Language of Love

When conceiving the production of “West Side Story” opening at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on Friday, director Jan Glasband made a point of modernizing the warring gangs’ costumes and of casting as many actors of Latin descent as possible to play the Sharks.

With guidance from Glasband, the members of the cast divided into Sharks and Jets, then came up with contemporary costumes, shopping for their stage clothes at local retail stores.

Various “gang” members sport such modern accouterments as tattoos and body piercings, said 22-year-old Nelson Lopez, who plays Chino the Shark.

“The look is a bit exaggerated for the stage, but offers reasonable versions of what today’s kids would wear,” Lopez said. “They’re also among the most comfortable costumes I’ve worn.” He recently played in two versions of “1776,” so practically anything would be more comfortable than those Colonial togs.

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Although Lopez is not Puerto Rican, as are the Sharks in the play, (his parents are from Guatemala and El Salvador), he says he understands the cultural divisions in the show.

“The Puerto Ricans are trying to retain their own culture and still fit in; the [Anglo] Jets feel threatened by the immigrants and are trying to defend their home,” says the first-generation American, raised in Van Nuys and Simi Valley. “One of the important messages of the show, I think, is that sometimes something very painful has to happen for people to finally accept one another.”

Lopez concedes that they “had a bit of trouble adapting the language [from 1957, when the play was first produced] to the modern world, but the basic idea of tolerance and the love story that isn’t bound by race or economic status comes through very well. Once that happens, the language isn’t so important.”

DETAILS

“West Side Story” opens Friday and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Aug. 12 at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave. Tickets (other than the first weekend special promotions) are $15; $12 students and seniors; and $10 children 12 and under. The producers advise that the show is not suitable for children under 10. For reservations or further information, call 581-9940.

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The Marquie Dinner Theatre, which has been presenting plays in the former Ottavio’s Banquet Center in Moorpark, will be moving to a former bank in Camarillo Village Square at the corner of Arneill and Las Posas roads. The move may occur later this year.

Owner Paul Marquie said the new site will include two rooms, one with a stage for dinner theater productions that’s also usable for banquet catering, the second available for smaller meetings of 20 to 40 people.

The main room will be somewhat larger than the current theater space, with a proscenium stage about 35% larger than the non-proscenium stage that’s been in use at the former Ottavio’s since it opened as the Faye-Renee Dinner Theatre in 1992.

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The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center and the Santa Paula Theater Center open plays this weekend with special promotions. In Simi, anyone who mentions having a dance studio affiliation gets into Friday’s opening of “West Side Story” for $10; Saturday is family night, with a $2 discount off every family member’s ticket price; and on Sunday, tickets are $10 for those over age 55.

Santa Paula is offering special promotions for the first two weekends of “George Washington Slept Here.” On Saturday and July 22, a $2 discount will be given to anyone who sings or hums a few bars of the “Green Acres” theme song, and seniors get into matinees for $10 on Sunday and July 23. Fridays, everybody pays full price.

DETAILS

“George Washington Slept Here” opens Friday and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through Aug. 27 at the Santa Paula Theater Center, 125 S. 7th St. Tickets (other than special promotions the first two weekends) are $15; $12 seniors and students; and $8 ages 12 and under. For reservations or further information, call 525-4645.

Todd Everett can be reached at teverett@concentric.net.