Humor, Bard on Agenda

The Grove Theater Center will appeal to playgoers’ sixth senses and to their funny bones in a 2000 season that opens March 1. The seven plays are heavy on ghosts and comedy, sometimes with the two overlapping.

In the ghostly-but-comical corner are the season-opener, “Blithe Spirit,” Noel Coward’s 1941 play about a man whose pestering ex-wife happens to be a ghost, and “I Hate Hamlet,” a Paul Rudnick farce about the ghost of John Barrymore returning to coach an actor cast as the royal Dane.

A straightforward production of “Hamlet” will seek to give the prince and his dad their tragic due.

The Bard might be in for further farcical handling, however, from Hollywood’s Troubadour Theater Company, which specializes in parodies.

The monologue will be spotlighted in productions stark and humorous. “The Beckett Project” offers three rarely performed one-actor pieces by Samuel Beckett: “Not I,” “Rockaby,” and the silent “Act Without Words.” Denise Moses will perform “Girly Show,” her one-woman piece.

The season ends in October with the world premiere of “Butlers, Bobbies & Boobs,” a comedy in which Ron House draws on his experiences as a butler in the London home of Claus von Bulow.

The season shifts between GTC’s 172-seat indoor Gem Theater and its 550-seat outdoor Festival Amphitheater, both at 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Subscription prices are $55 to $125; single tickets, $13 to $22.50. Information: (714) 741-9555.

The schedule:

* “Blithe Spirit,” by Noel Coward, March 1-19 (Gem Theater)

* “The Beckett Project,” April 7-8 (Gem)

* “Girly Show,” by Denise Moses, April 26-May 14 (Gem)

* “I Hate Hamlet,” by Paul Rudnick, June 7-18 (Festival Amphitheater)

* Troubadour Theater Company, play to be announced, July 7-15 (Amphitheater)

* “Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare, Aug. 16-26 (Amphitheater)

* “Butlers, Bobbies & Boobs” by Ron House, Oct. 11-29 (Gem)