Theater Review

It’s a safe bet that few municipalities the size of Costa Mesa can

boast of having as much live theater per square inch. No wonder it’s

called the City of the Arts.

Professional theater is well represented by the venerable South Coast

Repertory (36 years young and in Costa Mesa since 1967) and its two

stages, along with the Orange County Performing Arts Center across the

street, which hosts touring versions of Broadway shows.

On the community level is the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse, now in its

own 36th year, and the Trilogy Playhouse, which moved into the Lab

Anti-Mall space on Bristol Street vacated by the Theater District earlier

this year. Orange Coast College has a theater program bordering on the

hyperactive, and the city’s two high schools offer enthusiastic drama

departments.

Generally overlooked heretofore, but becoming more and more visible,

is Vanguard University’s theater arts department. You may not be

familiar with that one, but it’s across Fair Drive from the Orange County

Fairgrounds. Until recently, the campus was known as Southern California

College.

Our attention was called to Vanguard last season in two quite

impressive productions: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Something’s

Afoot.”

The university has just announced its plans for 2000-01, and the

lineup is inviting.

It will lead off with the well-traveled dramatic comedy “Steel

Magnolias,” playing Oct. 13-22. This is an all-female show -- set in a

Louisiana beauty parlor -- written, surprisingly, by a male playwright,

Robert Harling. The production will be directed by the head of the

Vanguard theater department, Susan Berkompas, who displayed a terrific

set of acting chops in “Something’s Afoot” last year.

Next comes the ultimate challenge, Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” directed by

senior student Sunny Peabody. We’ve seen plenty of Hamlets on stage and

screen over the last few years, including Kenneth Branaugh’s masterwork,

and it will be interesting to view it from an undergraduate’s

perspective. Show dates are Nov. 17 to Dec. 3.

Vanguard’s “Little Shop of Horrors” will be the second staging of that

killer musical this season; the Trilogy opens its version Oct. 3, with

auditions upcoming. At Vanguard, guest artist Cary Smith will direct the

tale of a ravenous plant, which plays from Feb. 23 to March 4.

Finally, Vanguard students will pull out all the comic stops with

“Scapino,” the updated version of a Moliere piece, under the direction of

guest artist Greg Mortensen. This knockdown, drag-out bit of slapstick

will run from March 30 to April 8.

The Vanguard’s Lyceum Theater is an intimate venue with stadium-type

seating offering excellent visibility from all angles. Information: (714)

669-6145.

CALLBOARD -- The Trilogy Playhouse will hold auditions for its

production of “Little Shop of Horrors” from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at the

theater, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, in the Lab Anti-Mall.

The show calls for four men and four women in the 20-50 age range, as

well as ensembles for men and women of all ages. All roles are open, and

auditioners should each prepare a two-minute comic monologue and a

one-minute vocal selection.

The show plays from Oct. 13 through Nov. 5. Information: (714)

957-3347, Ext. 2.

Also, the Trilogy will present an evening of fun ad improvisation with

the Berubian Improv Group (BIG) at 8 p.m. Saturday in the playhouse. All

tickets are $10. Information: (714) 957-3347, Ext. 1.