SATURDAY: SERIOUS FUNOver the years, canyon audiences...

SATURDAY: SERIOUS FUN

Over the years, canyon audiences have come to expect something zany from the Topanga Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor, Guido Lamell. Last year, for example, Lamell and David Weiss performed the “La Ci Darem La Mano” duet from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni”--on musical saws.

But enough is enough.

Lamell wants people to know he can be as serious as the next fellow. And he’s proving it at this Saturday’s concert.

“We’re doing a more conventional orchestral concert this time,” Lamell says. “I don’t want people to think we do only zany things out there.”

So, Lamell has chosen Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony; Debussy’s “Afternoon of the Faun”; Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz; and Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy,” inspired by the Bizet opera.

This is Lamell’s 16th year with the Topanga Phil, his sixth as conductor. Every musician in Los Angeles has a day job, and Lamell is no exception: He’s a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

This annual concert at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is definite family fare. Besides being a benefit for the Topanga Co-op Preschool, it offers a chance for children--and the rest of the audience--to view an orchestra up close in an informal, outdoor setting.

And just to show he hasn’t gotten totally serious, Lamell will host a conductors’ competition among audience members. The winner gets to wave the baton for the concert’s traditional finale, John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

“It’s still thoroughly accessible and family-oriented,” Lamell says. “People should expect to hear a beautiful concert.”

* Topanga Philharmonic Orchestra performs at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Tickets are $15 general, $7.50 seniors and children 6-12. Children under 6 are admitted free. Call (310) 358-5109.

CATHOLIC COMEDY

Metropolitan Community Church presents “Habits Are Hard to Break,” an evening with the Hot Cross Nuns on Saturday. The five “sisters”--Sue Abitanta, Terri L. Cotter, Linda Dodson, Kathy McGinty and Laura Sheriff--take an irreverent poke at members of the Catholic clergy. In full costume, the good sisters perform solos and in ensemble. One highlight: the song “The Vatican Rag.”

Sheila O’Kane, producer of the show, says the five women come from varied professional and religious backgrounds. Only Cotter is a professional entertainer and none are Catholic school survivors. O’Kane says the idea for the show sprouted at the church three years ago when the women did one song in costume as the nuns.

“They decided to do this comedy number,” she says. “Everybody loved it and they’ve kept it up since.”

* “Habits Are Hard to Break” featuring the Hot Cross Nuns at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Metropolitan Community Church, 5730 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood. Tickets are $10. Call (818) 988-3822.

WEEKEND: MORE FAMILY FARE

This weekend, College of the Canyons presents its first theatrical production in more than seven years, “Androcles and the Lion,” based on one of Aesop’s fables.

“The play is about the nature of friendship,” says the show’s director Gary Bolen. “The style is commedia dell’ arte--lots of slapstick and sight gags.”

Bolen says the production is aimed at children, but he has also added some jokes and other elements specially targeted at adults.

* “Androcles and the Lion” plays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Blvd., Santa Clarita. Tickets are $6 general, $4 children, students and seniors. Call (805) 259-7800.