On Theater: Golden West announces lineup for 2011-12

Local theater groups have recently announced their schedules of productions for the 2010-11 season, but one forward-thinking organization already has its to-do list nailed down for 2011-12.

That would be Golden West College, whose longtime director, Tom Amen, will be off chasing Herman Melville’s great white whale once his production of “Doubt,” now in rehearsal, is finished.

Golden West has released its lineup of four productions for the season that begins next fall, a couple of which rank among the all-time greats.

Leading off in mid-October will be Oscar Wilde’s period comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which first saw the foggy light of day a century ago in London. It’s been heralded as being “one of the wittiest plays ever written,” according to Martie Ramm, who will direct the show.

“Earnest” will be on the Mainstage Theater stage from Oct. 14 to 23. Those coveting roles in the comedy can circle the audition dates of Sept. 6 and 7 on their calendars.

Amen will return from his oceanic odyssey later in the fall and hold auditions for one of the theater’s most powerful and provocative dramas, Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Sept. 13 and 14.

The classic showdown between the fragile and destitute Blanche DuBois and her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, hits the Golden West stage for performances Nov. 12 to 21.

The first two might be familiar offerings for regular theatergoers, but not the third, “The Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni. This 18th century farce thrives in mixups and misunderstandings in the Commedia dell’arte style.

The show is a new translation from Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi and will be directed by Amen. Auditions are Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2012, with performances scheduled for March 16 to 25.

“What good is sitting alone in your room?” asks Ramm, who’ll be inviting patrons to her “Cabaret” from May 4 to 13, 2012. This raunchily innovative musical from John Kander and Fred Ebb focuses on prewar Berlin and the infamous Kit Kat Club where chanteuse Sally Bowles performs.

Ramm will hold auditions for the season-closing musical Feb. 21 to 23. That’s 2012, of course.

Theatergoers also can catch a jump on the Golden West season. Beginning in the spring, season tickets and individual show tickets will be on sale at the box office, reachable at (714) 895-8150, and online at https://www.gwctheater.com.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.