CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : Dirge Hits Discordant Note in ‘Christmas Carol’ : A talented cast, period costumes and Victorian songs are the strengths of this mostly faithful retelling. It’s the dancing phantoms that are perplexing.

The folks at Orange County Children’s Theatre aren’t really reckless drivers, but anyone contemplating a ride with this crowd should nonetheless check that safety belt: The ride will almost surely have some unexpected twists and turns.

Sometimes the trip is enjoyable (the troupe’s multicultural “Cinderella” comes to mind); sometimes it’s rough. The current effort, “The Dickens Christmas Carol Show,” is rough.

Directed by Terri Miller Schmidt and featuring a cast of 54 youngsters ages 8 through 17, the show continues through Sunday at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center.

Although Schmidt’s cast is eager and includes some notable talents, it is constrained by the Arthur Scholey script, which takes a few awkward steps toward innovation before it stumbles back to a by-the-book retelling of Charles Dickens’ holiday tale.

The additions, specifically a corps of “phantom dancers,” stick out like sore thumbs and leave you wondering why Scholey bothered to stray from the security of Dickens’ well-loved story.

Almost all of Dickens’ richly colored characters are here, from the flint-hearted miser Ebenezer Scrooge to the angelic Tiny Tim. The young actors who play them muster as close an imitation of mid-19th-Century Londoners as they can, assisted mightily by costume designer Gena Strelow’s period garb and a liberal smattering of live, Victorian-era caroling.

Things go pretty predictably until the dancers appear. Clad in expressionless white masks and shredded tunics straight out of Morticia Addams’ weekend collection, the dancers seem intended less to add drama to Scrooge’s encounters with the spirits than to give youngsters a chance to show off their modern-dance moves.

The music for this number, credited to Norman Beedie and Margaret Lion, is of no help. Titled “The Dirge of the Phantoms,” the tune has all the ferocity of a Peanuts Halloween cartoon; no one out of training pants will be spooked by it.

Then again, this company is not going for thrills and chills. Recommended by OCCT for children age 4 and up, this “Carol” has been trimmed of nearly anything scary.

Jacob Marley’s ghost, for example, wears fewer chains than a Chanel model. As played by John Blaylock, he’s actually kind of a nice guy and provides some of the show’s lighter moments. No wonder Scrooge does his bidding; shoot, you wonder why he didn’t ask him to stay for breakfast.

Scrooge is a demanding role for an actor of any age, and Brian Van Amber does his best to spread the doom and gloom. But on opening night, he rushed many of his best lines and lost others to the overly loud incidental music.

His discovery of Marley’s face on his front-door knocker and his panicky arguments with himself over the apparition were practically obliterated, no doubt leaving anyone in the audience who was unfamiliar with the story confused by Marley’s subsequent appearance in Scrooge’s chambers.

To his credit, Van Amber wisely eschewed the old man’s bent-over gait and played his Scrooge ramrod straight. He could have used some more help from the makeup department however; his fake bald pate with graying fringe was a sorry sight, and seemed, on a couple occasions, to want to part company from his head.

*

Matt Levine as Scrooge’s optimistic nephew Fred and David Chessen as Scrooge’s downtrodden clerk, Bob Cratchit, bore the miser’s ire with suitable amounts of pluck and humility, respectively.

Laura Stolz as the Spirit of Christmas Past and Amy Whitacre as the Spirit of Christmas Present each possessed quiet dignity; they looked pretty good, too, in flowing capes trimmed in glossy green holly and glimmering ribbons.

Scholey’s script is not without its merits in that it features large chunks of Dickens’ most memorable “Christmas Carol” dialogue, such as Scrooge’s first act diatribe against Christmas and charity, and, of course, Tiny Tim’s legendary “God bless us . . . every one.”

In contrast to some versions of “A Christmas Carol,” it allows audiences a more lingering glance at some of the characters from Scrooge’s past, most notably Belle, the lady love he sacrificed to his own greed.

* “The Dickens Christmas Carol Show,” Westminster Cultural Arts Center, 7571 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. Performances Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The Saturday evening performance will be signed for the hearing impaired. $5. (714) 502-2244. Brian Van Amber: Ebenezer Scrooge

John Blaylock: Jacob Marley

Laura Stolz: The Spirit of Christmas Past

Amy Whitacre: The Spirit of Christmas Present

Carrie Reck: The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come

David Chessen: Bob Cratchit

Kristine Arnold: Mrs. Cratchit

Benn Hadland: Tiny Tim

Matt Levine: Fred Bennison

Peter Young: Mr. Fezziwig

Andrea Hough: Mrs. Fezziwig

Michelle Waters: Belle Christopher

Ian Jensen: Gerry Christopher

John Blaylock: Peter Greenlaw

Becky Jackson: Caroline Greenlaw

Mike Monroe, J.J. Krakowski: Young Ebenezer Scrooge

Presented by the Orange County Children’s Theatre. Based on the Charles Dickens story. Book by Arthur Scholey. Music and lyrics by Norman Beedie and Margaret Lion. Directed by Terri Miller Schmidt. Choreography: Leslie Holland. Musical direction: Jolee Miller White. Set: Gary Loomer. Lighting: Daryn Mack. Costumes: Gena Strelow. Sound: Kay Young.