Full slate scheduled at Golden West

Tom Titus

If you like a little ham with your “Hamlet,” you’ll want to check out

Golden West College’s theater schedule next season.

Shakespeare’s classic tragedy will lead off the Golden West

calendar and Ken Ludwig’s frantic backstage farce “Lend Me a Tenor”

will close out the 2004-05 season. In between, you’ll find the French

drama “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” and the Broadway blockbuster musical

“Guys and Dolls.”

“We are very excited about our upcoming season,” said Tom Amen,

who’ll direct three of the four productions, turning the reins of the

musical over to Martie Ramm. “We believe that it provides an

excellent balance of exceptionally well-crafted plays.”

Regarding his choice of “Hamlet,” Amen observed, “In recent years,

we have opted to undertake increasingly ambitious productions,” such

as his currently playing stage version of “The Grapes of Wrath.”

“We believe that we are continuing that trend with this wonderful

slate of quality plays,” Amen added.

“Hamlet,” the legendary epic of murder and revenge, remains one of

the centerpieces of the world theater, 400 years after it was

written. Amen calls it “powerful, passionate and deeply moving,”

noting that it “crackles with suspense from its opening moments to

its shattering conclusion.”

The Shakespearean classic will kick off the Golden West season,

opening Nov. 5 and playing through the 21st in the college’s

Mainstage Theater.

The theme shifts to romantic conquest March 4 when Christopher

Hampton’s “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” mounts the stage. In this rarely

produced drama, “a wicked game of conquest is under way,” Amen said.

“Anything goes when a predatory, wealthy widow challenges a

notorious rake to seduce a beautiful young newlywed. The rake

succeeds, but not before falling helplessly into a fatal attraction.”

Amen noted that his production of this play will be “full of

compelling characters and malicious wit” and will be “shamelessly

decadent fun.” It’ll be recommended for mature audiences when it

opens March 4.

Damon Runyan’s stereotypical Broadway of the 1940s is the scene

for “Guys and Dolls,” which follows the unlikely romance between a

high roller and a “mission doll,” unfolding against the background of

the “oldest established floating crap game in New York.”

The Frank Loesser score features such musical standards as “Take

Back Your Mink,” “Sue Me,” “A Bushel and a Peck” and the rollicking

“Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat,” not to mention the title number.

The show runs from May 6 to 15 only, so reservations should be made

swiftly.

“Lend Me a Tenor” takes the audience backstage at an opera house

of the 1930s for a series of wild misadventures and backstage

shenanigans that culminate in a simple young man’s becoming an

overnight singing sensation. The college promises a million laughs

between July 8 and 17.

“We always have our audience in mind when we select our seasons,

and we feel that this season offers something for everyone,” Amen

said. “We feel our audiences, and particularly our season

subscribers, deserve the best in theater programming.”

Speaking of season subscribers, they’ll be able to reserve their

seats for the 2004-05 campaign beginning July 9 with the opening of

Golden West’s final production of the current season, “Pride and

Prejudice.”

They can call (714) 895-8150 for more information.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.