‘TOLLBOOTH’ LEADS TO A MAGICAL RIDE

The Mountains of Ignorance, the Foothills of Confusion, the Valley of Sound: Little Milo’s odyssey takes him to these and more in South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players’ presentation of “The Phantom Tollbooth.”

It’s one of the company’s more ambitious productions, and one of its best.

Under Diane Doyle’s direction, the cast members, ages 8 to 18, present Susan Nanus’ adaptation of Norton Juster’s fantasy with well-disciplined panache.

Milo (Jay Novick) finds everything boring. But a mysterious package arrives, turning out to be a magical turnpike tollbooth.

Milo’s bed becomes a car, and for lack of anything else to do, he sets off for parts unknown. First stop, the Land of Expectations.

Milo’s adventure is rich with whimsical characters. Among them are the lazy Doldrums, Tock the watchdog (Jean Selden), and the Spelling Bee (tiny Nicole Wood).

Woeful Dr. Kakofonous A. Dischord (Sean Casey, draped with bells and tin cans) is one of the oddest, with his bizarre servant Dynne (Arielle Lawson in shapeless draperies, moving eerily on hands and knees).

Milo becomes a hero when he sets out to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason (Crissy Guerrero and Kim Fleming, two fairy-tale lovelies) in order to restore harmony between King Azaz (Paul Constantine) and the Mathmagician (Maureen Brophy).

His companions are Tock and Humbug (Heather Horvat--sporting spats, a cane, and a wonderfully pompous pseudo-British accent).

In the process, Milo learns life doesn’t have to be boring. “What you can do is often a matter of what you will do,” is the message.

Diane King’s music, and the cast’s presentation of it, is a major part of the play’s attraction. The music is tuneful, the lyrics clever. Songs include “The Doldrums,” “Dodecahedron,” and the show’s one ballad, “Rhyme and Reason.”

In “Words,” an appealing song about the sale of “best quality, nice ripe” words, boys and girls in peasant dress offer letters for sale, the girls’ long skirts swirling about, baskets streaming with ribbons.

Linda Kostalik’s choreography here, and elsewhere, is charming and well-performed.

Dwight Richard Odle’s costumes are colorful and imaginative and his basic, multifunctional sets are just right for the small stage.

Donna Ruzika has taken care with the lighting design. (A sweet moment has the princesses singing a ballad in their castle prison, bathed in delicate pink light.)

The play’s momentum falters during a few lengthy speeches, but there’s too much happening here for the pace to slow for long.

They aren’t polished professionals, but these young actors find their marks, speak their lines clearly and in character, and move comfortably across the stage. They’ve worked hard, and it shows.

Performances continue at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa through Sunday, on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 and 5 p.m. (714-957-4033).