CEDAR CITY — Today we might say a light bulb switched on over Hamlet's head when Shakespeare's melancholy prince said, "The play's the thing!" — and certainly that seems an appropriate thought as Cedar City prepares to host its 48th annual Utah Shakespearean Festival.

But while the Bard's works deserve to be the centerpiece of a visit, Cedar City and southwestern Utah offer much more to see, do and enjoy while you are in the area.

For the plays are not the only "thing," and if playgoers miss the chance to visit, say, the region's museums or take a scenic drive, why — as Shakespeare also wrote, in his Elizabethan parlance — "you had then left unseen a wonderful piece of work, which not to have been blest withal would have discredited your travel."

"Cedar City serves as an obvious gateway to Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks and Cedar Breaks National Monument, but adding a few days to explore Cedar City and the surrounding area allows you to take full advantage of all the great things to do," says Bonnie Char, public relations specialist with the Cedar City-Brian Head Tourism Bureau.

The Tony Award-winning Shakespearean Festival will be under way June 29-Aug. 29 on the Southern Utah University campus, with its fall component scheduled for Sept. 18-Oct. 17.

The three Shakespeare gems for the 2009 summer season include "As You Like It," "The Comedy of Errors" and "Henry V." Noel Coward's comedy "Private Lives," Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper's "Foxfire," and the musical "The Secret Garden" will also be staged. The autumn season includes the wise "Tuesdays with Morrie"; a ghost story, "The Woman in Black"; and the fast-forward version of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)."

But to avoid "discrediting your travel," you might consider putting some of the following options on your "to-do" list:

Museum breaks

The Cedar City area possesses delightful museums that can especially broaden your understanding of the region's history.

The Daughters of Utah Pioneers operates two: one in the modern Cedar City visitor center, 581 N. Main, housing photographs and memorabilia, and another in Parowan's century-and-a-half-old pioneer rock church on Town Square.

After showing a short video history of the rock church, DUP volunteers Marlene Burton and Laura Weltin let a recent group of visitors browse the museum's vast relic collection. Burton pointed out the large photo portraits of her husband's ancestors and then those of her own Mortensen clan. Scores of pioneers, many in ornate oval frames, seem to gaze down upon the museum's varied displays.