Good Theater, Bad Review

Jan Herman’s review of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” (“An Adult’s ‘Christmas,’ ” Dec. 3) has done a disservice to children, parents and a fine company of actors. Calling the play an adult’s Christmas makes me wonder if he watched and talked to children in attendance, or has children.

My wife and I took our grandchildren, ages 8 and 10, to the matinee on Nov. 30 at the Gem Theatre in Garden Grove. The production was everything good the reviewer stated. But the children, and there were many in attendance, were enthralled and transported to a gentler, warmer time with a magic aura. They loved the lilting poetry of the words and accents. They understood the triple Dylans. They laughed at the wonderful character foibles. They were charmed by the music and dance.

Although the children are not critics, we asked them to rate the performance against other plays they’ve seen on a scale of 1 to 10. They gave it a 10 and also said it was not too long for them.

What a shame when good theater needs all the help it can get, a reviewer can cause such harm in order to be precious.

LEONARD DOERFLER, Huntington Beach