THEATER REVIEW / ‘BROADWAY BOUND’ : Trilogy Topper : As bittersweet as its predecessors, the Neil Simon play is given a strong production by the Conejo Players.

“Broadway Bound,” in current production by the Conejo Players, concludes Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical trilogy of plays. Earlier episodes followed the life of aspiring comic writer Eugene Jerome from his teens (“Brighton Beach Memoirs”) through military service (“Biloxi Blues”). This installment concludes with the sale of Jerome-Simon’s first comic sketches, to the CBS radio network.

All of the action takes place in the Jerome family home in Brooklyn in the late 1940s, with most of the principals of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” on hand. Eugene’s mother and father, Kate and Jack, are on the verge of divorce, and Aunt Blanche has moved to Park Avenue after her new husband struck it rich.

Kate’s father, Ben, is now living with the family and getting uncomfortably older; and elder brother Stanley (based on Danny Simon) has begun to collaborate with Eugene.

The cast here is the strongest of all of the Conejo group’s presentations of the Simon trilogy, and the most consistent. Everybody gets a Big Scene, though the biggest of all comes to Rita Freeman as Kate, whose character goes through the greatest transformation between opening and closing curtain.

Irv Rosen plays Grandfather Ben, who may not be as addled as he initially appears but who--warning to impressionable adults!--provides Simon with an opportunity for a couple of incontinence references; Lou Dumond’s portrayal of Jack is more powerful than might be expected (or desired), and Thomas Redding and Ruth Bail are strong in the less effectively written parts of Stanley and Blanche.

Eugene is, as usual, the central character; even speaking to the audience as occasional narrator of the story. Gary Romm, who played a minor character in the Conejo group’s “Biloxi Blues” last year, here plays Eugene as a nebbishly likable combination of Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen.

Bittersweet as its predecessors, “Broadway Bound” includes some very funny scenes, one of the best centered on the elder Jeromes’ chronic inability to comprehend their sons’ jokes.

John Holroyd’s ambitious set, seemingly held over from “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” continues to impress, Ida Tambe’s costumes, Marianne Corney’s sound and Jeff Calnitz’s lights are fine.

It’s somewhat puzzling that most of the music used here dates back a decade (more or less) from the time the show is supposed to take place, although Simon himself specified the use of the 1944 hit “It Had to Be You.”

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Broadway Bound” continues Thursday through Saturday nights through Oct. 3 at the Conejo Players Theater, 351 S. Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks. All performances are at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 on Thursdays, $10 on Friday and Saturday, with discounts available for groups, children and seniors. For reservations of further information, call 495-3715.

CASTING CALL / AUDITIONS

The Ventura Department of Parks & Recreation’s Senior Drama Troupe invites actors and actresses ages 50 and older to audition for “Dirty Work at the Crossroads,” by Bill Johnson. Set in the 1890s, the melodrama features a cast of three men and seven women. The play will be produced at the Plaza Players Theater in November, under the direction of Bob Reynolds.

Auditions will be at the Ventura Avenue Adult/Senior Center, 550 N. Ventura Ave., at 1 p.m. on Sept. 11, and at 10 a.m. Sept. 12. Senior stagehands, set builders and other backstage types are also encouraged to attend. For further information, call 648-3035.

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The Channel Islands Ballet Company is looking for 60 children to fill roles in its 13th annual presentation of “The Nutcracker.”

Boys and girls should be at least 8 years old. Girls should have at least one year of classical ballet training; boys are required to have “some ballet training and stage experience.” Prospective soldiers, mice, angels and party guests should call 645-5649 to reserve an audition time next Thursday or to confirm the audition location and dress code.