Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer, but as you put away your beach gear, stash your lawn chairs and dig out your jacket for the impending autumn chill, mark your calendar for the latest in captivating plays and musicals coming to an East County stage near you. It’s time for a new season of fun minus the sand.

Coming up next week, the Brentwood Art Society’s Broadway Under the Stars series comes to a close with “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Tickets are still available for the musical, which debuts Friday, Sept. 10. Shows run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Sept. 26 at the Brentwood Playhouse at The Streets of Brentwood, 2565 Sand Creek Road.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Dreamcoat” is a family-friendly musical based on the Biblical story of Joseph. The show, which earned six Tony Award nominations when it debuted on Broadway in 1982, has been performed around the world and is known for the songs “Any Dream Will Do” and “Close Every Door.”

Tickets for the Broadway Under the Stars’ rendition, directed by Steve Kinsella, are $17 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Refreshments, provided by Code Brew Coffee and More, will be available for purchase. To reserve your tickets, call 925-516-8500, ext. 203.

Over at the El Campanil Theatre in Antioch, the Vagabond Players are gearing up for three shows this fall. “A Bench in the Sun,” runs Sept. 19 and 22; “Always … Patsy Cline” runs Oct. 15 though 17; and “Over the River and Through the Woods” runs Nov. 14 and 17. For more information about these shows, visit the Vagabond Players’ Web site, www.vagabondplayersinc.com.

Also coming to El Campanil this season is a performance by El Campanil’s Children’s Theatre Program. This time the kids will be performing the musical “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Tickets for the show, scheduled for Nov. 5 and 7, are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (age 62 and older) and $8 for youth. For more information about the Children’s Theatre, visit www.elcampaniltheatre.com/childrens_theatre.htm.

El Campanil will also be the site of the Sept. 18 Delta Memorial Hospital Foundation Fundraising Gala, which will feature a performance of “Beach Blanket Babylon.” All proceeds from the event benefit Save A Life Sister (breast cancer screening), diabetes education, Healthy Hearts education and the Urgent Care Clinic. “Beach Blanket Babylon,” which is currently enjoying a run at the Club Fugazi in San Francisco, is billed as “a zany musical spoof of pop culture with extravagant costumes and outrageously huge hats,” according to its Web site, www.elcampaniltheatre.com.

Antioch’s Hapgood Theatre kicks off its third season with “The Cocktail Hour” on Friday, Oct. 22 at the Nick Rodriguez Theater, 213 F St. in Antioch. Written by A.R. Gurney, the play tells the story of a playwright whose latest work is a reflection of his family, but before he puts the play into production, he promises himself that he must get the consent of his family members – a task easier said than done.

Tickets for the “The Cocktail Hour,” which runs through Nov. 7, are $25 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. For more information, visit www.hapgoodtheatre.org.

For information about other plays to be presented in East County during the months of September and October, visit the Arts and Entertainment page at The Press Web site.