The summer is a great time to take advantage of quality theater performances in Northeast Florida. This weekend offers at least two great choices.

Players By the Sea in Jacksonville Beach hosts performances of “Rent,” the Tony Award-winner for “Best Musical,” with performances beginning Saturday, July 19 and continuing through Aug. 31.

On Saturday, the curtain rises at 8 p.m., and tickets are $28.

A phenomenon since its debut on Broadway in 1996, “Rent” is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. It follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

For more information visit The Players By The Sea website.

Another great theatrical offering this weekend is “The Sound of Music” being performed at the Amelia Island Playhouse on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20. Northeast Florida doesn’t have hills, but the theater will be alive – for sure.

When it debuted on Broadway in 1959, it was the final – and some say the best – musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, who died of cancer nine months after the premiere.

It tells the story of the von Trapp family living in the mountains of Austria, and is a timeless classic to be enjoyed – even in the swamps of Florida.

Tickets for the show are $20 for adults and $15 for children. Visit the Amelia Island Playhouse box office online.

Of course, there is a variety of entertainment options covering all genres in Northeast Florida. So how about a little comedy?

Sheryl Underwood hosts, and Lavelle Crawford and others perform a high-octane comedy show “License to Laugh” at The Times-Union Center for Performing Arts on Saturday, July 19, beginning at 8 p.m.

If you can believe it, the show promises to have the audience “gasping for air from the gut-busting laughter.” Sometimes, pain is pleasure, so join Underwood, Crawford, Tim Murray and Lavar Walker for this experience.

Tickets start at $45 and can be purchased online at TicketMaster.com.

Then on Sunday, July 20, consider taking things down a beat. Visit The Jacksonville Landing for Reggae Jammin’ on the River – live music at 4 p.m. on the Coca-Cola Riverfront Stage by 418 Band.

The price is right – it’s free.

Check out The Landing website for more information.