On Theater:

A few weeks ago, the Costa Mesa Playhouse inaugurated the 2009-10 local theater season with its revival of “Lend Me a Tenor.” This weekend three other Costa Mesa theaters join the parade, simultaneously.

Local theatergoers must choose among a Pulitzer Prize winner, a record-setting musical and a healthy dose of Stephen Sondheim.

South Coast Repertory, whose musicals are few and far between, provides the latter fare, a new show titled “Putting It Together” (which itself is a song from “Sunday in the Park With George,” one of the few musicals the repertory has produced). The 1992 offering was created by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie.

There’s a story line to thread the songs together — a Manhattan couple reflect on their relationship at a party as an astute observer provides the musical accompaniment. Some of Sondheim’s most recognizable numbers, including several from “Company,” are included.

The Pulitzer winner, which got its start at the repertory in 2003, is “Anna in the Tropics” by Nilo Cruz, playing at Orange Coast College. The story centers on a cigar-making factory in Cuba, circa 1929, where a “lector” eases the factory’s drudgery by reading poetry to the workers. The combined heat of the climate and human passions propel this drama.

“It’s one of my favorite plays…it’s incredibly poetic,” said Tony Torrico, a Golden West College theater arts major who jumped at the chance to join the cast. “I’m Cuban,” he explained. “It hits home.”

“The Fantasticks,” Vanguard University’s season opener, debuted off Broadway in 1960 and ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical.

The bittersweet romantic comedy focuses on a young boy and girl, neighbors and son and daughter of two quarrelsome fathers (who actually are trying to match the couple). An elaborate “rape” (abduction, actually) sets the tone for this Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt classic.

“‘The Fantasticks’ is a quintessential celebration of love in all of its gorgeous simplicity and heartbreaking complexities,” says Vanda Eggington, the show’s director.

“Putting It Together” plays nightly except Mondays with weekend matinees through Oct. 11. To reserve tickets, call (714) 708-5555. “Anna in the Tropics” will be on the OCC stage for two weekends until Sept. 27. For more information, call (714) 432-5880. “The Fantasticks” runs weekends through Oct. 4. For more information, call (714) 619-6424.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.