Combine that with jaw-dropping orange/purple sunsets, Bay views, towering redwood trees and a fun environment for the whole family ... well, you get the picture.

The concrete art deco venue was completed in 1940 as part of the federal Work Projects Administration and dedicated to the "Writers of California." The amphitheater has 1,500 individual, stadium-style seats radiating uphill from the stage. Numerous picnic tables around the upper rim provide a convenient gathering place for early birds to eat, visit and soak in the vistas before the natural "house" lights dim and the show begins.

Another lovely feature is the Cascades, a series of moon-shaped pools flanked by two large sculptures along the theater exterior. The water flows from the base of the theater downhill over steps, rocky streams, pools and waterfalls, alongside Writers Memorial Grove. At the base of the cascades are two large reflecting pools.

An updated version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "Flower Drum Song" begins tonight and runs through Sept. 12. Although the familiar music is the same, the Woodminster production represents the Bay Area premier of an adaptation by playwright David Henry Hwang, which first appeared on Broadway two years ago.

Each production features as many as eight professional actors and other veterans of local theater, both young and old. Many of them spend their summers here and wouldn't consider going anyplace else.

"I can't get enough of Woodminster," said Anna Patton, 20, of Piedmont, who is working backstage for "Flower Drum Song" but has danced and acted in many other productions, the first being "Grease" and the most recent the "Will Rogers Follies," which just closed. Patton is a UCLA junior, majoring in world arts and cultures with a concentration in dance, but everyone knows where to find her when school ends.

"My first memory of Woodminster was seeing a show here with my parents -- I think it was 'A Chorus Line' -- and coming around the corner and seeing all the actors and wanting to go up to them and say 'Hi,'" she said. "I work another job in the summer, too, but it's an added bonus that I get paid (at Woodminster). I would do it for free."

Natalie Amaya, 26, of Oakland performs the lead role of Mei-Li in "Song." Although she is a professional actor now, Amaya was a child when she first appeared in Woodminster's summer musicals. That is not unusual. Many of the talented amateurs are repeat performers, and those who go on to professional acting careers remember their roots and return from time to time.

The Schladers, who had settled on the West Coast, took over the struggling summer theater in 1967. Although the first few years were tough -- owing in part, they said, to subscriber-list sabotage by the former theater producer -- the pair managed to pay off the debts by the fifth year, build a loyal subscriber base and turn out professionally staged musicals season after seasson, with only 21 rehearsals. It costs about $500,000 a season to produce three shows. That includes paying Actors Equity scale to the professional actors and union scale to the musicians. It's always a madhouse. Some productions are more successful than others. Some nights the weather behaves better than others. The Schladers never threw in the towel.

"It's (all about) doing something you like doing," said Harriet Schlader. "Still, that it happens every summer is a surprise to me."

"Flower Drum Song" opens tonight and runs for seven shows at 8 p.m. through Sept. 12, Woodminster Amphitheater, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road. Tickets $19-$31, $2 discount for children and seniors. Kids 16 and under attend free with paying adult. Call 531-9597 or www.woodminster.com.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax##
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