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.
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