South Coast Repertory

MUCH AS one would like to join Edith Piaf in a duet of "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien," a critic can't help having occasional regrets after passing instantaneous verdicts on scores of plays and musicals, usually in the space of a few morning hours after a deadline-spoiled night's sleep.

We're very lucky to live in Southern California where we can swim and surf all year long. But did you know that our ocean is very fragile? This doesn't mean it can break easily; it means the ocean water can get polluted. Sometimes hurricanes and other acts of nature cause pollution, and there's not much we can do. But sometimes pollution is caused by humans, and there's a lot we can do. To learn more, read "I Wonder Why the Sea Is Salty and Other Questions About the Oceans" by Anita Ganeri.

STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S song apparently has it right: "Art isn't easy. Every minor detail is a major decision." At least there's no argument coming from behind the scenes at South Coast Repertory, where Nilo Cruz, the first Latino playwright to win a Pulitzer Prize, and Kate Whoriskey, a young director known for revving the classics with visual flair and bold allusions to present-day eruptions, are having a go at a nearly 400-year-old play that's one of the Spanish language's greatest hits.

MRS. K used to give piano lessons. But that was years ago. These days, she sits alone in her living room, eager to chat with anyone who comes to visit. Nobody does. Soon, we realize that things are not what they seem. For starters, Mrs. K is not alone. She exists, as do many people in Julia Cho's plays, in a twilight world crowded with memories that hover like ghosts. In "The Piano Teacher," which opens Friday at South Coast Repertory, we discover what happens when Mrs.

Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies and Tony winner Richard Greenberg are among the veteran playwrights whose work will be presented at this year's Pacific Playwrights Festival, South Coast Repertory's annual weekend of new plays. The festival, a breeding ground for plays that have achieved national prominence, takes place May 4 to 6.

"My Wandering Boy," a drama from L.A. playwright Julie Marie Myatt premiering at South Coast Repertory, traces the odyssey of a charismatic young man who went missing after college. For the retired cop (played by Charlie Robinson) hired to find him, every clue leads to more mystery. The search begins when a down-and-outer is found to be wearing the vanished young man's boots. It leads to men and women who fell under his spell as he moved on for reasons unknown. Bill Rauch directs.

In the world premiere of "System Wonderland," playwright David Wiener puts a comic spin on a hot Hollywood career gone cold, told through the travails of moviemaking couple Jerry and Evelyn. With their Oscar-winning success old news, they need a jump-start to get back in the game. Enter their new wunderkind assistant: an ambitious film school grad. Contains mature content and language. "System Wonderland," South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

It might be heresy for a theater critic to admit, but Hollywood has done a better job of skewering the theater than the theater has done skewering Hollywood. Give me "All About Eve" over "Once in a Lifetime" any day. Of course, theater people make far more vivid characters than movie types. They're wittier, they're more eccentric, and they have other thing on their minds besides Donald Trump-size fortunes. Plus, their plots tend to be less ponderous.

Donald Margulies' fans can catch two new plays next season by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of "Dinner With Friends." The Geffen Playhouse and South Coast Repertory will premiere new shows they've commissioned from Margulies during 2007-08. In addition, Annette Bening and Christine Lahti will take starring roles in two other plays at the Geffen.

South Coast Repertory on Saturday announced a fundraising campaign to nearly double its endowment to $50 million by 2010, a goal intended to secure the nonprofit theater's financial future and safeguard its status as a leading incubator of new plays. The cornerstone of the effort is a $10-million gift from longtime supporters George and Julianne Argyros. If the campaign succeeds, South Coast, which has an annual budget of $9.