A FRESH COAT ON 'PAINT YOUR WAGON' OSCAR TELECAST'S GIL CATES POLISHES GOLD RUSH MUSICAL.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

When certain people call offering work, you don't give the matter much thought. David Rambo, an established playwright (``God's Man in Texas'') and part of the writing staff at ``CSI,'' wasn't exactly trolling for new assignments when he was offered the chance to readapt Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's California Gold Rush musical, ``Paint Your Wagon.''

When the call came, you might say Rambo saddled up, pulled up his stakes and hit the trail.

``Gil Cates sold me a ticket,'' says Rambo, referring to the Geffen Playhouse's producing director who directs the revival opening May 1. ``It was his enthusiasm that drew me in. I was getting kind of busy, and I wasn't really sure that I wanted to try to fix something that had been around for 50 years and that everyone said was unfixable. Gil saw the show's original production on Broadway, and he'd never forgotten it. Clearly it had some hold on his imagination.''

It did, indeed, says Cates, 70, whose career as a film, TV and theater producer and director, including numerous Oscar telecasts, has never previously included helming a musical.

Until now.

``('Paint Your Wagon') was the first show I ever saw that touched upon this insatiable desire by Americans to move, to keep moving,'' says Cates. ``It's important to me because it's about the American experience. It's important to me because I remember the wonderful music from when I saw it. It's important to me because it deals with greed in a way that you don't often see.''

The original production, featuring James Barton, Olga San Juan, James Mitchell and Tony Bavaar, opened in 1951 and ran just under 300 performances. Lerner and Loewe had written ``Brigadoon'' but were still a few years away from creating ``My Fair Lady'' and ``Camelot.'' Among the recognizable songs from ``Paint Your Wagon'' are ``I Was Born Under a Wanderin' Star,'' ``On My Way'' and ``They Call the Wind Maria.''

Working with Paddy Chayefsky, Lerner rejiggered the story substantially for the 1969 film version, which starred Lee Marvin, Jean Seaberg and Clint Eastwood. Rambo's version shakes things up even more, bringing in a couple of songs from other Lerner and Loewe musicals and narrowing its focus to the plight of widowed prospector Ben Romson, his 16-year-old daughter and, of course, the promise of riches in the Golden State.

``This book comes down to Ben having to decide basically what's more important to him at the end of the day: his gold or his daughter,'' says Cates. ``I think he makes the right choice. I'm sure there are probably people who will think he didn't.''

While the Geffen rarely partners with producers for New York-bound ``tryout'' productions, the new ``Paint Your Wagon'' still figures to attract a certain amount of monitoring. The Geffen team obtained the rights to commission a new book. If and when a Broadway revival takes place, the musical's copyright holders can option the new version or go with the original. Cates says he'll be pleased if, through his production, ``Paint Your Wagon'' re-enters the musical-theater canon.

``I suspect it's not done much because of the book,'' says Cates. ``The book is, I wouldn't say it's not relevant, but it's not really engaging. If this book gets used a lot because it's contemporary, I will get a lot of pleasure out of that fact.''

It's the beginning of the production's tech week, and Cates is speaking in his office at the Brentwood Theatre, the Geffen's temporary home on the grounds of the Veterans Administration while the Westwood venue is undergoing renovation and enhancements. In early 2005, Cates will gear up for his now-familiar duties producing the Oscars, the 12th time he has produced the program. He serves on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board of directors, is active within the Directors Guild of America and frequently teaches at UCLA.

As the Geffen's producing director, Cates spends a great deal of his theater-related life on fund raising and outreach. His last directing assignment was two seasons ago when he directed David Eldridge's relationship drama, ``Under the Blue Sky,'' at the Geffen.

Actress Sharon Lawrence (``NYPD Blue''), who was in ``Blue Sky'' and is part of the 22-person cast of ``Paint Your Wagon,'' finds Cates and his working habits largely unchanged, even though with a musical the canvas is slightly larger and there are more collaborators.

``When I did the play with him before, it was just me and the other actor, and even with the three of us, he was an avid team player,'' recalls Lawrence. ``I see that even more now. As the numbers of people exponentially increase, so does Gil's largess and his willingness to hear opinions.

``I consider him one of the guys in town who I would go to for advice - and not just because he's someone I like working with,'' she continues. ``I admire his knowledge and the way he lives his life. He has a very balanced perspective about life.''

Asked about his connection to live stage even in the face of more glamorous or lucrative assignments from TV or film, Cates reverts to his fund-raising pitch. There may be more ``pressing'' causes for people to expend their money on, he says, and the theater may not be in the same classification as hospitals, disease control or a given political party.

``Having said that, everyone's always moaning about the lack of civility and cultural interchange, and the fact we don't take time anymore,'' says Cates. ``If you think over the period of five to 10 years, the theater is important. It's the only place where people are going to have the place to think. It's one of the few arenas where the performance affects the audience, and the audience affects the performance.

``I love the theater,'' he concludes, ``and if I could have earned a living at it, I probably wouldn't have done anything else''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

PAINT YOUR WAGON

Where: Brentwood Theatre, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., No. 211, Brentwood.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Jan. 9.

Tickets: $42 to $64. Call [phone].

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Photo:

no caption (Gil Cates)

David Sprague/Staff Photographer