STAGE REVIEWS : ‘Christmas in Wales’ Is a Treat Without Syrup

Anyone seeking a great, smothering bear hug of sloppy sentiment for the holidays may squirm in the bittersweet embrace of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” staged by the Grove Theatre Company.

This wistful memory of Christmas past belongs to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The stage adaptation by Jeremy Brooks and Adrian Mitchell uses the Thomas prose as a magnifying glass to peer back through time to one childhood Christmas day in Swansea on the south coast of Wales.

The events of that Christmas are suffused with the warm, conveniently fuzzy glow of memory. But they are also colored by the unspoken understanding that no one can ever really go home again--an understanding that in spite of the fervent childhood wish for every Christmas to be just like the last, sooner or later fate intrudes with a wave of its callous hand.

The adult knows that, but the child doesn’t, and the poignant contrast is neatly spelled out by placing the adult poet on the sidelines, having him watch his youth replayed on stage. The introductory framework is cluttered, but as the story of that Christmas day unfolds, the beauty of its simple pleasures takes hold and casts its spell.

Thomas’ descriptions celebrate small details, affectionately captured here by director Daniel Bryan Cartmell. There are drowsy uncles stuffed with turkey; the glowing nose of the postman as a testament to the cold outside; the practical hand-knit gifts that are quickly cast aside in favor of such gloriously impractical as candy cigarettes and magic kits.

Can Christmas exist without relatives? “There are always Uncles at Christmas,” Thomas wrote, and indeed there are here, vividly played by Wayne Caldwell-Watkins, Marc Whitmore and Eugene Rubenzer. There are nit-picking uncles; intense uncles who use any occasion to mount their soapboxes; garrulous uncles who enjoy good food and, especially, good wine.

There are aunts of all shapes and sizes, portrayed distinctively by Marnie Crossen, Caryn Ronis and Christina McLaren Tardif. There is Mother, nicely played by Kay Berlet, bustling in and out of the kitchen with steaming trays. And, of course, there are cousins--pesky younger cousins--as well as a collection of town characters and childhood pals to round things out.

There is also the bewitching Aunt Elieri, played with ethereal composure by Leisa Jo Waller. Aunt Elieri lends a mystical element to the events of that long-ago day when she gives the young poet the gift of Christmas magic. Or is it the gift of imagination?

Best of all are Gary Bell as the reflective adult poet, in a performance charged with self-knowledge, and Danny Oberbeck as his exuberant young counterpart.

Music is an integral part of the Welsh culture, and this production is enriched by a number of traditional Welsh folk tunes and cleverly reworked carols. And if the admirable attempts at Welsh accents are at times a bit less than authentic, well, that’s to be expected. The Welsh language is as confounding a tongue as was ever invented.

Occasionally, the script overstates its point when it embellishes the source material, and the funny business tends to follow suit. The horseplay of the neighborhood buddies and the jokes at the expense of alcoholic overindulgence eventually wear out their welcome. Then there is the trio of Keystone Kops-styled firemen who appear out of nowhere, slather on slapstick, then disappear just as quickly, leaving the story to pick up where it left off.

But the warmth is genuine throughout, and there is enough of it to kindle a bonfire of personal Christmas memories. What a welcome addition to a season traditionally drenched in saccharin.

‘A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES’ A Grove Theatre Company production. Book by Jeremy Brooks and Adrian Mitchell. Based on the prose of Dylan Thomas. Director Daniel Bryan Cartmell. With Gary Bell, Danny Oberbeck, Kay Berlet, Wayne Caldwell-Watkins, Leisa Jo Waller, Marnie Crossen, Marc Whitmore, Eugene Rubenzer, Caryn Ronis, Christina McLaren Tardif, Steve Neuder, French Stewart, Rick Tigert, Kelli Evans, Nina Herman. Music director Chuck Estes. Choreography Elizabeth Faulkner. Set design Gil Morales. Costume design Clarice Bessey. Lighting design David C. Palmer. Sound design Wendy Brueder. Plays at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Plays at 3 p.m. Dec. 13, and at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 20. Plays at 8 p.m. Dec. 22. Closes Dec. 23. Tickets $11-$14. The Gem Theatre, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove; (714) 636-7213.