Recession or not, Ontario's Stratford and Shaw Festivals are having a banner year, and the reason is simple: quality sells. Yes, there are serious reasons, besides the joy of travel in southern Ontario, to visit Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake before the end

of October.

The Stratford Festival is located just north of London and about 10-12 hours from here. It has a large Illinois following and with good reason. Since 1953, it has produced some of the best classical theater productions in North America as well as introducing some modern works. This year, the master leading man of classical repertoire, Colm Feore returns to play the leads in "Macbeth" and "Cyrano de Bergerac." Des McAnuff's modernish production of "Macbeth" has tremendous energy, pyrotechnics, stage noise of monumental proportions and a near in-your-face dramatic force. It almost works with Feore's magnificent Macbeth, but the other characters, with the exception of Geraint Wyn Davies Davies' Duncan, barely hold their own. The chemistry between Feore's fiery Macbeth and Yanna McIntosh's Lady Macbeth is non-existent.

Donna Feore's production of "Cyrano" does work. Using Anthony Burgess' superb translation, Feore's tour-de-force rips through three hours of this 100 year old chestnut. This time, a fine supporting cast beautifully supports the star, and this one just might remain in the mind a classic performance of a classic. The classics thrive again with Martha Henry's production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters." Susan Coyne's translation is smooth, but very talky, yet, director Henry, pulling from her own past, finds the subtle plot subtexts that make this play so extraordinary. She has played Olga in her past, and has that intuitive feel for the flow and poetry of Chekhov's plot-driving characters. If this production reminds us that Chekhov can be a bit too stagey; it also reminds us how these conversations create a plot subtext in a prose that borders on poetry.

Productions of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" date back to 1976, and they just seem to get better. Brian Bedford's current production also includes his own recreation of Lady Bracknell. This beautifully-paced production doesn't miss

a laugh or any of Wilde's shrewd observations on life's travails. Bedford's Lady Bracknell and his impeccable direction are just what any great humorist would order.

It is no surprise that Gary Griffin's production of "West Side Story" is drawing raves and audiences at Stratford. The director whom Oprah chose to direct "The Color Purple" has staged another triumph. Staging this classic on a thrust stage is no serious challenge for this veteran Chicago director as he brings Jerome Robbins' incredible choreography into a new dimension. If you cannot make it to New York to see Arthur Laurents' superb new production, this one will make you rediscover this great musical.

Two to three hours east at the mouth of the Niagara river is Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the Shaw Festival. The Shaw Festival's show piece this season is the complete cycle of one act plays Noel Coward wrote in the mid-1930's called "Tonight at 8:30." Among the riches is the restored tenth play, "Star Chamber", a satire on celebrities running charities. Coward himself soon took on the running of a major charity and quickly dropped this play. It is great to have it back and Shaw's noontime theater of interesting one-acts has just notched another gem. The three one-acts that make up "Ways of the Heart" are the least successful program of "Tonight at 8:30." Not even Blair Williams' skillful direction can salvage these disingenuous characters and their obscure motivations. Worth seeing for its place in theater history only, it is a neglected work of a master that is fully explainable in that category.

University of Illinois graduate, Christopher Newton, is an unabashed Coward fan, and his staging of "Play, Orchestra, Play" is simply brilliant. These one-acts are a fascinating study of various crises consuming three married couples. Director Newton links them with a dream-like theme, and manages Coward's tricky juxtaposition of comedy and drama. Steven Sutcliffe's monologue that is the quintessential revenge of the hen-pecked husband, creates that perfect blend of great writing and brilliant performing.

French Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay writes about the dark side French Canadian life, but with an energy level very different from, say, Sam Sheppard. His extraordinary "Albertine in Five Times" recreates a life of tragic struggles using five different actresses playing Albertine who intercut in a non-linear manner the events of her life. Micheline Chevrier's production is just about flawless and this unique character study really has a life of its own at Shaw.

Yes, there is some late opening Shaw at Shaw, Tadeusz Bradecki's production of "The Devil's Disciple." It is a well acted staging with more than few director's asides and gimmicks tossed in. You can put aside the asides and just enjoy Shaw's

wonderful satire on the British military, set during the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolution. The staging is fluent and the laughs are abundant as Jim Mezon masters the nuances of General Burgoyne.