Looking at Life Before Going to War : Play: ‘Home Front Blues’ fulfills David Vowell’s goal of writing for the theater. He calls it a romance, but not a preachy, anti-war piece.

David Vowell was too young to fight Adolf Hitler.

But Vowell never forgot his impressions of World War II and, half a century later, he has put them on stage. He is the writer and producer of “The Home Front Blues,” playing at the Center Stage in Woodland Hills, which chronicles the story of seven teen-agers in a small Southern town as they await their turn to go to war.

Many Americans, according to Vowell, accepted war duty as a rite of passage. Vowell isn’t one of them.

“This play says that war should never be part of growing up,” Vowell said.

But Vowell points out that “The Home Front Blues” is not a preachy, anti-war piece. He describes it as a romance about a young soldier who returns from basic training on a weekend pass before he is shipped to the battlefield. He drops by Molly’s Malt Shop to visit his girlfriend and buddies one last time. The entire play takes place in the shop.

“I want to show what is happening in these people’s lives as they face the prospect of war,” said Vowell of Studio City.

For Vowell, 59, the play fulfills a longtime goal. In the 1960s, he wanted to write for the theater, but the temptation of television and film was irresistible and soon it was a career. In 1970, he was nominated for an Academy Award as writer-producer-director of “Say Goodbye,” a documentary about endangered species. “But I was doomed to lose to ‘Woodstock’ that year,” Vowell said. A year later, he was nominated for an Emmy for best television documentary for “The American West of John Ford.”

Two years ago, he turned his attention to theater and hasn’t taken a break since. He took 18 months to do four rewrites of his play, which was originally part of an unpublished short story. He saw every musical he could find and researched more than 150 small theaters in the Los Angeles area to find one suitable for his work.

At this point, Vowell said, how the play fares is secondary.

“I knew it would be difficult, but I did it,” Vowell said.

Malcolm Atterbury Jr., who directs the play, said he was impressed with Vowell’s persistence.

“The thing that flabbergasted me was that this is a man who loves to rewrite,” said Atterbury, who has directed numerous plays, including “A Delicate Balance” and “An Evening With Murray Schisgal,” both at the Century City Playhouse. “I’d give him suggestions and, two days later, he’d come back with a new script.”

Vowell said the play will feature some of the popular tunes from the early 1940s, such as “In the Mood,” “I’ve Heard That Song Before” and “Aren’t You Glad You’re You.”

“The Home Front Blues” is playing at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays at the Center Stage, 20929 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Tickets $15 Thursdays and Sundays, $17.50 Fridays and Saturdays. Call (818) 762-7488.