From "Fool for Love" at the Washington Shakespeare Company to "My Fair Lady" at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, Gist, a Towson State University professor, has written and posted reviews of 39 local productions on his Balto-Wash Theatre Page.

Although many theater pages simply contain connections to other dramatic sites and show schedules, Gist's page is one of the few with original content—the opinions of a lifelong theater lover and sometime actor, playwright and director.

Entertainment venues are filling the Web with summer event schedules, seating plans, ticket information and performer biographies—virtually everything but on-line ticket sales. Sites offering electronic playbills include Wolf Trap, Ford's Theatre, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Nissan Pavilion, the Capital Ballroom and the Kennedy Center.

Creativity blooms at some local arts pages. DC Music WWWeb mixes coupons for free drinks and e-mail contacts with links to local music groups, bands and clubs. The 9:30 Club uses animation, audio clips and a sophisticated design to present bands, schedules and ticket information. Local Music Online is another cool-looking spot with ticket giveaways, a message board and an interactive top 10 bands list. You'll find no frills at the DC Blues Society page, just useful information for local blues fans.

The Web is bringing visual artists on-line, too. Ken Oda, publisher of a local arts newsletter, started the ArtWOW site, providing inexpensive space for local artists to display their work in a virtual gallery. Currently, the site is promoting the Art96 show—a biennial event that showcases the best of the Washington area's art—with on-line samples of works that can be seen at participating museums and galleries through July 27.

"The goal is to provide a service to the artists," Oda said. "We're not trying to get rich on this, and we're not."

Forget about closing times on the Web. Midnight tours are available at the Smithsonian site, including a virtual Festival of American Folklife. The National Gallery's Vermeer exhibit is still open on-line, too.

For comedy, visit the Capitol Steps page with sounds from the Washington-based group of congressional staffers turned songwriters. The group has posted information about forthcoming shows and clips from their greatest hits, such as "Stand By Your Dan [Quayle]."

Staff writer Dan Beyers contributed to this report

There's more! Read the rest of the Washington Web Guide.