THEATER -- Tom Titus

There was a time when Orange Coast College reserved the summer for

large-scale musicals with full orchestration. This year, however, the

warmer months will be filled with a wall-to-wall triumvirate of comedy.

The OCC summer season will open with the local premiere of a new play,

“Epic Proportions” by Larry Coen and David Crane, that turns the clock

back to Hollywood in the 1930s. It’s set in the Arizona desert, where two

brothers are working as extras on a “Ben Hur”-type sword and sandal

extravaganza.

Included in the comedy are gladiator battles, the 10 plagues and a “cast of thousands” -- all represented by four characters. It’s the

latest discovery from OCC’s John Ferzacca, who will direct. “Epic

Proportions” will play from June 21 through July 1.

Playwright David Mamet, whose “Oleanna” was staged at OCC last month,

is known as the creator of such R-rated scripts as “Sexual Perversity in

Chicago” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.” However, OCC’s Children’s Theater

Company will be presenting a Mamet offering from July 11 to 14 in the

Robert B. Moore Theatre.

This one, however, is described by director Alex Golson as “one of the

funniest and most creative children’s plays ever written,” and he should

know because OCC has done it before. It’s called “Revenge of the Space

Pandas or Binky Rudich and the Two-speed Clock,” and Golson says it can

best be described as “Harry Potter meets Star Wars as interpreted by Mel

Brooks.”

The third summer offering will be performed in the third OCC venue,

the intimate Studio Theater, and will be a “Comedy Festival” of one-acts,

skits and monologues. The variety package is scheduled from July 19 to

29, staged by the OCC Repertory Theater Company.

More information on “Epic Proportions” and “Space Pandas” is available

at (714) 432-5880. For the Rep’s “Comedy Festival,” call (714) 432-5640,

Ext. 1.

The Trilogy Playhouse alternates between adult community theater shows

and children’s theater, and the latter takes the spotlight this weekend,

when the musical “The Secret Garden” mounts the Trilogy stage.

The show, adapted from the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett,

follows an orphaned young girl’s renewing of her spirit when she’s placed

with a wealthy family that cultivates a magical piece of landscaping.

“The Secret Garden” will be staged Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at

3:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. in the playhouse, 2930 Bristol

St. in the Lab Anti-Mall, Costa Mesa.

Information: (714) 957-3347, Ext. 1.