STAGE : Paul Lazarus’ Pasadena Dreamin’

The lineup for Pasadena Playhouse’s winter/spring season may help reveal how artistic director Paul Lazarus will cope with the recently disclosed no-grants goal of the theater’s owner, David Houk.

Houk has said he wants the nonprofit theater to survive on earned income alone. This could put pressure on Lazarus to come up with constant hits--and inhibit his ability to experiment.

The new season opens with a fairly safe choice: the area premiere of Ken Ludwig’s farce, “Lend Me a Tenor” (Jan. 19-Feb. 23), a proven hit on Broadway and recipient of two Tony awards. It will be followed by a 1938 Broadway hit, Paul Osborn’s “On Borrowed Time” (March 22-April 26)--a fable about a grandfather and grandson confronting death--which is also being revived for the current Broadway season.

In the last slot of the season will be the world premiere of Mark St. Germain’s “Camping With Henry and Tom” (May 24-June 28), a fictional account of a 1921 meeting of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Warren G. Harding, postponed from the current season because of casting problems, said Lazarus.

Lazarus pointed to “Camping” as “a risky project” that “would not be on the list if there were constraints” on him stemming from Houk’s desire for the theater to earn all its income.

“I have a real belief that David wants theater that grips its audience, not just comforts it,” said Lazarus. “His idea is ‘Dream your dreams, and I’ll find a way to make them happen.’ ”

It helps that all of Lazarus’ dreams so far have been very popular. “You Never Know” and “The Dining Room” were hits, and “Forever Plaid,” imported from the Old Globe in San Diego for an opening next Sunday at the playhouse, was already 75% sold out by the middle of last week.

The hot streak won’t continue forever, Lazarus acknowledged. He declined to say that the playhouse will “never” accept another grant. But in the meantime, “we’re not tied to a huge investment of energy in developing unearned income. I would rather put that energy into producing theater.”

The policy against accepting government grants also frees the playhouse from meeting the increasingly stringent demands of government funding agencies for “multicultural” programming and audience outreach. And none of Lazarus’ recent programming choices could be called “multicultural” or minority-oriented.

But he has offered the job of staging “On Borrowed Time” to Sheldon Epps, a black director. And as far as programming, “we are certainly not looking to exclude minorities,” said Lazarus. “There will be a lot of surprises in that direction.”

MORE MONKEY TALK: Howard Cosell got into a lot of trouble when he referred to a black football player as a “little monkey” a few years ago. Now that an African-American comedy is in town called “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show,” are there any problems with that title?

Producer Barry Hankerson said some backers did suggest changing the title because of the racial connotations. A flap similar to the Cosell incident, in which a zoo director used the word in reference to African-American employes, occurred in Detroit a few months before the show opened there.

But writer Don Evans wanted this title, Hankerson said, and “if you go into theater, you should respect the writer. If not, buy a McDonald’s franchise. It’s no fun to constantly try to direct your stuff at marketing.”

For the uninitiated, Hankerson explained that the title is an old saying used as a rejoinder to someone who’s self-important.

MATERNITY LEAVE: Mary Gordon Murray will replace Sophie Hayden in the co-starring role in “The Most Happy Fella” at the Doolittle Theatre next month. Hayden played the role at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut earlier this year and hopes to resume it on Broadway next spring, but next month she plans to give birth.