2 Plans for Plays Stir Much Ado : Theater: Altadena and Sierra Madre could both have Shakespeare series next summer. But some in Sierra Madre think noise and traffic will be the rub.

All the world may be a stage, but is there enough room in the San Gabriel Valley for two companies to put on open-air Shakespeare productions next summer?

Aye, say representatives of two theatrical troupes hoping to bring the Bard to Sierra Madre and Altadena next summer.

But at least two members of the Sierra Madre Parks and Recreation Commission said last week that they aren’t so sure their city should play host to Shakespeare, if there’s a similar festival down the road.

“I don’t believe that there is that big of a market in the San Gabriel Valley for the two,” commissioner Ron Coleman said.

TheaterQuest, an Arcadia-based, nonprofit educational corporation, is seeking Sierra Madre’s permission to present Shakespeare plays nearly every evening next summer at Sierra Madre Memorial Park.

Opposition has come from residents near the park, who complain that a summer Shakespeare series would bring too much noise and traffic to their neighborhood.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission is expected to make a recommendation on the proposal at its Aug. 19 meeting. The City Council would have the final say.

TheaterQuest is not asking for any city funds and has promised to improve park bathroom facilities and to purchase bleachers to provide seating for the plays.

Meanwhile, the West Hollywood-based Charmed Life Productions plans to seek approval from the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation to stage 12 performances next summer in the Farnsworth Park amphitheater in Altadena.

A similar series of plays was approved for this summer, but fell through when the company failed to obtain enough donations.

Both groups hope to attract audiences of about 600 for each performance next summer.

In Altadena, the performances would be free, but in Sierra Madre there would be a charge of between $10 and $20 for each show, TheaterQuest President Eric Waterhouse said.

The potential Shakespeare overlap does not bother Frederick Hoffman of Charmed Life Productions.

“There was a time during the Depression when competing ‘Hamlets’ were being performed on Broadway,” he said. “I don’t think it matters because good theater does better when there is good theater everywhere.”