Music, Magic and Comedy Make Up Family Stage Fare

From Dr. Seuss and a dog’s life to fairy tales and Shakespeare, fall family theater is notable for its variety, starting with one of the family-friendliest theater venues, the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, and its delightful outdoor family perennial, Shakespeare’s comic fairy tale “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (through Sept. 25).

“DogMusic” (Sept. 27-Dec. 20), at Theatre West, marks the company’s second season of original professional productions aimed at ages 10 to 14. In this musical by Mark Masi, with music by Jess Platt, an abused, runaway pup’s dog-pound pals risk their lives to give him a helping paw.

For younger children, Theatre West offers Storybook Theatre’s musical “Little Red Riding Hood” (Oct. 3-indefinitely).

Heading south, San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre has something big in the works: a lavish, new musical production of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (Nov. 22-Jan. 3).

The Kennedy Center’s national tour of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” will come to Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre (Oct. 3), the Irvine Barclay Theatre at UC Irvine (Oct. 9) and to Citrus College’s Haugh Performing Arts Center (Oct. 10).

Family stage events with TV tie-ins include at least one fall stop for the much anticipated “Rug Rats Live Stage Show” at San Diego’s Cox Arena at San Diego State University (Sept. 25-29), with an L.A. or Orange County date to be announced; Nickelodeon’s “Gullah Gullah Island Live” at Irvine Barclay Theatre (Oct. 10-11); and wild science guy Paul Zaloom, host of CBS’ “Beakman’s World,” in his stage show, “Beakman Live!,” at the La Jolla Playhouse (Oct. 17).

The 24th Street Theatre downtown inaugurates its new “Saturday Explorer Series,” a bill of professional theater fare that changes weekly (Oct. 3-Dec. 19). It opens with “Two Friends: Dos Amigos,” a bilingual play about two guys and a basketball, presented by Kevin Hall and Paul Morse Productions’ artistic director Jaime Ferrar. Some of the upcoming shows are Blue Palm’s wacky dance theater piece, “The Five Senses” (Oct. 10), East West Players’ “Asian Pacific Tales” (Oct. 17) and “Bronwen, the Traw and the Shape-Shifter” with Bridget Hanley (Nov. 21).

And, for a post-Halloween trick-and-treat, Milt Larsen and Terry Hill’s “It’s Magic!,” the venerable, perennial all-star revue of sleight-of-hand and full-stage illusions performed by award-winning magicians, is a best bet (Nov. 5-8) at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.