‘Groovy’ dedication

“Why was that funny?” a baffled child asked his fellow actors.

Parents at Tuesday’s tech rehearsal for their kids’ new play, “Groovy!,” couldn’t help but laugh when their kids, who spend their days trolling YouTube, cracked scripted jokes about dated cultural phenomena like Lawrence Welk.

In “Groovy!,” flower children attempt to put on a free concert in an apple orchard, but are beset by “square” adults who don’t understand their vision.

Bedecked in pleather pants, Mardi Gras beads and Day-Glo bell bottoms, the kids spar with the town sheriff and the orchard’s crab-apple owner, while finding plenty of opportunities to break out into “spontaneous” song and dance.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley’s ClubHouse Theatre this weekend will present “Groovy!,” a musical celebrating the hippies and flower children of the 1960s.

The ClubHouse Theatre program recently ranked among the top five arts programs offered by Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide, club chief executive Tanya Hoxsie said.

At their rehearsals, the kids don’t just learn their lines; they help with costume and set creation, block scenes and work on song and dance routines.

Established in 1967, the Huntington Valley club had more than 7,600 members last year; in May, it was ranked among the top four clubs in the nation.

Its ClubHouse Academy Center for the Arts includes dance, gymnastics, martial arts and more; the ClubHouse Theatre has produced dozens of shows, with Hoxsie’s husband, Bob, directing.

“What I think is the neatest is that they all become like a little family,” Tanya Hoxsie said.

Before shows, Bob Hoxsie gathers his young actors and crew together in a circle.

After linking arms, the kids listen to advice and notes for their upcoming performance: reminders to pick up after themselves backstage, smile onstage, and not turn their backs to the audience.

After this, they squeeze each other’s hand, one by one, in a good-luck chain. When the final hand is squeezed, the kids twist out of the chain with a call to break a leg.

“We do a circle before every show,” Hoxsie told them. “That way, everyone’s equal. Everyone’s important. There are no stars.”

For instance, the play’s stagers were struck by a 5-year-old who sat and watched rehearsals for weeks.

Although she can’t read, her dedication was obvious, Tanya Hoxsie said, so she was added to the cast in a bit part.

Bob Hoxsie isn’t afraid to mix with his young charges; he plays clapping games like “Down By The Banks” like a seasoned professional, but isn’t afraid to crack the whip on idle actors.

The theater group is divided into beginning, intermediate and advanced performers; advanced-level kids volunteered to work with their younger fellows in “Groovy!”

“I love to watch them grow,” Tanya Hoxsie said. “I think that’s my favorite part.”

IF YOU GO

WHO: Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley’s ClubHouse Theatre

WHAT: “Groovy!”

WHEN: 7 p.m. tonight and Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Boys & Girls Clubs Kingston Branch, 16582 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley

COST: $5 at the door

INFORMATION: (714) 531-2582 or bgchv.com

UPCOMING SHOWS

Scholars of the stage, from elementary school tots to college theater graduates, have been donning face paint and learning new lines for a range of area productions this summer.

‘Groovy’

Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley’s Kingston Branch, 16582 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, have leapt headfirst into the world of flower children and hippies.

They will present the culmination of their “research” in a play called “Groovy,” which will show at 7 p.m. tonight and Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $5 at the door. For more information, call (714) 531-2582 or visit www.bgchv.com.

‘Luann’

The perils of the teenage experience are being explored at the Huntington Beach Playhouse, which has chosen the perennial favorite comic strip “Luann” for its new show.

The musical version of the comic, as imagined by the strip’s creator, will play nightly from Monday to Aug. 8 at the playhouse, 7111 Talbert Ave.

For more information, call (714) 375-0696 or visit www.hbph.com.

‘Bullshot Crummond’

For fans of 1930s detective movies, “Bullshot Crummond” is just what Dr. Evil ordered.

American Coast Theater, which had its inaugural season last summer, will present the campy parody through Aug. 10 at Vanguard University’s Lyceum Theater, 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

In the production, British super-sleuth Bullshot Crummond attempts to foil the evil doings of Otto Von Bruno — the second most dangerous man in Europe — and his deliciously evil dame, Lenya.

The show is the first of two this summer for the professional company; three of the five cast members are Vanguard theater alumni, and another is a department chair who also directs the show.

“Partially, it’s a way for our graduates to make the bridge between graduation and professional life,” Bill Hughes of Vanguard University said of the company.

Tickets are $20 to $25. For more information, call (714) 668-6145 or visit www.americancoasttheater.org.

‘Little Shop of Horrors’

OCC has a spoof of its own planned with “Little Shop of Horrors,” which opens at 8 p.m. Friday in its Drama Lab, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

The show runs through Aug. 10; matinees and evening performances are available.

The classic musical tells the story of florist Seymour’s fraternization with Audrey II, who craves human blood rather than Miracle-Gro.

Tickets are $15 advance or $16 at the door; for more information, call (714) 432-5880 or visit www.occtickets.com.

‘Star Wars: Musical Edition’

The Arts & Learning Conservatory, which meets on the campus of Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University, will put on the children’s theater world premiere of “Star Wars: Musical Edition.”

The conservatory, founded by Gary and Debora Wondercheck, will perform the show at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Boys & Girls Club, 295 E. Yale Loop, Irvine.

Debora Wondercheck worked on gaining the rights to the musical for three years before getting a green light.

The show will be accompanied by an orchestra, and is the culmination of a summer drama camp.

Tickets are $9; for more information, call (714) 623-1907 or visit www.artsandlearning.com.

“The musical is a parody, so a lot of the songs are familiar tunes that are rewritten to suit the ‘Star Wars’ story,” Education Director Cambria Larson said.

“Star Wars” is still relevant to today’s youth, she said.

“It is always a No. 1 choice for our students. Theater is always a difficult pull for males, but we never have a problem with ‘Star Wars.’ We always have a ton of boys who are ready to pull out the light-saber and get into action.”

‘Peter Pan’

And over at South Coast Repertory, the Summer Players present “Peter Pan” in the Nicholas Studio at 1 and 4 p.m. Aug. 9, 10, 16 and 17.

With 25 teenage student actors who have spent at least one year in the repertory’s Theatre Conservatory, the musical is the classic story of the “boy who wouldn’t grow up,” who whisks away the three Darling children to Neverland.

Tickets are $9, and are available at (714) 708-5555 or online at www.scr.org.

CANDICE BAKER may be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.