GroveShakespeare to Take Coward’s Way Out : Theater: ‘Private Lives’ will kick off the eight-play 1993 season at the Gem in April.

Noel Coward is coming. Noel Coward is coming. Yes, twice.

GroveShakespeare announced Monday that its eight-play 1993 season will open at the Gem Theatre in April with his “Private Lives” just five days after South Coast Repertory mounts a revival of his “Hay Fever” in Costa Mesa.

Is the Grove, the county’s second-largest professional troupe, offering a challenge to SCR? Or is it merely taking a cue from the largest?

“Neither,” said Grove artistic director Stuart McDowell, who will direct “Private Lives.” He said he considered his programming choice “a good complement” to SCR’s previously announced production. He also said he had discussed it with SCR’s artistic directors David Emmes and Martin Benson and that both were “extremely supportive.”

“We think ‘Private Lives’ is a wonderful play,” McDowell added. “It can be a good showcase for our company’s resources because it’s a small-cast show and can be done with elegance.”

The production will star Wayne Alexander and Terra Shelman in roles originated by Coward and Gertrude Lawrence and perennially resuscitated as star turns for celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton or Joan Collins and the lesser-known theatrical luminary Simon Jones.

The Grove’s 15th season has a projected budget of $985,000, McDowell said, adding that he anticipates large cuts.

The schedule includes:

* The world premiere of “Monsieur Shaherazad,” a one-man show to star Ron Campbell and to run concurrently at the Gem with “Private Lives” as a late-night offering on Fridays and Saturdays.

* A revival of “Suds,” a musical that premiered at the Old Globe in San Diego in 1988.

* And, depending on the availability of rights, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. If that is not available, McDowell said, he will substitute “Easter on Sugarhill,” Jonelle Allen’s autobiographical play with music that was seen as a sketch last year in Laguna Beach. McDowell said that substitution will depend, however, on “Jonelle Allen’s availability.”

The Grove’s previously announced schedule at the outdoor Festival Amphitheatre adjacent to the Gem remains the same: “King Lear,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Romeo and Juliet.” Each show will run six weeks, extending the outdoor season into October, a month longer than previously.

The season concludes at the Gem with the annual holiday show, Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.”

McDowell also announced the opening of a fund-raising drive, “Shakespeare 400,” the linchpin of which is a marketing plan called the Bard Card.

“Purchasers of the Bard Card will receive discounts in stores and restaurants,” he said.

GROVESHAKESPEARE SEASON

The ’93 Season:

April 14-May 15: “Private Lives” by Noel Coward, at the Gem.

April 23-May 15: “Shaherazad” by Carol Wolf, at the Gem.

June 2-July 3: “Suds” by Brian Scott, Steve

Gunderson and Melinda Gilb, at the Gem.

June 16-July 23: “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, at the Festival Amphitheatre.

July 28-Sept. 4: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, at the amphitheater.

Sept. 8-Oct.16: “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare, at the amphitheater.

Sept. 29-Oct. 3: Either “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams or “Easter on Sugarhill” by Jonelle Allen and Mary Anne McGarry, at the Gem.

Dec. 1-31: “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” adapted by Jeremy Brooks and Adrian Mitchell from a story by Dylan Thomas, at the Gem.

The Gem Theatre and the Festival Amphitheatre are at 12851 Main St., Garden Grove. Tickets to individual shows range from $18 to $23; previews, $12. Information: (714) 636-7213.

Jan Herman’s theater column moves to Fridays beginning this week.