Many local residents don't realize Los Gatos has its very own community theater nestled in the nearby hills, but members of the Theatre in the Mountains group hope that their world premiere production of The Necklace, which opens May 12, will help make them more of a household name.

This first-ever production of The Necklace is a dream come true for the two Cupertino residents who authored it. Playwright Dale Porter and musical composer Tony Vandersteen were paired together after Porter put out a classified ad in the newspaper.

"It was serendipity," says Vandersteen. "I just happened to look at the ads that day."

What blossomed from that classified ad was a four-year collaboration that led to the creation of The Necklace, a musical set in 1950s suburban California.

Four years and 20 revisions later, the partners were ready to produce The Necklace--and now Theatre in the Mountains in Los Gatos is brimming with activity as the group prepares to open the show.

Members of the theater group say putting on a brand-new musical that no one has ever done before is both exhilarating and scary at the same time.

"It's very exciting to be offering a world premiere, but it's also extremely difficult to market it, so we're doubling our marketing efforts this time," says Los Gatos resident Lissa Ferreira-Dunham, executive director of Theatre in the Mountains and choreographer of the show's musical numbers.

Ferreira-Dunham, who also directs many shows at Los Gatos High School, says the difficult part can be attracting audiences to see a show they've never seen or heard of before.

Producer Bill Colbran, also a Los Gatos resident, says it has been both challenging and fun to have complete artistic license with a show.

"Putting on a show that's never been done before, and actually having the authors present, has been an interesting experience," he says. "We're particularly excited to be doing The Necklace; it's exciting to do a world premiere."

Ferreira-Dunham says she thinks The Necklace has something for everyone, especially in the musical numbers, and that audiences will love the show.

"The musical is really fun; there are some beautiful ballads; there are some rock and roll tunes; there's even a song with a disco beat in it," she says. "[The authors] took all their favorite things from a bunch of different musicals, so there's a little bit of everything in the show. It makes it nostalgic and a very unique piece."

"I think it's made even that much more beautiful by the talented performers we have," she adds. "Bobbie Lynn Ward is just a bombshell; she's sung with the likes of Bob Hope. She's the best person for the role. I think audiences will really enjoy it."

Porter and Vandersteen couldn't be more excited to see their work on stage for the first time.

"I call this 'against all odds,' " says Porter. "In a time when theater companies are strapped for cash, producers tend to rely on old chestnuts. To have the world premiere of an original musical is something of an accomplishment."

Ferreira-Dunham and Colbran hope that word of The Necklace will spread and attract more people to Theatre in the Mountains for the first time.

"We're trying to let people know we're up here and we do good work," says Ferreira-Dunham.

Theatre in the Mountains is located at 23800 Summit Road in Los Gatos. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.theatreinthemountains.org or call 408.353.9999.