New Hampshire is more than lakes and mountains and bucolic landscapes. Every summer, both seasoned actors and young hopefuls stream into the state from all over the country, signing up for one play or for an intense summer stock experience at one of the many professional theatres opening their doors to locals and tourists.

Peterborough Players, in the southwestern part of the state, is kicking off its 2006 summer season with performances of Tuesdays with Morrie, a play adapted from the bestselling book of the same name. The book's author, Mitch Albom, and playwright Jeffrey Hatcher wrote the adaptation, which will star James Whitmore and his son, James Whitmore, Jr. Following Tuesdays, the company will perform The Gin Game, Hobson's Choice, The Winter's Tale, Fallen Angel, and The Turn of the Screw, A second company at Peterborough Players will enact two children's plays, adaptations of Charlotte's Web and The Secret Garden.

The Lakes Region Summer Theatre near Lake Winnipesaukee also has ambitious plans: They will offer five plays in ten weeks, putting its cast of ambitious young actors through their theatrical paces and offering an invaluable training experience in their chosen profession. The plays they will produce in 2006 include Nunsense, Kiss Me Kate, and The Pajama Game.

The result for the audiences is high-quality theatre, sometimes with transcendent performances, by casts of determined, disciplined professionals or aspiring professionals, and great entertainment for a summer evening. And who knows? The audience might just get a glimpse of the next breakout star!