TOM TITUS -- Theater

It’s good to have UC Irvine back in the Daily Pilot fold. After all,

the university’s theater department was covered regularly for a quarter

of a century in these pages, from its inception in 1965 until 1990, when

the paper redrew its boundaries.

A lot has happened at UCI in the past decade -- including the

graduations of my son and daughter -- and the school’s theater department

seems to have grown stronger. I’ve only seen a couple of shows (“M.

Butterfly,” “Oleanna”) during the paper’s dark period, and both were

quite impressive.

The university has announced its stage lineup for 2001-02, and it’s a varied schedule with musical comedy, Shakespeare, an American classic and

fantasy of both the ancient and modern variety.

Drama at UCI opens its season on Nov. 9 with the stage version of the

Julie Andrews movie “Victor/Victoria,” centering on a female opera singer

who gains fame as a female impersonator -- a woman pretending to be a man

pretending to be a woman.

Eli Simon will direct the Blake Edwards-Leslie Bricusse-Henry Mancini

confection, with Dennis Castellano and Bob Boross filling the roles of

musical director and choreographer, respectively, at the Irvine Barclay

Theater. The show will close Nov. 17.

Conte Carlo Gozzi’s fairy tale “The Love of Three Oranges” follows on

Jan. 24 through Feb. 2 at the Winifred Smith Hall. This is the strange

story of a prince cured of terminal hypochondria and then cursed by a

spell that causes him to fall madly in love with three oranges, leading

to a madcap quest to find the objects of his affection. Annie Loui will

direct.

A play that was featured in UCI’s first season (1965-66) will be reprised April 19 through 27 at the Barclay under the same directorial

hand. Robert Cohen, a founding faculty member, will stage Bertolt

Brecht’s “The Good Person of Szechuan” (originally titled “The Good Woman

of Szechuan”), which focuses on a young Chinese prostitute rewarded for

her selfless acts who faces more problems as a result.

Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” will close out the main

stage season May 30 through June 8 under the direction of Keith Fowler.

This comic masterpiece spans world history from before the Ice Age

through a devastating modern-day war, and shows how one family deals with

adversity.

The university’s Stage 2 season will begin Nov. 29 with a three-day

production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in the university’s Little Theater.

Teresa Pond will direct the last and darkest of Shakespeare’s tragedies

-- so dark that superstitious actors won’t utter the title while in a

theater.

“Hamlet” not only ranks as one of the theater’s revered classics, it’s

also spawned a number of other plays, such as “Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern are Dead” and “I Hate Hamlet,” among others. One of those

others is “Fortinbras Gets Drunk” by Janusz Glowacki, which will be

staged Jan. 31 through Feb. 9 in the Studio Theater. Scott Werve will

direct the comic rendition of how a minor character in the tragedy keeps

his head while all about him are losing theirs.

The Obie-winning off-Broadway musical comedy “Promenade” is ticketed

for UCI’s Studio Theater from Feb. 28 through March 9. Escaped prisoners

in the world of the idle rich provide the laughs in this Maria Irene

Fornes and Al Carmines satire, to be directed by Colette Searls.

Finally, the urban fantasy “Marisol” will arrive in the Little Theater

for a brief visit April 11 through 13 under the direction of Roberto

Prestigiacomo. Jose Rivera’s apocalyptic allegory is set in

revolution-torn New York City as homeless masses fight to save the

universe. Fun stuff.

Tickets may be ordered for a season or individually. Call UCI at (949)

824-2787 for additional information.

* TOM TITUS writes about and reviews local theater for the Daily

Pilot. His stories appear Thursdays and Saturdays.