NEW MILLENNIUM FALCON KEVIN SPACEY GOES TO BAT FOR TOLUCA LAKE THEATER, WHICH OPENS A SEASON OF PREMIERES WITH 'COBB'.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

In putting together his theater's first subscription season, baseball-loving film director/theater administrator Garry Marshall swung for the fences.

His Toluca Lake-based Falcon Theatre will produce five plays this season, including two world premieres and three Los Angeles premieres. Coincidentally, the season-opener is ``Cobb,'' Lee Blessing's drama about baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb.

Already signed up for the season are actress Charlotte Rae, writer/playwright Ray Bradbury, director Joe Regalbuto, the Troubadour Theatre Company and, in a behind-the-scenes capacity, two-time Oscar- winning actor Kevin Spacey, whose Trigger Street Productions will produce ``Cobb.''

``The first time out, we're trying to get a balance,'' says Marshall, the creator of ``Happy Days'' and director of ``Pretty Woman.'' ``We've got a play about a woman, a play about a man and a show for the family. Rather than do Chekhov, we said, 'Let's go with plays that might introduce new people, new playwrights and a couple of new actors.' ''

But before you get too deeply into any discussion about the value of theater in a movie town or Marshall's artistic philosophy, Marshall offers a decidedly practical plug for the Falcon in 2002-03.

``I kept saying, 'I think you've got to feature free parking,' '' says Marshall in that distinctive New York drawl. ``It seems to me people like that.''

Filling the seats

Lightheartedness aside, the Falcon's premiere-laden season, coupled with a new arrangement with Actors' Equity Association, is designed to expand the venue's seating capacity from 99 seats to 130, bringing the Falcon into the midsize theater range. A goal, says managing director Rowan Joseph, is to give Valley theatergoers an experience comparable to what they might receive at a theater like Westwood's Geffen Playhouse.

``By attracting some star names, star writers and co-producers, and major out-of-town directors, we're trying to create a niche over here in the Valley,'' says Joseph, who places the first season's budget at around $250,000. ``Backstage West just labeled us among the pre-eminent subscription seasons in Los Angeles. That was exciting for us, especially considering this is our first subscription season.''

``Cobb,'' which opens Sept. 14, will be followed by a new version of Ray Bradbury's ``Fahrenheit 451'' (Oct. 23-Nov. 17), co-produced by Bradbury's Pandemonium Theatre Company. The Troubadour Theatre Company, which has performed its Shakespeare/rock music hybrids several times at the Falcon, will debut its ``A Christmas Carole King'' during the holidays.

The world premiere of Mayo Simon's ``The Old Lady in Love'' stars Rae as a cantankerous doyenne being romanced by an elderly Casanova (Feb. 5-March 2, 2003). The season closes with ``Gretty Good Time,'' a drama by John Belluso of the Mark Taper Forum's Other Voices Project. Children's theater programming will continue throughout the year.

Throughout its five-year history, the Riverside Drive-situated theater across the street from the city's last Bob's Big Boy has presented a mixture of venue-produced plays - often with name stars - children's theater and rentals. Productions have included Jack Klugman in ``Death of a Salesman,'' Crystal Bernard and Morgan Fairchild in ``Crimes of the Heart,'' and the world premiere of Thomas McCormack's ``House.''

The Falcon has also been a try-out house. Marshall held a reading of a musical version of ``Happy Days'' at the Falcon in 2001 and has had new readings of other plays as well. After shooting the film ``Raising Helen'' in early 2003, he hopes to direct a production during the Falcon's 2003-04 season.

``My sister (director) Penny (Marshall) is around, too. With our kids' shows coming up, my son is directing one, and the other one my daughter is directing,'' says Marshall, whose daughter Kathleen is the venue's producer. ``We're all getting involved.''

First up: a little bit of baseball. ``Cobb,'' Lee Blessing's drama about the irascible ballplayer and Oscar Charleston, Cobb's counterpart in the Negro Leagues, is a virtual remount of the play's ofroadway production. It will feature two members of the original cast and will be directed by New York-based director Joe Brancato. As a cost-saving measure, the Falcon is importing the scenery from the East Coast, driving it across the country. The production goes up after a scant two-week rehearsal period.

The call up

``Cobb'' moved from the tiny Melting Pot Theatre on 43rd Street to the higher-profile Lucille Lortel Theatre ofroadway. That move became possible largely thanks to Spacey's generosity. The actor saw the production - which starred Michael Mabe, an understudy in the Spacey production of ``The Iceman Cometh'' - and kept it alive through additional funding when he learned ``Cobb'' was scheduled to close.

When the time came to find an L.A. home for ``Cobb,'' Spacey quickly settled on the Falcon.

``It's a great theater and a terrific house,'' says Spacey, who attended Chatsworth High School. ``Look, I'm a guy from the Valley, and it's not that big a stretch for me to want to become involved with a theater in Burbank, because I had most of my early theatrical experiences in the Valley.

``This kind of seemed like a great opportunity for us to help establish the Falcon, as this is their first subscription season, and to give ourself a place to bring a play we believe in.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Kevin Spacey, left, and Garry Marshall are bringing the baseball drama ``Cobb'' to Marshall's Falcon Theatre in Toluca Lake.

(2) Joe Brancato, left, will direct ``Cobb,'' which Spacey helped save when the play, which featured his ``The Iceman Cometh'' understudy, was short of funds in New York.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer