On Theater: Open season for theaters

Tom Titus, Daily Pilot theater critic

September is with us and so are a number of new stage productions either opening tonight (as in two cases) or waiting in the wings.

Tonight’s opener is “The Rainmaker” at the Newport Theater Arts Center. This is an oldie by N. Richard Nash that inspired a movie of the same name with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn (don’t confuse it with the John Grisham novel/movie of the same name).

This “Rainmaker” centers on the spinster daughter of a ranching family in the drought-stricken Southwest of the 1930s and the smooth-talking con man who promises to bring much-needed rainfall and sweeps the lady off her feet. The show runs weekends through Oct. 10.

Orange Coast College also opens its season tonight with a one-weekend-only show titled “2 by Gurney” — a pair of A.R. Gurney plays, “The Golden Fleece” and “The Guest Lecturer,” directed by OCC students. They’ll be on the Studio Theater stage tonight through Sunday.

Mel Brooks fans will be lining up for “Young Frankenstein” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The comic musical based on the hit movie will be in residence Sunday through Sept. 25.

Another oldie, this one updated and set to music, is “Alice” at Vanguard University, opening Sept. 17 for three weekends. The show is based on Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s story “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and will be staged Fridays through Sundays until Oct. 3.

Witty comedy “Misalliance,” by George Bernard Shaw, returns to South Coast Repertory. The play about the generation gap opens Sept. 18 on the Segerstrom Stage after a week of previews and continues through Oct. 10.

No sooner does “Young Frankenstein” “walk this way” off the center stage than “Peter Pan” flies onto it. This is a new theatrical production of J.M. Barrie’s classic story performed in a state-of-the-art 1,350-seat theater pavilion.

Billed as the world’s first 360-degree video projection for live theater, the show flies both cast and audience over Edwardian London in an extended engagement through Nov. 21.

South Coast Repertory is back in action Sept. 26 through Oct. 17 with Sarah Ruhl’s “In the Next Room (or, the vibrator play).” This one centers on a Victorian age doctor who finds a way to release women from their inhibitions and will be presented on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ageless classic “South Pacific” comes to the center for a revival from Oct. 12 to 24, running in tandem with “Peter Pan.” Set in wartime on a faraway Pacific island, the show has been an audience favorite since 1949 when it won the Pulitzer Prize and an unprecedented four Tony awards for its top performers.

OCC has another brief engagement scheduled, the absurdist satire “Ubu Roi” by Alfred Jarry. It’ll be on the Drama Lab stage Oct. 13 to 17 and is described as “based on ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Hamlet’ as might be played by the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers.”

The Costa Mesa Playhouse opens its new season Oct. 15 with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the first of three local productions this season of the musical comedy about a group of dissimilar kids competing for top honors in a spelldown. The show runs through Nov. 14.

Vanguard University is back in the spotlight Oct. 29 with a show it scheduled last year but had to cancel, Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” This classic drama about life in the New England community of Grover’s Corners will run through Nov. 7.

Finally, while the new season is under way, it won’t be quite the same with the recent passing of Tony Grande, one of the most active actors/directors in local theater. Tony died of esophageal cancer Aug. 28.

Tony worked with most of the local theater groups and refused to slow down after he was diagnosed. He was directing a production of the comedy “Cheaters” for the Westminster Community Theater and was midway through rehearsals when he died. The show will go on under the direction of his longtime partner Beth Titus (yes, my ex-wife), opening today.

Tony and Beth crossed paths frequently at theatrical and familial events with me and my lady friend, Jurine Landoe. The four of us saw a few new years in together and Tony and I worked on several shows including my last directorial effort, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” in 2007, in which he played the dentist, Mr. Dussel.

Tony’s passing will be felt at the many local theaters he worked with and I’ll miss a talented collaborator and a worthy Trivial Pursuit opponent. Bon voyage, old friend.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.

Murtha’s big night helps Estancia

Sophomore Robert Murtha had a night to remember in his varsity debut for the Estancia High football team.

He rushed for 128 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles cruised over Bolsa Grande, 55-0. It’s the first time since 2006 that Estancia has won its season opener.

Andrew Tenno and Jason Anaya each had two interceptions for the Eagles.

