Love-Hate Relationship : ‘Women of Manhattan,’ from the Shanley script, examines women’s mixed emotions about men.

Women and men, men and women. . .

“It’s about three women, talking about hating men, loving men--and the difficulties in opening their hearts, taking risks with relationships,” says Lisa Lund, who’s producing and co-starring in John Patrick Shanley’s five-character comedy “Women of Manhattan,” which begins previews tonight at the Little Victory Theatre. The trio of females includes married Billie, loner Judy and Lund’s Southern belle Rhonda Louise.

“Her outlook’s a lot like mine,” Lund says. “She’s the rock of the group, the common thread, maintaining control, gentle, always the lady. She tries to find the bright side of love, though she has a little bitterness and insecurity in her heart.

“My (former) partner and I read a million scripts, but this one stuck out. Shanley writes highly textured characters, lots of colors. The message is, we’re all different--and that’s OK. It’s OK for you to handle life differently than I do.”

A native of Fresno--where she appeared in productions of “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Butterflies Are Free”--Lund graduated from Cal State Fresno with a degree in journalism, detoured to Europe for six months, and settled in Los Angeles 5 1/2 years ago.

With “Women,” the maiden vehicle for her Curly Two Productions, Lund hopes also to strike a happy blow for feminism.

“You know, it should never have been The Year of the Woman,” she says matter-of-factly. “They should all be years of women.”

Play director Katherine Huston has the advantage of knowing her actresses well: They’ve also been her students at Film Industry Workshops in Studio City, where Huston has taught acting and directing for the past 10 years.

“The three of them popped right into my head,” she notes of the casting. “They’re all very talented; each fits their part perfectly.”

*

In addition to her fondness for her cast, Huston--who also works at the Costume Collection in North Hollywood, and is an actress and screenwriter--sings the praises of playwright Shanley (“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” “Moonstruck”).

“You know when you read a piece of material and you recognize it, recognize the people and the things in it--when you say, ‘I’ve done that’ or ‘I’ve said that’?” says Huston. “That’s good writing, when you have that kind of recognition--and I really felt that here.”

Born in Texas, Huston says she knew what she wanted to do since she played the front end of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a first-grade play.

After graduation from West Texas State University, she headed straight to California.

“I came out here to be Frank Capra,” the director says, only half kiddingly. “I grew up watching the old movies. Film is wonderful to me, pure magic. It’s one of the reasons I like working in this theater: It’s so intimate. You can do the big moments, and the small moments too.”

Where and When What: “Women of Manhattan.” Location: Little Victory Theatre, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank. Hours: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends March 27. Price: $15. Call: (213) 466-1767.