CEDAR CITY — Love was in the air as the Utah Shakespearean Festival kicked off last week.

With balmy summer evenings, beautiful flowers lining the streets and the colorful USF flags announcing the festival like a trumpet's call, it's time to escape the city heat.

On less than a tank of gas, you can be in Cedar City, soaking up six plays that seem to have a common theme: love.

Love between men and women; fathers and daughters; friends; even love of pets — it's all covered at the festival.

A couple of thoughts as you plan your trip:

1. It will be helpful to know what a cuckold is, as it is a term used in several of the plays. Cuckold n.: A man whose wife is unfaithful.

You'll hear many variations of the word including references to horns, which were believed to be worn by the cuckold but only visible to everyone else. It was considered the greatest humiliation that a man could suffer — the best way to punish an enemy was to seduce his wife.

2. Be glad, ladies, that you didn't live in the time of any of these plays. It would be exhausting going back and forth to your bedroom window as often as they had to. Men were always hanging around throwing pebbles. Needless to say, if someone hits my window with a rock, I don't demurely wander over to see who it is, I'm alarmed.

Instantly. Saves us a lot of time that way.

3. If you only have time for one show make it "Cyrano de Bergerac." It's an absolutely exquisite love story unlike anything you've ever seen or heard. Brian Vaughn is captivating in the title role, (I'm seriously planning a time to go back down to Cedar City just to see that show again.) Warning: Take Kleenex, ladies, it's a killer.

That said, you're going to find six solid and well-crafted shows with top-notch sets, beautiful costumes and fine acting. Don't forget to check out www.bard.org to help plan your trip — complete with lodging and dining options, as well as information on their child care, backstage tours and other ways you can make your experience more complete.

Here are reviews of this summer's offerings:

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"CYRANO DE BERGERAC," Utah Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, through Aug. 30, (800-752-9879), running time: 3 hours (one intermission)

The story about a wordsmith with a big nose is a famous one, but until you've seen it live, on a lovely summer evening, in a beautiful outdoor setting — you haven't seen the show.