Pirates, Munchkins and More Headed for Town

Theater continues to abound in Ventura County, with 1997 promising to be an especially fruitful year. This week, we’ll list some shows that (for the most part) should be highlights; watch this space and the Calendar listings as the year progresses for further information about specific dates.

The Ventura County theater scene wouldn’t be the Ventura County theater scene if there weren’t plenty of duplication, and the repetition began last weekend.

If your favorite flag bears a skull and crossbones, Ventura County is the place to be this year. Three productions of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” have been announced, and two of them open this month.

The traditionally fashioned Comedy Tonight production commenced last week at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, and the Moorpark Melodrama’s slapstick version will open this weekend. The Tour de Force Repertory Company, evidently feeling that there’s no such thing as a plethora of pirates, mounts its production at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in October.

If you missed either of last year’s two productions of “Oliver!” (by the Camarillo Community Theatre and Young Artists Ensemble), there’s already one production on the slate for this year, by the Theater League at the Civic Arts Plaza come September.

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And if you missed either of last year’s productions of “The Wizard of Oz” (Camarillo Community Theatre, again, and a kids’ production in Ojai), Comedy Tonight has it penciled in for May in Thousand Oaks. Showing a bit more imagination in their repertoire, that group will produce the female version of “The Odd Couple” in March, and “HMS Pinafore” in July.

The Theater League, a professional touring company, will extend its local runs at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza to two weeks come fall. Earlier in the year, they will present “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Camelot,” and the rock musical “Six Women With Brain Death . . . or Expiring Minds Want to Know.”

The longer runs begin with the aforementioned “Oliver!” and include “The Sound of Music” and “Pippin,” both scheduled for 1998. If you can’t wait, the Ojai Civic Light Opera has scheduled its own version of “The Sound of Music” for March.

Other musicals to anticipate with various degrees of excitement include “Big River” (“Huckleberry Finn” as interpreted by songwriter Roger Miller) at the Ojai Arts Center later this month; Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “The Roar of the Greasepaint--the Smell of the Crowd” (March), followed by Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” (April), both at Moorpark College; Cal Lutheran University’s “Kiss Me, Kate” at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza (March); the Conejo Players’ “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (April) and “The Most Happy Fella” (November); Cabrillo Music Theater’s “Oklahoma!” (March), “Pump Boys & Dinettes” (April) and “Hello, Dolly!” (July); Comedy Tonight’s “The Fantasticks” (September); and the Marquie Dinner Theater’s “She Loves Me!” (October).

Dramas and comedies officially announced but subject to scheduling changes include “The Elephant Man” at Thousand Oaks Arts Council Center later this month; the Santa Paula Theater Center’s “The Lion in Winter” (February) and “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” (June); David Mamet’s “Oleanna” at Ventura College (April); the Marquie Dinner Theater’s “The Foreigner” and two from the Conejo Players: “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” (June), and a production of “Ruthless,” a comedy about a child star (September).

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In stunned conclusion, here’s a portion of an entry from the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center’s own preview of its upcoming season, for a production opening in late June: “With emphasis placed on the military aspect of the play, this production of ‘Hamlet’ will feature several actors from the hit television series ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.’ ”

And one last item: The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza remains the only place in Ventura County where theatergoers must pay for parking.