Remember when the early weeks of August saw a lull on the Central Florida theater scene? Not anymore.

Six count them, six adult theater productions open this Friday, Aug. 4. Thats in addition to several shows that will continue their run. And these shows offer a wide variety of entertainment from comedy to drama to musical, from old-school to modern, from child-friendly to adults only.

Heres a sampling:

Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park opens Good Kids. Set in a Midwestern high school, the contemporary drama explores what happens when a casual sexual encounter goes wrong, in part because of the pervasiveness of social media. Although the word kids is in the title, dont be fooled. Because of its themes, this show is not for children. Good Kids runs through Aug. 13; go to breakthroughtheatre.com or call 407-920-4034 for more information.

If youre looking for a show suitable for children, St. Lukes Theater is opening Disneys Beauty and the Beast at its brand-new performing-arts venue on Apopka-Vineland Road in southwest Orange County.

Each summer, the Methodist church offers a big musical; Beauty and the Beast will once again be directed by Steve MacKinnon. Most are familiar with Disneys version of the fairy tale and the fun Alan Menken-Howard Ashman songs, including Be Our Guest.

Beauty and the Beast runs through Aug. 13. For more information, go to st.lukes.org/beautyandthebeast.

Music is also onstage at The Abbey, in downtown Orlando, where Florida Theatrical Association is opening the new musical comedy Joyce Jacksons Guide to Dating.

Set in 1958, Guide to Dating spoofs the eras gender roles while parodying an actual dating guide published at the time. Kenny Howard directs the show, which runs through Aug. 14.

For more information, go to http://www.TicketFly.com.

Theres more comedy in Lake County, where the Melon Patch Players of Leesburg will open The 39 Steps. The show takes Patrick Barlows spy novel (turned into an Alfred Hitchcock film) and re-imagines it as fast-paced farce. A cast of just four portrays all the characters in the plots twists and turns.

The 39 Steps runs through Aug. 20. For more information, go to melonpatchplayers.org or call 352-787-3013.

Tom Hurst/courtesy

Sheryl Carbonell (from left), Stelson Telfort and Johnny Lee Davenport star in "Fences" at Mad Cow Theatre.

Sheryl Carbonell (from left), Stelson Telfort and Johnny Lee Davenport star in "Fences" at Mad Cow Theatre. (Tom Hurst/courtesy)

Two Orlando theaters have family in mind.

The Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House is opening Daddy Issues. In the new comedy, set in the 1980s, a gay man enlists a neighbor kid to pretend to be his son in a desperate effort to get along with his parents.

The production, directed by Tim Evanicki, will be the first time the show has been seen outside New York City. For more information, go to parliamenthouse.com/footlight-tickets.

Finally, Mad Cow Theatre opens August Wilsons Fences. Set in the 1950s, the story follows Troy, a garbage man who struggles to keep his family afloat while battling his disappointment over missing out on a career in professional baseball.

Tony Simotes will direct the award-winning drama, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.

Fences runs through Aug. 27. For more information, go to madcowtheatre.org or call 407-297-8788.

Meanwhile, Winter Park Playhouses Some Enchanted Evening continues its run (click to read my review of the show).

And three other productions enter their final weekend.

The Music Man, that great musical about a lovable conman who loses his heart to a prim librarian, is onstage through Sunday at the Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse in Mount Dora. Go to icehousetheatre.com or call 352-383-4616.

Jeremy Seghers production of Saint Joan wraps its run on Saturday. In the play, George Bernard Shaw dramatically recounts the story of Joan of Arc, the medieval peasant girl who became commander of the French army before being burned at the stake at the age of 19.

Saint Joan is playing at the Fred Stone Theatre on the Rollins College campus in Winter Park. For more information, go to eventbrite.com.

And Playwrights Round Table closes its Summer Shorts on Sunday. The program consists of a variety of short, newly written plays. Its running at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando; for more information, go to orlandoatplay.com or call 407-761-2683.

mpalm@orlandosentinel.com

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