Stage of Development : The Galaxy Will Offer Brief (at First) Runs of Live Drama in Addition to Music

The pendulum swings, in history, in romance--and in entertainment venues.

During the 1970s and ‘80s, Santa Ana boasted a popular dinner theater called the Harlequin Dinner Playhouse, which later became Hampton’s, a short-lived concert venue. After Hampton’s folded, the building briefly became the Rhythm Cafe concert club. Since December, it’s been the Galaxy Concert Theatre, another music-oriented facility.

But suddenly, and surprisingly, the Galaxy is looking to its past through its new “theatrical division,” which plans to present live legitimate theater presentations on a monthly basis.

The first efforts are Sunday and Monday when the Galaxy, in association with L.A.’s burgeoning Elephant Off Main Theatre Company, offers two one-act plays by Tony Foster--”The Day the Earth Became Flat Again” and “Butterfly Kisses.”

Why this adventure in live theater at a music venue?

“We went out seeking new avenues to promote at the Galaxy,” said Galaxy marketing coordinator and assistant talent buyer Nikki Sweet. “The philosophy behind this is trying to bring young, fresh talent into the Orange County area to showcase on a local level, at a reasonable ticket price. There are a lot of artists out there that are really deserving of this opportunity.”

In the beginning, the theatrical stagings will be given brief runs once a month, but slightly longer runs may become possible down the line.

“Obviously it’s got to be booked around the music, since that is our main format,” Sweet explained. “Every situation, even with the music, and the plays, is completely different. It just depends.”

This weekend’s bill will be directed by Debborah D. Duning. Both Duning and playwright-actor Foster are 1994 graduates of the theater department of Cal State Long Beach. Foster says they graduated “side by side.” Both were involved in last year’s Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Duning directed several of Foster’s plays while they were undergraduates, including “Butterfly Kisses.”

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“Butterfly,” Duning said, “is about one woman’s journey through life. It’s a memory play.”

The play is based on Foster’s memories of his mother. The only actor in the play besides the woman is a man who plays all of the men in her life.

“I based it on stories she told me about her childhood,” Foster said. “It’s about her search for love with the different men in her life, the relationships with her son, her father, her husband, her first love. It all blends together in memory.”

Foster’s other play--he has a backlog of about 15 ready to stage--is what he calls a weird “Twilight Zone” kind of a comedy. “The Day the Earth Became Flat Again” takes place in a one-man cafe, with one man serving as host, headwaiter, waiter and chef, dealing with three of the cafe’s customers. A community college teacher once gave Foster a pamphlet on the Flat Earth Society, which triggered his imagination.

“I thought it would be interesting if the world had always been flat, and everyone who thinks the world is round is wrong,” he said. “The play is about how one man’s belief system is shot to pieces in one afternoon. Everything that he knows to be true is untrue.”

Does the comedy have a message?

Foster chuckled at the suggestion.

“If you look hard enough,” he said, “probably what I’m saying is: Be careful what you believe in.”

Both Foster and Duning are grateful for this opportunity to show the Elephant company’s wares.

“This just fell into our laps,” Duning said, “just fell out of the sky. It’s a great opportunity to put the company’s name out there and put our names out there and show what we’re made of. At this point, since we’re starting out, why not keep it small and just give a good show?”

* “The Day the Earth Became Flat Again” and “Butterfly Kisses,” Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. Sunday and Monday, 8 p.m. $12. (714) 957-0600 or (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).