THEATER PREVIEW:

Marti Ramm, director and choreographer for Golden West College’s upcoming production of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” acknowledges the stage version of the highly applauded MGM movie didn’t exactly set Broadway on fire when it premiered back in 1982.

“When the stage version opened, it ran for only five performances,” says Ramm, who will exceed that total with her production, opening May 2 in the college’s Mainstage Theater.

“The Broadway version, based on the wonderful MGM film, suffered in its transition from screen to the Broadway stage,” Ramm notes, quickly adding, “This cool reception on Broadway does not explain why, after its initial lack of success, it has been presented almost continually somewhere in the United States ever since.”

The reason, she deduces, is simple.

“Audiences love this musical.”

For those with short memories — or who haven’t caught the movie version with Howard Keel and Jane Powell on the Turner Classic channel — “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is set in the Oregon backwoods in the 1850s.

As Ramm describes it, the show “tells the story of the seven strapping Pontipee brothers, who fill out the alphabet from Adam to Gideon, and who hit on an unusual way to find brides for each and every brother.

“The movie featured the finest male dancers living at that time,” Ramm says, noting that one of her goals is to honor the screen choreographer, Michael Kidd, “who created some of the most exciting choreography ever captured on film.”

Her other two goals, she declares, are “to have the audience gasping for breath after watching the daredevil, energetic and lively dancing and to make the audience leave the theater with beautiful music resounding in their heads.”

At Golden West, the roles made so memorable by Keel and Powell will be filled by Dan Wozniak and Shawna Skipps. Others in the large cast of 26 are Jeremy Heckman, Jonathan Dean, Ricardo Loe, Evan Strand and Landon Zwick.

Behind the scenes, Bruce Bales is musical director, with Walter Huntoon designing the set, Robert Mumm creating the lighting effects and Susan Thomas Babb designing the costumes.

“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” will run from May 2 to 11 on the stage of the Mainstage Theater. More information may be obtained by calling Golden West at (714) 895-8223 or at www.gwctheater.com.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.