Mystery in the Air

The Camarillo Community Theatre opens its new season with Agatha Christie’s venerable mystery, “Ten Little Indians.”

The story has been presented (and filmed and televised) so often that you probably know the plot: Several people gather in a home on an isolated island off the English coast, invited by a host who, mysteriously, never shows up.

Before long, the visitors learn that they’re marked for death--though no reason is given. One by one, the bodies pile up.

Ooh, spooky. And don’t tell anyone who did it.

Director John Lordan’s previous credits for the Camarillo group include the musicals “Paint Your Wagon” and the particularly successful “Little Shop of Horrors.”

He does well enough by Christie, though the cast needn’t have worked so hard to so little avail on their English accents. The ensemble includes Lee Altmar, Chris Carnicelli, Ken Jones, Judie Kewish, Tim King, John Logue, Kevin MacGregor, Colleen C. Shaffner, Cindy Woolley and Lordan.

In addition to playing detective, members of the audience can amuse themselves figuring out who’s next and whom they’d rather see killed.

* “Ten Little Indians” concludes Sunday at the Camarillo Airport Theater, 330 Skyway Drive, on the Camarillo Airport grounds. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets to all shows are $10; $8, seniors, students and active military; and $5, children, 10 and under. (805) 388-5716.

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Lips Together at Conejo Players: If only the killer in “Ten Little Indians” had moved down the 101 to the Conejo Players Theater, one might muse, many members of the audience would welcome him or her (we’re not telling) at the Conejo Afternoon Theater production of Terrence McNally’s “Lips Together, Teeth Apart.”

In this dire little play, a man, his sister and their respective spouses are summering together at a house one of the women has recently inherited on Fire Island.

The island’s largely gay population intimidates several of the characters (all straight) without actually doing anything to them. In addition, the four are a shrill, selfish and (especially) loud bunch who are having their own problems. Class distinctions come under McNally’s view as well, but seldom interestingly.

Actors might be drawn to this play for its opportunity to show off. Audiences, though, will have to try hard to find a character to identify with, or root for. Given the material, Marcy Adriane Austin, Michael Schweitzer, Melanie Lindgren and David Morgan do a good--if (did we say?) loud--job under Mary Ann Tachco’s direction.

* “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” concludes July 19 at the Conejo Players Theater, 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks. Performances are at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. Admission is $5 at the door. No reservations. (805) 495-3715.

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Merry Wives, On the Road: While “The Merry Wives of Windsor” may not be its author’s most admired play, it is a real crowd pleaser and, compared to “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” it’s . . . Shakespeare.

Now in its eighth year, Classics in the Park is bringing the play, directed by Michael Jordan, to several county locations this month and next.

As straightforward and uncomplicated a comedy as Shakespeare ever wrote, “Wives” finds skirt-chasing Sir John Falstaff shamed in several ways. Shakespeare parodies the French, Welsh and Scottish, and there are lots of attractive women and simple-minded men dashing about.

Among the notable performers in this production are Roscoe Gaines as Evens, the Welshman (whose attempt to teach a youngster is a highlight); Ryan Pearson, Jim Didderich and Michael Jordan as Falstaff’s foolish retinue; Karen Cooke and Pamela Canton as the two young women Falstaff has his eyes on; Don Schlossman as one of the women’s bemused fathers, who disguises himself as the caricature Scot to catch Falstaff in action; Didderich, again, as the blustery French doctor; and Palmer Scott as the overstuffed Falstaff who holds the whole show together.

* “The Merry Wives of Windsor” continues at locations throughout Ventura County including 2 p.m. Sunday at Barranca Vista Park, 7050 E. Ralston St., Ventura (free; donations accepted); 5 p.m. July 19 at Conejo Community Park, the intersection of Dover and Hendrix avenues, Thousand Oaks (free); 5 p.m. July 20 at Rancho Simi Park Amphitheater, 1765 Royal Ave., Simi Valley (free; donations accepted); 7:30 p.m. July 27, at the Arts Council Center, 482 Greenmeadow Drive, Thousand Oaks ($5); 5 p.m. Aug. 3 at Oak Canyon Community Park, 5600 Hollytree St., Oak Park (free; donations accepted); and 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10 at Borchard Community Center, 190 Reino Road, Newbury Park ($5). Reservations are required for the July 27 and Aug. 10 performances. For information, call (805) 381-2747.