Coming Soon . . . : Theater: Biographical plays about Hollywood greats Carole Lombard and Orson Welles highlight the fall drama season.

The screwball comedian--Carole Lombard--and the maverick film director--Orson Welles--had little in common.

Except the fascination of Michael Druxman.

Playwright Druxman has written separate plays about the two Hollywood legends, which highlight the upcoming fall season of theater in the San Fernando Valley. “Lombard” will open Oct. 24 at the Center Stage Theatre in Woodland Hills; “Orson Welles” begins at the same location in early November.

“I’ve always enjoyed this concept,” said Druxman, 50. “It’s a great way to get through to the audience. There are less rules. But all the great authors and politicians had already been done. No one had done movie stars.”

Druxman started the series on stars with portrayals of Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy in 1984; another about Al Jolson was produced in 1988. Other works on Errol Flynn and Clara Bow have yet to be staged.

Lombard, he found on video. For Welles, no search was necessary.

“I hadn’t seen a lot of her stuff,” he said, “but she was the queen of comedy. If she hadn’t died in a plane crash, she would’ve become what Lucille Ball was.

“Welles is an icon. Here’s a man who created what many think is the greatest movie ever made.”

Druxman said “Orson Welles” will be his last one-man work. He wrote a semi-autobiographical play, “Father and Son,” which he hopes to present at the West End Playhouse in Van Nuys later this year. The story centers around a teen-age son who moves in with his father.

Altogether, the Valley will once again showcase a series of classics and original works. And, once again, there’s a blend of comedy and drama mixed with love stories.

The classics include the annual showing of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” which will run from Dec. 2-22 at Glendale Center Theatre. For information, call (818) 244-8481.

Also, the Richard Basehart Playhouse in Woodland Hills will present “The Fantasticks,” the popular love story about parents who try to manipulate their children to marry each other. It will be performed from Oct. 12 through early next year. For information, call (818) 704-1845.

The Valley will not lack in the comedy department this fall--so far, five are scheduled.

The Glendale Center Theatre will present two of them. One is “Bundle of Trouble,” about a sloppy, divorced inventor who suddenly assumes responsibility for his 7-year-old daughter. The play opened Tuesday and will continue through Oct. 19. The other is “The Nerd,” about a Vietnam War veteran who meets the man who saved his life in the jungle. It will run from Oct. 22 through Nov. 30. For information on both, call (818) 244-8481.

One of the other comedies was penned by John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the screenplay for “Moonstruck.” Titled “The Italian Reconciliation” it’s about a young Italian man who can’t get over his ex-wife. It will play Oct. 20-Nov. 24 at the Richard Basehart Playhouse. For information, call (818) 704-1845.

Another comedy is “Curious Savage,” which is about social misfits who finally face up to their fears through the kindness of a wealthy widow. It will play from Oct. 11-Nov. 16 at the Group Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood. For information, call (818) 769-PLAY.

And then there’s “The Boys of the Peggy August Club,” which is about a bachelor party in an Encino restaurant. It will be performed from Oct. 23-26, and Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at the Coffeehouse Theatre at CalArts.

Also, the new American Renegade Theatre in North Hollywood will present “Fourplay,” an evening of four one-act slice-of-life comedies about relationships. The play will be performed Sept. 27-Oct. 26. For information, call (213) 876-0227.

The Valley is getting serious, too.

The Gnu Theatre in North Hollywood will present “The Speed of Darkness,” a story about a successful building contractor who discovers long-forgotten truths when visited by an old, homeless friend. It will open Nov. 7, and run through mid-January. The play, which received off-Broadway Tony nominations last year, was written by Steve Tesich, who wrote the screenplays for “Breakway Away” and “The World According to Garp.” For information, call (818) 508-5344.

The Woodland Hills Community Theatre in Woodland Hills will show “Stage Door,” a story about women in a boardinghouse who are trying to make it on Broadway in the late 1930s. It will be performed from Nov. 1-23. For information, call (818) 884-1907.

Another play, “Being of Sound Mind,” deals with a Midwestern family trying to reconcile after the death of the mother. It will run from Oct. 24 through Nov. 24 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. For information, call (818) 990-2324.

Some of the serious stories deal with that age-old topic--love.

“Picnic,” an unusual 1950s love story about a drifter who enters a sleepy town and changes the people he encounters, will play from Oct. 3 through Nov. 10 at the American Renegade’s main stage in North Hollywood. For information, call (213) 876-0227.

Meanwhile, CalArts in Valencia will present “Sugar and Spice,” about slum dwellers in London. It contains violence and nudity, and will run from Oct. 16-19, and Oct. 23-26 at the school’s Ensemble Theatre. For information, call (818) 367-5507.

Then, there’s the classic 1960s musical, “Hair,” about a strait-laced Midwesterner who falls in love with New York hippies. It will be performed from Nov. 15-24 at the Little Theatre at Cal State Northridge. For information, call (818) 885-3091.

Other upcoming musicals in the Valley include “Waiting,” an original work about six waiters and waitresses at a Manhattan restaurant. It will open Sept. 26 at the West End Playhouse in Van Nuys, and continue indefinitely. For information, call (818) 904-0444.

Meanwhile, “Red, Hot & Cole,” a revue of Cole Porter songs, will continue through Nov. 16 at the Actors Alley Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood. For information, call (818) 986-AART.