ACTOR WANTS BIG ROLE FOR L.A. THEATER.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

Theatrically speaking, Los Angeles could be big, contends Anthony Crivello. As in, bigger than it already is.

``One of my pet peeves in L.A.,'' says the Milwaukee-born Crivello, ``is that so many of the old vaudeville and touring houses have become flea markets. It would be great if they could be rediscovered.

``It would be a way for the city to reclaim buildings that really should be historical monuments. I had a conversation with Mayor Hahn about this. In this town that's the entertainment capital of the world, it's a bit ludicrous that there isn't more theater here.''

Crivello speaks over breakfast at Calabasas Commons, a short distance from his Woodland Hills home, but easily 30 miles from the Pasadena Playhouse, where he is playing antique store owner Renato Di Rossi in the revival of the Richard Rodgers/Stephen Sondheim musical ``Do I Hear a Waltz?'' Last year at this time, when he was in Lisa Loomer's ``Expecting Isabel'' at the Mark Taper Forum, Crivello saw the possibilities of L.A. as a major theatrical arts center.

The Democratic National Convention was in town, recalls Crivello, and there was a press party on the plaza of the Music Center in downtown that spilled across the street to the Department of Water and Power. Hope Street was closed off, and three different stages offered entertainment.

``Fifteen thousand people made it to that plaza in one evening,'' says Crivello, his eggs getting cold as he warms to the subject. ``Hope Street dies on weekends. If you closed off one block, say, on weekends, you could turn that plaza into a situation like what they do at Lincoln Center. They have a summer series with music, dancing, roaming artists, jugglers - every weekend. I would love to be a part of the revitalization of a theater community that I think is dormant.

``It's the philosophy espoused by Di Rossi,'' he continues. `` `The world is possible.' If you relax, the world is possible.''

Crivello seems relaxed, whether he's talking about the need for a thriving theater community or analyzing ``Waltz's'' moral view - Di Rossi style. If it's the character of Leona (played by Alyson Reed) who comes to Venice in search of romance, it's Di Rossi who helps her realize just what is possible.

Played in the original 1965 production by Sergio Franchi (and in the David Lean film ``Summertime'' by Rossano Brazzi), Di Rossi will be younger, and, in Crivello's hands, perhaps a little different than in previous incarnations.

``If you look at the text, there's lots of room for him being a sort of common man and having a great deal of humor,'' says Crivello. ``We've tried to put that in and inject that as part of the thing Leona is attracted to.''

While this is his first professional crack at Sondheim's lyrics, the actor is no stranger to musical theater. He made his Broadway debut in ``Evita'' in 1983 and later starred in ``Les Miserables,'' and ``Marie Christine.'' Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he was lured back to New York to star opposite Chita Rivera in ``The Kiss of the Spider Woman,'' winning a Tony award for best featured actor in the process.

Whether this ``Waltz'' revival is a ticket back East again, Crivello isn't about to speculate. It's a good year for Sondheim, who is the subject of a tribute at Washington's Kennedy Center. And next year is the 100th anniversary of Rodgers' birth.

``The ground is fertile for a potential transfer and growth,'' Crivello says, ``but there are so many other factors that come into play. You have to say, let's enjoy this experience. The Pasadena Playhouse had the courage to put it up and have it seen just for the summer.''

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Anthony Crivello: ``In ... the entertainment capital of the world, it's a bit ludicrous that there isn't more theater here.''