The Dorset Playhouse — in a renovated historic barn on Cheney Road — has hosted the Dorset Theatre Festival for more than three decades. The professionally produced plays are not your typical summer fare: This year, they’re doing St. Nicholas, Merton of the Movies, The Hollow, Marry Me a Little and Alice in Wonderland. Speaking of ideal settings, Dorset is a picture of summer wealth.

The Dorset Playhouse — in a renovated historic barn on Cheney Road — has hosted the Dorset Theatre Festival for more than three decades. The professionally produced plays are not your typical summer fare: This year, they’re doing St. Nicholas, Merton of the Movies, The Hollow, Marry Me a Little and Alice in Wonderland. Speaking of ideal settings, Dorset is a picture of summer wealth.

The Manchester-based multifaceted arts center is a sophisticated enterprise comprising the Wilson Museum, the Yester House Gallery, a sculpture garden, an education center and a café, among other things. The Arkell Pavilion has been hosting musicians, singers, dancers, actors and writers for 50 years — don’t miss the Ellis Marsalis Trio on July 24. The setting is the 400-acre Manchester estate of Gertrude Divine Ritter, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The galleries and gardens are closed on Monday.

There is no better setting in Vermont to see a summer show, according to Seven Days theater critic Elisabeth Crean. Barn owner, producer and actor Peter Boynton “blends Broadway talent with Vermont vets and greener gems into a smashing cast,” Crean effuses. “The result? The best musical theater in Vermont.” Catch Boynton’s “Broadway Cabaret” on Sunday nights in July; Always... Patsy Cline runs for two weeks in August.

There is no better setting in Vermont to see a summer show, according to Seven Days theater critic Elisabeth Crean. Barn owner, producer and actor Peter Boynton “blends Broadway talent with Vermont vets and greener gems into a smashing cast,” Crean effuses. “The result? The best musical theater in Vermont.” Catch Boynton’s “Broadway Cabaret” on Sunday nights in July; Always... Patsy Cline runs for two weeks in August.

The days of the annual “Domestic Resurrection Circus” are over, but Bread and Puppet is still using its political puppet pageantry to fight the power. The current president has certainly given them plenty of material. B&P perform stage shows in a barn with bleacher seats. See the website for a schedule. Leave time to tour the museum of papier-mâché masks and puppets. PHOTO: JORDAN SILVERMAN

The days of the annual “Domestic Resurrection Circus” are over, but Bread and Puppet is still using its political puppet pageantry to fight the power. The current president has certainly given them plenty of material. B&P perform stage shows in a barn with bleacher seats. See the website for a schedule. Leave time to tour the museum of papier-mâché masks and puppets. PHOTO: JORDAN SILVERMAN

It’s Isle La Motte’s Shelburne Farms, but a lot more chill — a gallery, concert venue and teahouse. Presidents William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt were both guests. You can always stop in and look at the art in the 19th-century horse-and-carriage barn, but on Sunday afternoons from 1 to 5, they serve tea and dessert to live acoustic music.

Nothing says summer in Vermont like high-brow theater performed in a barn. The 2008 season at Unadilla includes an opera series.

Nothing says summer in Vermont like high-brow theater performed in a barn. The 2008 season at Unadilla includes an opera series.