Refreshing ‘Wind of a Thousand Tales’ at Orange County Center

With its newest production, John Glore’s “Wind of a Thousand Tales” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the 10-year-old South Coast Repertory Young Conservatory Players troupe shows every sign of growing up.

The Players, graduates of a three-year theater training program for ages 10 to 17, have always had the considerable advantage of South Coast’s professional creative resources, giving them the best possible frame in which to show off their newly acquired skills.

Last year’s tried-and-true “Cinderella” and “Tom Sawyer” looked terrific--but played it comfortably safe. This year, the Players, not the sets and costumes, are the show. They prove up to the challenge.

Nicole Parker, a pouty sprite with glasses and a big voice, is Kimberly-Kay, a child of the ‘80s who has no time for bedtime stories. Her mother (played with mature warmth by Maureen Brophy) doesn’t want her to be in such a hurry to grow up.

One night, Kimberly-Kay is suddenly swept away by the living “Winds of a Thousand Tales,” who bring her the magic of make-believe, acting out Mexican, Japanese and European folk tales.

Taking a chance, the first two tales combine romanticism and tragedy, but the teen-age cast handles it without self-consciousness. In the first, Corazon (guest artist Crissy Guerrero) loves self-satisfied, handsome Carlos (Paul Constantine), but he pursues only beautiful girls and Corazon is too plain. When Carlos is to marry, the broken-hearted Corazon sings what she has felt for him.

Guerrero’s grace and lovely, yearning voice infuse the play with a dignity that the entire cast responds to and reflects.

Although that level of maturity is never quite matched again, Beth Lockie gives a delicate performance in the second vignette, the haunting story of a young woman who dances each night for the spirit of her dead lover.

Molly Lynch’s evocative choreography is one of the production’s finest elements.

The third tale, slapstick and loose, takes a step backward, lacking substance and unraveling a bit, but Parker’s giggling, snorting reaction as she finally succumbs to the pleasure of pretend is irresistible.

Jose Cruz Gonzalez directs this refreshing hour; Diane King wrote the fine score. The subtlety of Dwight Richard Odle’s sets and costumes and Donna Ruzika’s lighting is absolutely right.

During the Japanese tale, Kimberly-Kay objects that the story isn’t true. One of the Winds replies, “If it makes you feel something, then it has truth.” This Young Conservatory Players production makes itself felt.

Four performances remain: 1:30 and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, at Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets: $5; (714) 957-4033.