Golden West plans seldom-seen shows for 2002-03

Tom Titus

Don’t look for any overly familiar plays like “The Odd Couple” or

“Steel Magnolias” at Golden West College this coming season. Golden

West College’s theater department has announced a slate of four

productions, which all may be unfamiliar to many theatergoers -- even

the one that inspired a Cary Grant-Katharine Hepburn movie.

Tom Amen, who heads up the theater program at the college, puts it

this way: “We select our plays based on our desire to balance

audience appeal, with our commitment to challenge our students with

quality dramatic material.”

Leading off the new season in the Mainstage Theater will be

“Holiday” by Philip Barry, author of “The Philadelphia Story.” This,

as you might have guessed, is the Grant-Hepburn piece of yesteryear,

concerning a young man’s reluctance to commit to his wealthy fiancee

and give up his treasured independence.

“It’s a delightful comedy to add a dash of romance and laughter to

the holiday season,” Amen says.

He’ll hold auditions Sept. 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. in the Mainstage

Theater for seven men and five women in the 25 to 55 age range. The

show opens Nov. 1 for three weekends, closing Nov. 16.

“Shadowlands” by William Nicholson is next on the agenda. Some may

have seen it at South Coast Repertory a few years ago. It’s based on

the real-life romance of English author C.S. Lewis and American poet

Joy Davidman. Complications between theoretical romance and the

genuine article abound in this cerebral piece, which will be staged

from Feb. 28 through March 15.

The lighthearted musical “The Boy Friend” will resurrect the

Roaring ‘20s at Golden West May 9. This paean to fun and frivolity

will focus on the happiness of pursuit among the youth of yesteryear.

Sandy Wilson’s slightly satirical, highly lyrical confection will be

on the Golden West College stage through May 18.

Closing out the Golden West season will be “Red Noses” by Peter

Barnes. Billed as an outrageous comedy, it chronicles the escapades

of a merry band of troubadours who set out to conquer the Black Death

with laughter and love in 1348 in plague-ravaged France. The play

“explores the dark underbelly of medieval society, while casting a

white-hot spotlight on contemporary moral and social dilemmas,”

according to the college. The unusual offering will fun from July

11-26.

Additional information on the Golden West season, including

details on auditions, may be obtained by calling production director

Amen at (714) 892-7711, ext. 55237.

“We believe our four productions will interest you for their

artistic quality and diversity,” Amen declares.

He might have added, and also for their unfamiliarity.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.