, even though he's quite literate. The concept doesn't quite work out as planned when his "cover" means that people have all kinds of revealing conversations around him. The plot is hilarious, but it's Justice's performance that makes it run like clockwork. It's part of a dinner theater package — dinner at 6:30 most nights, show at 8:00 p.m. Tickets: 859-572-5464. There's not a lot of theater right now, but if you're looking for great onstage entertainment right now, the World Choir Games have plenty to offer. I've been blogging about it for the past week, and you can read more here. Events and performances through Saturday evening. www.2012worldchoirgames.com.