‘Big River’ Flows From North to South County : Stage: Laguna Playhouse and the Fullerton Civic Light Opera will each stage a version of the musical.

Their tussle over navigation rights to “Big River” behind them, two local theater companies will present the Tony Award-winning musical in concurrent runs beginning this week.

The Laguna Playhouse already has waded in. Previews of the show, which is based on Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” started Tuesday and continue tonight. The official opening is Thursday. The Fullerton Civic Light Opera will test the waters starting Friday. The Fullerton production continues through June 2, the Laguna’s through June 9.

Trouble started last year when the Laguna announced its production even though it had yet to secure permission from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatre Library in New York, which controls the rights to the piece. FCLO producer Griff Duncan--who had secured the rights--complained to the library, which ruled that the Laguna had acted “unethically” and could not mount a production that might conflict with Duncan’s.

But then, after discussing the matter with each other, officials of the two troupes agreed that two shows at the same time might not be a problem after all, Duncan withdrew his complaint, and the library gave its blessing to the Laguna Playhouse as well.

Now, on the eve of their openings, each troupe is wishing the other well and still feels the county is large enough for both “Big Rivers.”

“Our audiences are quite distinct,” said Laguna Playhouse Executive Director Richard A. Stein, noting that the theater tends to draw from South County, while the FCLO’s patrons are more northern-based.

“Besides,” he added, “I chatted with Griff and got the impression that our shows may be very different.” Indeed, in separate interviews, the directors of each show suggested that the stagings may contrast significantly, even though neither of these theaters is known for radicalizing its projects.

Beth Hansen, a veteran of several local community theater productions over the years, said her approach in Laguna emphasizes “inventive, jigsaw creations” by set designer Robert Smith that, she hopes, give the show “a magical quality.

“The docks (representing the towns that Huck Finn visits) move and create an unusual look,” she said. “When the audience walks in, they’re embarking on a fanciful journey. I think of (‘Big River’) as an Americana ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or ‘Wizard of Oz.’ ”

The FCLO’s Kirby Ward, meanwhile, said he was warned early on that the theater’s regular patrons prefer traditional stagings reflecting, as much as possible, the original Broadway productions. “My challenge,” Ward said, “has been to make it fresh but in line with the Broadway version that was so successful. I go right to the tunes and the singing.”

The county’s first exposure to “Big River” came via a traveling show that stopped at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in 1987. Many local critics didn’t find much in that ambling production to cheer about.

The show itself, however, received seven Tonys after its Broadway premiere in 1985, when New York Times critic Mel Gussow’s comments were typical: “ ‘Big River’ has the singularity of dramatic drive, humor and a melodic score. It is also an all-family entertainment. Of course, it began its journey from a great source.”

* The Laguna Playhouse production of “Big River” previews tonight, opens Thursday and continues through June 9 at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Tickets: $14 to $22. Information: (714) 494-8021. The Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production opens Friday and runs through June 2 at the Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Tickets: $12 to $23. Information: (714) 879-1732.