THEATER REVIEW “FLAVIA AND THE DREAM MAKER” : Recollections : Santa Barbara-based troupe’s adaptation of a children’s book adds enough reality-based edges to keep audience involved in the play.

You might not think an unflaggingly affirmative musical adaptation of a simple children’s book could hold its own against all the grounds for cynicism that are a mere CNN headline wrap-up away.

But it does. In its world premiere outing, “Flavia and the Dream Maker” manages to hold gloom at bay and proves a special offering from Access Theatre, a rather special organization in its own right.

Access Theatre is the Santa Barbara-based troupe internationally acclaimed for its groundbreaking productions, which routinely integrate performers with and without disabilities. In “Flavia,” two of the seven actors are deaf and one is blind, yet watching the show is never an uncomfortable confrontation with limitations--rather, we appreciate their accomplishments and end up cheering for them. It’s yet another validation of the company’s continuing effort to redefine preconceptions of what is achievable, for both the audience and performers.

“Flavia” is an original work developed by Access Theatre, a stage version of Flavia Weedn’s autobiographical children’s book of the same name. From the point of view of a young girl (played by Anne Jacoby), Weedn’s book told of her experiences growing up in Los Angeles during World War II. Poverty forced her father to work in Texas, so the male responsibilities of the family were borne by Flavia’s Uncle Jack (Clarke Thorell), only eight years her senior. Eventually, they were separated when Jack became a pilot in the war.

Jack’s exuberance and love of life had a lifelong effect on Flavia, and her story’s recurring theme is the lesson he taught her about the importance of following dreams despite life’s hardships and losses.

Hardly an original message, yet the work retains the emotional honesty of its autobiographical origins. Weedn has a near-photographic accuracy for feeling tones, which accounts for the appeal of her children’s books and her successful line of greeting cards. It’s also an important source of this play’s impact, the power of personal history that captures timeless truths.

Still, the impressions of an individual childhood require more dramatic foundation for a successful transplant to the stage, and Doug Haverty’s book effects that transition nicely. Where Weedn’s original story was couched in the allegorical haze of the children’s book genre, Haverty has filled in enough reality-based edges to keep us involved in the play. Nevertheless, he’s relied extensively on Weedn’s recollections of actual events and wisely kept the emotional tones in the forefront.

The original songs serve the play’s message well, although they probably won’t garner much acclaim out of context. Shelly Markham’s music is functional but too reminiscent of ‘70s pop tunes a la Burt Bacharach to dazzle us with originality. Bob Garrett’s lyrics crystallize the characters’ innermost states with economy and grace, especially in Jack’s poetic vision of the sky (“Fly”), a theme Flavia later echoes (in “Touch the Sky”), and their duet (“Paper Star”) that shows their special relationship as they shower the stage with--yep, paper stars.

Throughout the piece, Thorell’s optimism and charm never waver, and he makes us see why Jack, this figure of innocent wisdom, cast such a profound spell over young Flavia. And 13-year-old Jacoby not only sings and performs well in the spotlight, but shows impressive stage instincts even when she’s simply involved in what the other characters are doing--this is a star in the making.

The material teeters dangerously close to overboard sentimentality at times, but the sincerity of Thorell and Jacoby helps keep things in check. Director Rod Lathim keeps the staging simple and unpretentious. And of course the presence of actors with disabilities in the supporting performances give the work an important reality anchor, and we accept their “feel good” message with fewer reservations because of what they’ve had to overcome to deliver it.

Ideally suited for family audiences, “Flavia and the Dream Maker” is also accessible to viewers with disabilities. Wheelchairs can be accommodated, and headsets with running audio descriptions for the visually impaired are available. The dialogue is signed by the performers and an onstage interpreter, who also translates into speech for those of us who can’t follow when the performers communicate in sign language.

With the tables turned like that, it kind of makes you wonder who has the real handicap.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Flavia and the Dream Maker.” Performed through Nov. 24, Wednesdays through Sundays, at the Paseo Nuevo Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara. Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $16.50 general, $14.50 for students and seniors, and $8.50 for children 13 and under. Call (805) 963-0408 for reservations or further information.