‘Mame’ Center Stage at Conejo Players Theater

Just over 30 years ago, Jerry Herman unveiled the wealthy, madcap Bohemian “Mame” as a worthy successor to the heroine of his hit “Hello, Dolly.”

The musical was adapted from Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s hit play, “Auntie Mame,” itself based on Patrick Dennis’ best-selling autobiography.

“Mame” includes some quite good Herman songs, beyond the well-known title number and “If He Walked Into My Life.” The show holds up well in the Conejo Players’ hands.

Eleanor Brand plays Mame, with Deanna Lynn Milsap as cheerfully inebriated grand dame actress Vera Charles. Lloyd Allen plays Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, the Southern gentleman who romances Mame to his plantation, Peckerwood.

Pamela Matheson is young Patrick’s nanny, Agnes Gooch; and Patrick is played as a 10-year-old by an alternating Randi Saxer and Nick Manoff and, at 19, by Thomas Cunningham.

Friday’s opening could have used more energy, but the elements are all in place under Kevin Calvin’s direction, and some of the set pieces (especially a Busby Berkeley-styled musical number, as seen from the rear) are quite special.

* “Mame” continues through Dec. 14 at the Conejo Players Theater, 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets are $8, Thursday; $10, Friday and Sunday; $12, Saturday. For reservations or further information, call 495-3715. And ask about the dinner / theater special.

*

Some Holidays are Murder: The Elite Theatre Company reverts to its Anglophile roots with “Who Killed Santa Claus,” a locked-room comedy-mystery that should keep viewers guessing.

Glenys Cochrane stars as Barbara Love, creator and co-producer and star of a long-running TV show. She’s been receiving death threats, and it seems as though just about everybody coming to her Christmas party has a grudge against her.

It’s up to Christopher Moore (Alan Price), who introduces himself as a Scotland Yard inspector, to sort things out.

Among the suspects: co-producer Jack Campbell-Barnes (Bill Brandt); Love’s secretary (Macey Zarit); and the show’s director, writer and makeup man (Roger Berry, Irv Citron and Edward K. Hudson).

And why doesn’t anybody recognize that young photographer (Alwin Attema)? The performances are as uneven as the accents under Art McDermott’s direction, but Cochrane’s solid portrayal and Price’s over-the-top Moore carry things along.

* “Who Killed Santa Claus” continues through Dec. 14 at Petit Playhouse, 730 South B St. in Oxnard’s Heritage Square. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Admission to all shows is $10, $8 for seniors. For reservations or information, call 483-5118.

*

Especially Recommended for Some: Those in for an interesting change of pace might consider Cal Lutheran University’s production of Scott McPherson’s “Marvin’s Room,” directed by Kenneth Gardner. Varying, uneasily at times, between a situation comedy and deep drama, the play is centered on Bessie (Kristina Fresquez), a middle-aged woman who has devoted her life to tending her comatose father (Jess Osier, virtually unseen) and an aging aunt (Jennifer Taylor).

When Bessie has to face her own crisis, her estranged sister, Lee (Christa Knudsen), is called in, together with Lee’s two sons, well-mannered Charlie (Tom Phillipson) and surly teenager Hank (Nathan Black), a mental institution patient.

The less adventuresome, or more star-struck, could just wait until next month for the movie, starring Diane Keaton as Bessie, Meryl Streep as Lee and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hank.

* “Marvin’s Room” ends Sunday at the Preus-Brandt Forum, Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Performances are at 8 tonight-Saturday, 2 p.m. matinee Sunday. Admission to all shows is $8. For reservations or further information, call 493-3410.

*

Casting Call: Auditions for Standing O Productions’ February staging of Bernard Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man” will be held at the Arts Council Center, 482 Greenmeadow Ave. in Thousand Oaks, from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. All supporting roles are open. Call 379-1853 or 498-7939.

Auditions for the Conejo Afternoon Theater production of Paul Osborne’s “On Borrowed Time” will be held Sunday at the Conejo Players Theater and Monday at the Arts Council Center. The play will run for six matinee performances, Feb. 6-22. Call Aron at 529-5847 or Doug at 495-4560.

Auditions for the Plaza Players’ production of “After the Light Goes,” Nancy J. Klementowski’s play about artist Georgia O’Keefe, will be held Monday and Wednesday. The cast includes four women, ages 25 and over, and one middle-aged man.

Director Michael Maynez intends to produce the play for three weekends, beginning Feb. 14, at the Ojai Art Center Theater. Call Maynez at 653-2378.