A parade of Shakespeare’s greatest hits opens at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on the outdoor Elizabethan Stage this weekend.

“The 2007 outdoor season will make for magical, humorous and tender theatrical adventures,” said OSF Artistic Director Libby Appel. “Who can resist these Shakespearean classics that speak to us about the many facets of love?

“‘The Tempest’ is Shakespeare’s magnificent story about forgiveness, reconciliation and love. ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is the classic tale of two spirited and stubborn individuals who discover love and respect for each other, and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ will forever touch our hearts with their tragic, passionate love.”

The opening outdoor performance begins at 8:30 p.m. Friday with “The Tempest.” Appel, directing her final show as OSF artistic director, brings the playwright’s last complete play to the stage. This is the grand tale of the magician-priest Prospero (played by Derrick Lee Weeden), who was betrayed by his countrymen and, along with his infant daughter, was left adrift in a leaky boat to die. But Fate determines otherwise, and now 12 years later Prospero is master of the island on which he landed, and his daughter, Miranda (Nell Geisslinger), is a young woman. Fate once again intervenes and places the architects of his downfall within his grasp, and though intent on revenge, he opens the door to transformation and reconciliation.

Others in the cast include OSF veteran Dan Donohue as Caliban (returning after a four year absence while he did 1,400 performances of Scar in the Broadway tour of Disney’s “The Lion King”), Nancy Rodriguez as Ariel (also returning to OSF after a three-year absence), John Tufts as Ferdinand, Armando Durán as Alonso, Michael J. Hume as Stephano, Christopher DuVal as Trinculo.

On stage Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. is  “The Taming of the Shrew,” the tale of the spirited and defiantly single Katherina (Vilma Silva), who terrifies would-be suitors and jeopardizes her younger sister Bianca’s (Sarah Rutan) marital aspirations. When Petruchio (Michael Elich) arrives in Padua, however, determined to “wive it wealthily,” he asks Baptista (Jeffrey King) for Katherina’s hand, and seals the marriage. Katherina does not go willingly into the bargain, and Petruchio begins a strange, but transformational courtship with results that neither he nor Katherina could have imagined.

The cast of 21 also includes OSF veterans Danforth Comins, Jeff Cummings, James Edmondson, Shad Willingham, Tony DeBruno, Tyler Layton, Robin Goodrin Nordli, Robert Vincent Frank, Catherine E. Coulson, Dee Maaske. Actors newer to OSF include Tasso Feldman, Jeris Schaefer, Kjerstine Anderson, Emily Sophia Knapp, Mark Bedard, Orion Bradshaw and John R. Lewis.

The production is directed by guest artist Kate Buckley, who makes her debut at OSF.

Sunday “Romeo and Juliet” opens at 8:30 p.m. Incoming artistic director Bill Rauch directs this tragic tale of family hatreds and passionate young love. The bitter feud between the Capulet and Montague families infects the city of Verona, which erupts with violence. In this dangerous climate Romeo Montague (John Tufts) and Juliet Capulet (Christine Albright) dare to fall in love, defying their elders and crossing a forbidden line. Rauch and his design team take a fresh look at the generational barriers and how family hatreds play out in the older and younger generations. Cast also includes Dan Donohue as Mercutio, René Millán as Tybalt, Demetra Pittman as Nurse, Jonathan Haugen and Shona Tucker as Lord and Lady Capulet, Robert Sicular and Linda Alper as Lord and Lady Montague, Mark Murphey as Friar Laurence, Josiah Phillips as Escalus, Rafael Untalan as Paris and Juan Rivera LeBron as Benvolio.

The outdoor productions join six productions already in repertory at OSF. Playing in the Angus Bowmer Theatre are Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Tom Stoppard’s “On the Razzle,” Libby Appel’s new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” and August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean.” In the New Theatre is David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Rabbit Hole” and a new musical, “Tracy’s Tiger,” by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy, Penny Metropulos and Sterling Tinsley. Lisa Loomer’s “Distracted” opens July 7 in the New Theatre, and Moliére’s “Tartuffe” will open July 28 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre.

Tickets remain available for previews and openings. To purchase tickets go to tickets or call the box office at (541) 482-4331.