Couple Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Victory Theatre : From humble beginnings, this Burbank playhouse has become a haven for playwrights

Ten years ago, Maria Gobetti and Tom Ormeny walked into the empty space on 3326 W. Victory Blvd. and found canary yellow walls.

Ten weeks later--through the valiant aefforts of friends, family, acting students and some impromptu fund raising--the Victory Theatre opened. Since then, the Burbank theater has hosted an eclectic roster of playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Beth Henley (whose “Miss Firecracker Contest” was its maiden production), John Kostmayer (“The History of Fear”), Jamie Baker (“Don’t Go Back to Rockville”) and John Ford Noonan (“Talking Things Over With Chekhov”).

Last night, Gobetti and Ormeny celebrated the 10th anniversary of their theater--and with it, a personal and professional collaboration that began 19 years ago.

“We met in an acting class,” Ormeny said. “The relationship started when we were rehearsing an O’Neill scene.”

After living together for nine years, Ormeny and Gobetti were married in 1980, and it was Ormeny who pushed the theater dream to reality.

“We were teaching in a space on Hollywood Boulevard,” he said. “The landlord wouldn’t fix the roof; the rain was pouring in. So I talked Maria into the idea of having a performing space/theater of our own.”

The original motto, they claim, has remained unchanged. “It’s in our charter,” Gobetti said. “We knew we wanted to do original work by American playwrights; that was never a question. We didn’t feel that doing standards was viable--and anyway, we were never drawn to that. New material is a bigger risk, but a bigger payoff.”

Ormeny added, “Reality is a harsh teacher at times, but I’m proud of what we’ve done.”

The two split their time and attention between their artistic directing and producing duties here and Orlando, Fla., where they job-share a coaching position on Disney’s “The New Mickey Mouse Club.” That leaves the other partner the task of running the theater, which includes the 91-seat main stage and 48-seat second stage, the latter used mostly for acting classes and occasional co-productions.

Right now, the main stage is gearing up for Thursday’s premiere of David Man’s nine-character revue “Hollywood Follies.”

“It’s our first musical revue,” said Gobetti, who describes the piece as “satirical, spoofing a lot of the business end of the business. But it also affirms what’s wonderful about it.” Man, who’s combined original music by Bob Bendorff, Stanley D. Hoffman, Michael Urbaniak and Aaron Egigian, feels that he has utilized the traditional revue format--a balance of serious and light songs and sketches--but added a more pointed edge.

“The theme is what we do to find our dreams, and what price we pay when we sell them--what part of ourselves we lose,” said Man, who’s also directing and performing here. As for the adage that playwrights shouldn’t direct themselves, “I’ve had to do a lot of editing and pruning, surrendering control to people I love and trust,” he said. “Actually, I’m not in the show that much. I have one number in the first act, two in the second act. So I’m hardly even there.”

“Hollywood Follies” opens Thursday, and plays Thursday s through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. at the Victory Theatre, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank, indefinitely. Information/reservations: (818) 841-5421. Tickets are $15 and $17.