On Theater: Vanguard creates as well as produces

Creativity runs deep at Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University, where a third of the upcoming season’s stage productions will be of the home-grown variety.

These would be “Open All Night,” a comedy with familiar Christmas music, and “ACTC’s Christmas Cabaret,” the similarly themed holiday show that follows. Its creators are writer-director Vanda Eggington and choreographer Bretlyn Schmitt, both of whom have been honored as the Daily Pilot’s women of the year in theater.

The Vanguard season kicks off in two weeks with “Blame It on the Movies,” an homage to movie musicals and cinematic history that features no fewer than 75 songs from pictures running the gamut of Hollywood’s genres.

“Audiences will love this musical revue,” promises its director, Susan K. Berkompas, artistic director of the college’s theater program. “Blame It on the Movies” will be performed from Sept. 16 to Oct. 2.

Shakespeare will put in an appearance at the Costa Mesa theater from Oct. 21 to 30 with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” one of the Bard’s most popular comedies.

This fantasy centers on quarreling lovers and mischievous fairies orchestrated by the sly sprite Puck, who famously observes, “What fools these mortals be.” Kevin Slay will be the guest director for this magical adventure.

As for “Open All Night,” ticketed from Dec. 1 to 11, Eggington describes it as a show that will “warm your heart and remind you of the true meaning of Christmas.”

The original production centers on sisters Holly and Ivy, who operate an all-night café in a small town and take in a single mother and her 10-year-old daughter. It combines, as Eggington notes, “comedy, music, lovable characters and an interesting story line.”

Eggington and choreographer Schmitt also are at the helm of “ACTC Christmas Cabaret,” a 70-minute song-and-dance show focusing on the yuletide season. It features, its director says, “six of the most talented professionals in Orange County,” members of Vanguard’s pro offshoot, the American Coast Theater Company.

Berkompas returns to direct Oscar Wilde’s comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a tale of articulate deception with a British accent. This stylish piece will be performed in the school’s Lyceum Theater from Feb. 24 through March 5.

Winding up Vanguard’s 2016-17 season will be a musical favorite from the 1980s, Stephen Sondheim’s musical melange of fairy tale characters, “Into the Woods.” Eggington returns to direct her third show of the new season, which will be on the boards from April 6 to 23.

Tickets for all Vanguard shows are $19 for general admission and $15 for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more. Vanguard University is at 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. For further information, call (714) 668-6145 or visit vanguard.edu/theatre.

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TOM TITUS reviews local theater.