O.C. Bargainista: Get a culture boost at OCPAC

Candice Baker, Daily Pilot columnist

Freebie of the Week: Need a little culture in your life, but don’t have two nickels to rub together? Head over to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center before 8 p.m. Friday for a chance to sit in the Orchestra Level to watch a free open rehearsal of the Pacific Symphony’s Beethoven’s Ninth performances (yep, including the “Ode to Joy”) set for Saturday at the Verizon Amphitheater. Led by guest conductor Robert Moody, the Symphony will be joined by more than 100 singers from a dozen Orange County choruses. Those lucky enough to get in also will be able to watch a rehearsal of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” Tickets already have been distributed, but empty seats will be filled from a standby line about 10 to 15 minutes before the performance. For more information, visit ocpac.org.

Newport-Mesa Muslims observe end of Ramadan

COSTA MESA — Newport-Mesa Muslims on Friday will join worldwide celebrations of what is known as “Eid al-Fitr,” which honors the end of Ramadan, Islam’s holy month.

The celebration began Thursday night after the last prayer with “takberate,” an enchant embracing and thanking God, and will continue Friday morning with prayersgift exchanges and visitations with friends and family.

For Muslims, celebrating Eid is about thanking God for allowing them another chance to exercise discipline, test their self-restraint and generosityhttp://www.dailypilot.com/news/opinion/tn-dpt-0811-ramadan-20100810%2C0%2C5968267.story.
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CdM schools buck enrollment trend

From Corona del Mar Today

Student enrollment is down this school year throughout most of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District — but not at Corona del Mar High School or at Harbor View Elementary School, according to district and school officials.

Harbor View had about 30 or 40 more kindergartners enter the school this week, with a total student body of 460 students, up about 30 from last year. And at Corona del Mar Middle and High schools, there are more than 400 students in five of the six classes, said Karen Yelsey, president of the Board of Education. Yelsey attended the CDMHS’s first PTA meeting of the year, which drew more than 100 parents to the school’s small gym on Wednesday morning.

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Costa Mesa police nab suspected copper thief

COSTA MESA — Police arrested an accused copper thief after a police helicopter spotted him on the roof of a local business trying to hide from officers, authorities said Thursday.

Craig Steven Bleich, 48, of Tustin, was booked on suspicion of grand theft in Costa Mesa, where police said he was trying to steal copper wire from businesses next to John Wayne Airport.

About 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, a person spotted Bleich on the roof of a building at 2950 Airway Ave., a commercial area next to the airport with few lights that is virtually empty at night.
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Costa Mesa police officer injured in crash

COSTA MESA — A Costa Mesa police officer suffered minor injuries Thursday morning when his patrol car was broadsided on Newport Boulevard, officials said.

The officer was driving northbound at about 7:45 a.m. when he passed through the Wilson Street intersection and was hit by an eastbound car that ran the red light, said Lt. Mark Manley.

The officer was not responding to a call at the time.

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Newport Beach calls summer parks and rec program a success

From Corona del Mar Today

If your kids have been complaining that summer seemed shorter this year — it was by one week. But that didn’t stop the Newport Beach Summer Recreation programs from showing a 2 percent increase in fees over last year, Newport Beach Recreation and Senior Services Director Laura Detweiler said at a meeting Tuesday night.

“We had ten weeks, not eleven, this summer, and we still saw the 2 percent increase,” Detweiler told members of the Newport Beach Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission at their monthly meeting. “This summer was an overwhelming success.”

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Letters from the editor: Time for a Cinderella season

My daughter just started playing AYSO soccer.

She had two rounds of parks and recreation tot soccer under her belt and did so well we felt she was ready for the bigtime.

But she’s skipping a step — the coed team of mostly 4-year-olds — and going straight to a girls’ team.

A friend’s dad is the coach and he had an opening on his squad. My daughter’s 4, but the other girls are 5 or turning 5. Nevertheless, my wife and I figure she’s ready, and can only get better playing with bigger kids.

At the first practice the girls gathered to name the team. I thought this was cool because in my day, our team names were assigned. I played for toughs like the Rogues, Aztecs and Earthquakes.

So when it came time for the girls to make their pick, I was hoping for something that honored the heritage of “the beautiful game.”
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Commission: Event Room, Not Oasis Center, Should Honor Hart

From Corona del Mar Today

The Newport Beach Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission meeting on Tuesday turned into a “lovefest” for civic leader Evelyn Hart — but in the end, the commissioners decided the Oasis Center that will be opened later this month should not be renamed in her honor.

“I’m in love with Evelyn Hart,” Robert Shelton, a former Newport Beach city manager, told the commissioners. “I’ve been in love with her for more than 50 years. I’m beginning to think this meeting is a lovefest…”

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