‘Marisol’s’ a Winning Fantasy

What do a beach ball, a little girl, a stranded comet, Fernando Valenzuela and Jose Canseco have in common? They’re winning ingredients in one of the most enjoyable--and least insular--productions that South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players have done to date.

In “Marisol’s Christmas,” written by the Repertory’s Literary Associate Jose Cruz Gonzalez, a homeless little girl from Mexico waits with her father in an inner-city park for her mother to arrive on Christmas Eve.

To soothe her, Papi (David Franco) spins a fantasy about a Cometa (Akemi Royer) who falls to the Earth and feels out of place and lonely. Some unusual cosmic characters help send Cometa back into orbit and in the process, Marisol learns that there’s hope even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Among the odd characters Marisol meets are Globo (Justin Carmack), a surfboarding beach ball; Gravity (Coletta Garrett), who dances to a rap beat; Senorita Tierra (Maria P. Figueroa), the Earth, and a lost Christmas Package (Justin Lo), who turns into Fernando Valenzuela at Dodger Stadium pitching the comet to Jose Canseco of the Oakland A’s (this is after all, a fantasy), so that he can send it hurtling into space.

This production, directed by Diane Doyle, is a departure in many ways from most YCP productions, not least in the cast’s ethnic and racial diversity, and in the inner-city Los Angeles setting that brings a frisson of reality to the theater’s upscale clientele. Rather than alienating the audience, however, the play draws them in with central characters that are easy to identify with, lively humor and warming bursts of Spanish that punctuate the English dialogue.

Engaging performances by the mix of child and adult actors, particularly by Franco, Caravia and Royer, are another strength. Caravia, a tiny, dark-haired sprite, slips into Marisol’s skin with unusual conviction in one so young. Finally, the play’s depiction of familial love and the message of hope in the face of current economic woes--that anyone willing to struggle for the American dream will find it--makes this a heartwarming holiday treat, indeed.

* “Marisol’s Christmas,” South Coast Repertory, Second Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, tonight 7:30 p.m.; Saturd a y, 4 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 4 p.m. through Sunday. (714) 957-4033; $8-$10.

Strings Attached: As recently announced, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater will be part of the restoration project that will establish a Hollywood-themed entertainment and restaurant complex in the historic Max Factor building in Hollywood.

The 29-year-old puppet theater will remain at its downtown L.A. location and open a second venue in Hollywood.

“We were very excited to be chosen,” Baker said. “We hope this will give us added exposure that we really need. A lot of people who would never come see us here will be coming there.”

The new theater will be part of the profit-making Baker and Wood Enterprises and separate from the original nonprofit operation downtown. Content will be different, too, with the emphasis on entertaining tourists of all ages rather than just young children. “We’ll be doing stuff that will be a little more adult and little more sophisticated,” Baker said.

Baker credits Hollywood historian and activist Robert Nudelman’s interest in the puppet company as instrumental in its inclusion in the restoration project.

“I went to Hollywood High School,” Baker said, “and I’ve seen the boulevard go down, down, down, down. So when (Nudelman) wanted to get me involved, I said sure, I’d like to see Hollywood come back.”

Baker envisions a “a little jewel box” theater, where “we’re going to do a fun history of the movies and Hollywood and tie it together with different kinds of puppets and video and movies and slides.”