THEATER : Traditional Fare Among the Offerings on Area Stages : The entertainment continues as performances--some themed, some not--lift local spirits.

Most of Ventura County’s actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folk enjoy spending the holidays at home with their families. Still, the show must go on. And indeed it does, with a number of local companies providing holiday entertainment, with some of the productions more holiday-related than others.

You don’t have to know who Sholem Aleichem was to enjoy the richness of “Fiddler on the Roof.” The musical show, based on the turn-of-the-century Jewish author’s stories of life in a pre-revolution Russian village, is filled with tradition--not to mention songs including the best-known “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” The Ojai Art Center’s stirring production ends this Saturday night. For more information, call 646-0117.

Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons” concerns Christianity, specifically the decision by Henry VIII to rebel against the Roman Catholic Church, which wouldn’t allow him a divorce, and to form the Church of England, which would. The Santa Paula Theater Center’s production is top-notch, featuring a number of Ventura County’s best actors in top form. The show closes Dec. 4, and will be followed--if current plans work out--by a special holiday presentation of songs and readings. For more information on either program, call 525-4645.

Based on the same material that provided the inspiration for the ‘50s film “Lili,” the Broadway musical “Carnival” has nothing to do with the holidays. But the story of romance in a small traveling French show is tune-filled, colorful and festive entertainment for all but the youngest family members. The Conejo Players’ production concludes Dec. 10. For information, call 495-3715.

To be reviewed next week, the California Shakespeare Company’s production of “Henry V” is amusing and action-packed, though again not holiday-themed. It closes Dec. 18. For information, call 498-3354.

We haven’t seen the Elite Theatre Company’s production of “The Cemetery Club,” which opens in Oxnard’s Heritage Square on Dec. 18 and runs through Jan. 14. But the play, written by Ivan Menchell, concerns three Jewish widows who meet for tea once a month before visiting their husband’s graves. One falls in love, upsetting the group’s balance. The Oxnard company’s shows have been decent enough in the past. For information, watch these pages or call 525-6219.

Over at the Magnificent Moorpark Melodrama & Vaudeville Company, “The Ransom of Rudolph” opens Friday and will be reviewed here next week. In the musical, Rudolph the Reindeer has been kidnaped by a rogue French-Canadian trapper, and it’s up to Detective Inspector Lance Sterling of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to nab the culprit in time for his holiday deliveries. Songs, costumes and wigs are Moorpark Melodrama hallmarks, and the group’s quality is nothing if not consistent. For more information, call 529-1212.

Though they missed last year, the Santa Susana Repertory Company has made an annual event of “A Christmas Carol,” and will bring their fifth edition--again starring Eric Christmas as Scrooge and Rick Livingston as Bob Cratchit--to the Forum Theatre at the new Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The show runs Dec. 9 through 23, with performances Wednesdays through Sundays. For information, call 449-ARTS.

So far, only two local companies have announced special New Years Eve plans, both with shows that will continue through January. Ventura’s Plaza Players will open the variety show “Sophisticated Rhythm Lip-Syncs” on Dec. 31 with special food, drink and years-end paraphernalia. Call 643-9460 for details.

Moorpark Melodrama will open its January show, “The Phantom of the Melodrama,” with a New Years’ Eve Italian buffet dinner, champagne and noisemakers at midnight. The show opens the Melodrama’s new season, devoted to encores of previous productions. “Phantom” is advertised as the most requested melodrama show ever. For information, call 529-1212.