STAGE REVIEW : A Wistful ‘Christmas Memory’ at Itchey Foot

“A Christmas Memory” is aptly titled. This annual holiday tradition, now in its seventh year at the Itchey Foot, the Mark Taper Forum’s literary cabaret, is not “A Christmas Story” or “A Christmas Play,” let alone “A Christmas Pageant.” It’s a mere memory.

Some people would object to that mere . There is no denying that Truman Capote’s reminiscence of the eccentric old cousin who was his best friend when he was 7 is a glowing memory, or that it has been lovingly adapted by Madeline Puzo, directed by Michael Peretzian and read by Mary Carver and Jay Louden, artfully accompanied by vibraphonist David Johnson. These people are pros.

But the evanescence of it is surprising. Most of its 45 minutes is an account of how the boy and the old maid devoted their Christmas season to making and distributing fruitcakes and kites and other gifts. Then, near the end, we hear that the boy eventually went off to military school, and that the woman eventually died.

That’s it.

The other people in the household go unnamed, the better to focus on this odd couple, their affection for each other, and their us-against-the-world sensibility. Even so, “the world” doesn’t really seem so terrible.

No major conflicts rear up. There is no Scrooge, wrestling with his ghosts. There are no big family fights, nor a single hint of disagreement or misunderstanding between the two protagonists. In fact, Capote’s childhood sounds idyllic.

It’s a sweet show. It may bring a tear to your cheek. But it isn’t very dramatic. I wanted more.

Compare it to another childhood Christmas memory: Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” the dramatization of which is becoming a holiday tradition at the Gem Theater in Garden Grove.

The Thomas show has the delicate nuances of “A Christmas Memory,” but it’s also got spectacle and music and sensuality. It almost seems to go on too long, but it follows the ryhthms of a leisurely holiday. There are plenty of characters, and we’d like to know more about all of them. And we bask in the singing--what’s a Christmas story without great singing? You won’t hear much singing in “A Christmas Memory.”

The wistfulness of “A Christmas Memory” has its charms. But anyone who wants a truly theatrical Christmas experience should go to “Wales.”

“A Christmas Memory” plays at 801 W. Temple St., Saturdays at 1 p.m., Sundays at 1 and 6 p.m., Dec. 21 and 22 at 8:30 p.m., ending Dec. 22. Tickets: $6; (213) 972-7231.