TOM TITUS -- Theater

Whether the next production at Costa Mesa’s Trilogy Playhouse will be

a monster hit is yet to be determined. But one thing is certain, it

definitely will be a monster.

Getting a jump on Halloween, the Trilogy players are turning their

facility in the rear corner of the Lab Anti-mall into a real “lab,” or at

least a simulation thereof. Opening Oct. 5 will be Fred Carmichael’s

stage version of “Frankenstein,” set in the era in which the movie

version of Mary Shelley’s shudder-inducing novel first entered America’s

horror genre, 1930.’

“This cast is a very special group of some of our best regulars,”

declared Alicia Butler, the playhouse’s director.

She noted that resident actor-set designer James Mulligan is playing

the title role of the slightly mad scientist.

“This has made the rehearsal process with the actors very comfortable.

They have all worked together before and,”she quipped, “have a great

‘chemistry’ in the laboratory.”

Putting a show such as “Frankenstein” onto a stage with dimensions as

tiny as the Trilogy’s may seem at first blush to be a bit risky, but

that’s never bothered Butler and her troupe in the past. She’s mounted

novelistic plays with multiple settings, such as “The Secret Garden” and

“Anne of Green Gables,” in the past at this limited venue.

“I think that we have been successful in making use of our space,”

Butler commented. “Multiple, large locations never slow us down. We make

them work effectively.”

She does concede, however, that putting on a full-blown version of

“Frankenstein” will be a bit like creating the monster itself.

“I must admit that being set in the 1930s is a bit different,” Butler

said. “The script’s setting and style feels much older.”

Consequently, it seems as though it is coming from two different eras.

“We’re anxious to see how it melds together,” she said.

Before she gets “Frankenstein” standing upright, however, Butler will

be casting her next project, a family theater ensemble production of

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

Auditions will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, and all roles are

open. Candidates may pick up material from the script after 6 p.m., and

rehearsals will start Oct. 1, just a few days before “Frankenstein” comes

to life.

The Trilogy Playhouse is at 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, in the back

lot of the Lab Anti-Mall. More information is available at (714)

957-3347, Ext. 2.

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

Pilot. His stories appear Thursdays and Saturdays.