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CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEWS : Christmas Spirit’s More Than Willing in Two Productions : Laguna Playhouse: “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” has real difficulty in living up to its name, despite the best efforts of Youth Theatre.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

When Joe Lauderdale and Scott Davidson, the directors of the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre, thought of staging “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in a local school auditorium, it undoubtedly seemed like a natural: Barbara Robinson’s classic about the rough, tough, cigar-smoking Herdman kids--who take part in an annual holiday show only for the free eats and end up discovering the true meaning of Christmas--has a small town school auditorium as its setting.

Judging from press material, nostalgia is the intent here as audience members watch the play and, at the same time, can feel like they are part of a cozy, cookies-and-punch town event.

But on opening night, nostalgia was strained considerably from the outset. Battered metal folding chairs creaked with every shift of weight as patrons craned their necks in search of decent sightlines. Acoustics conspired with novice young actors’ rushed or swallowed dialogue, rendering words unintelligible.

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Other “realistic” touches also fell flat: Twice, when women who seemed to be part of the audience suddenly started talking, it was not immediately clear that they were cast members. Beyond that, what should have been a short program, starting at 7:30 p.m. began late, and a meandering pace meant that intermission wasn’t over until 9--with the final act yet to come.

The amateur cast tried hard. Lisa Hale, as the harried Mom who organizes the pageant and sees it through despite the horrible Herdmans, is the most professional.

Little Jillian Longnecker obviously relishes her role as hard-bitten Imogene Herdman who, upon hearing of the Baby Jesus’ plight in Bethlehem, demands to know: “Where was the child welfare? We have child welfare every five minutes at our house.”

She and Brad Bredeweg, who plays her brother, maturely handle their transition to tender understanding as they play Mary and Joseph in the pageant. But their change of heart, meant to touch the audience, is too abrupt--and too far into the long evening.

The result is simply a pretty tableau of children in costume--a disappointing effort for the theater that was voted “Most Outstanding New Children’s Theatre” in the country this year by the American Alliance of Theatre and Education, and that has been invited to represent the United States at the first International Children’s World Theatre Festival in West Germany in April.

Director Davidson, who has revealed a sure touch in past productions (most notably Suzan Zeder’s Depression-Era drama “Mother Hicks”), has come up puzzlingly short here.

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At Thurston Middle School, 2100 Park Ave., Laguna Beach through Saturday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $3-$6; (714) 494-8021.

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