Six years in the making, the musical drama inspired by the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by San Diego gay party boy Andrew Cunanan is finally arriving onstage at the La Jolla Playhouse.

"Most Wanted," with a book by Jessica Hagedorn, score by Mark Bennett and direction by former Playhouse artistic chief Michael Greif, is the first show workshopped at the Playhouse through "The Edge," an offshoot of the company's Page to Stage play development program. It opens Oct. 2 and runs through Oct. 14.

The musical's creators say the Versace murder by the Filipino-American social climber, Cunanan, was the obvious inspiration for "Most Wanted," but not the message. Bennett said the musical instead will explore American pop culture, racial relations (Cunanan and playwright Hagedorn are Filipino-Americans) and the seductiveness of celebrity, money, power and fame.

"The important thing for me in writing this piece was to address the question of why this culture of celebrity is so prevalent today," said Hagedorn, whose play about Filipino culture, "Dogeaters," had its world premiere under Greif's direction at the Playhouse in 1998. "And how do people of color play into that? This play explores the dark side of the American dream. What does it really mean to be a person of color in this country? What does being American mean? Does it mean you are fine if you are famous?"

Bennett and Greif, who served as artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse from 1994 to 1999, agree that San Diego is the perfect place to launch "Most Wanted," and not just because Cunanan grew up in La Jolla and was a fixture on the Hillcrest party scene before embarking on a cross-country killing spree that ended with Versace's murder (and his own suicide) 10 years ago.

"This place is unlike any other place in the country, in that there is a military presence, a strong gay culture and a considerable Latino and Filipino population," Bennett said. "So there is so much to work with in this community that this piece could be about any one of those subcultures and, in a way, it is about all of them."

Bennett said San Diego's "70 degrees and sunny" climate is also an interesting element of the story. "It's a culture that is deeply concerned about the weather, which is pleasant all the time. There is this incredibly beautiful patina in this part of the world. And what is interesting to us is what lies just underneath the surface and how is it talked about and how is it not."

"And the virtues of San Diego, which are true virtues to be extolled, also may belie the fact that underneath there is as much stuff going on that's unpleasant and unfair and as racially biased as just about anywhere else. It is made all the more interesting because this culture is so near the border," Bennett said.

"Most Wanted" stars Daniel Torres (whose Broadway credits include "The Pirate Queen" and "The Woman in White" and the off-Broadway production of "Altar Boyz") as the central character Danny Reyes, a bright, working-class minority youth who earns a scholarship to an elite private school, then goes astray. Broadway veteran Ken Page ("Cats," "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "The Wiz") co-stars as Stormy Leather, the drag queen who narrates the story. And Arthur Acuna plays both Danny's father and fashion designer Apolo Serra.

The workshop production will feature minimal sets and costumes and will change throughout the workshop process. Audience comments will be welcomed. Some negative reactions may be expected. Back in 2004, when "Most Wanted" (then titled "Disposable") won a $35,000 development grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, there was a mini-firestorm over the subject matter from critics who felt it a misuse of federal arts funds.

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When Poway resident Floyd Gaffney, the co-founder of UC San Diego's theater department, passed away in July at the age of 77, the future of his own Common Ground Theatre was in doubt.

But with a re-energized board of directors, including new board member Monique Gaffney (Gaffney's daughter), the company that specializes in black American theater will move ahead and produce the remaining productions that Gaffney had been working on before his death.

The first, "Awaiting Judgment," was the last show Gaffney directed before his death. Written by Art Cribbs, the play is a theological drama that brings together the Rev. Martin Luther King and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison. The production will be presented at 3 p.m. Sept. 30 at Christian Fellowship Congregational United Church of Christ, Kelton Road in San Diego (tickets are $20) and at 8 p.m. Oct. 5-6 at St. Paul's Cathedral, 2728 Sixth Ave. in San Diego (tickets are $25). For information: (619) 298-7261. After that, the show will hit the road for stops in San Marino, Calif., and Green Bay, Wis.

Next up, "Christian Is Comin' Uptown," a holiday play that will be presented Nov. 29-Dec. 16 in San Diego, will be directed by Gaffney's assistant artistic director Charles Patmon and will involve students from Lincoln High School.

And the season will close with Gaffney and Anthony Drummond's musical revue "Jazz Queens Cast Blue Shadows," running April 24 to May 18, 2008, at the Lyceum Theatre. The musical celebrates the music of Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.

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With the impending sale of the Carlsbad Village Theatre, the five-year run of "West Coast Funnies" is coming to an end.

Organized by San Diego comedian Lamont Ferguson, the monthly stand-up comedy nights have featured comedians from "The Tonight Show," "The David Letterman Show," "Def Comedy Jam," "Showtime," "Last Comic Standing" and many other television shows, along with host Kurt Swann and North County's Pearl St. Players.

"It basically turns out that we're a show without a home," Ferguson said Monday. "We've had a great run at the Carlsbad Village Theatre, and the amazing support from the Carlsbad and North County community has enabled us to take this five-year ride."

There are still three "West Coast Funnies" shows left before the lights go out on the comedy program.

On Oct. 20, Wayne Cotter headlines the series' fifth anniversary show. And on Nov. 17, Don Friesen will headline a benefit "West Coast Funnies" show to raise money for the medical care of the series' longtime publicist Terry Sanders, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia.

"West Coast Funnies" concludes Nov. 24 with Alonzo Bodden, winner of "The Last Comic Standing."

For tickets to any of these shows, call (619) 997-3033.

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Seven San Diego museums will offer free admission Sept. 29 as part of 2007 Museum Day, sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine and Hyundai Motors.

On Saturday, Mingei International Museum, the Museum of San Diego History, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, the San Diego Air & Space Museum, the Whaley House, the William Heath Davis Historic House Museum and the Adobe Chapel Museum will offer free admission to readers of Smithsonian Magazine as well as anyone who downloads a Museum Day Card from the Smithsonian.com Web site.

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Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 28 for "The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands," a theatrical re-creation that will be presented Nov. 19-25 at the San Diego Civic Theatre.

"The Rat Pack" spent four years in London's West End and is now touring the United States. The show re-creates the legendary 1960s nightclub shows at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas featuring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. Tickets are $19-$60. For details, call (619) 570-1100.

Pam Kragen is the entertainment editor of the North County Times.