THEATER REVIEW : Familiar Territory : * Ten years after its Santa Monica staging, ‘The William’ arrives in Burbank with virtually the same cast.

We just caught up with Jonathan Daly’s play, “The William,” at the Burbank Little Theatre, where it has been playing since mid-November. Afterward, we wondered: Hadn’t we seen this play before?

The scrapbook says yes. May, 1983, Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica. (And that was its second run; the first was at the old Stable Theatre in Hollywood.) It didn’t make a big impression then. Ten years later, even with virtually the same cast (only Clint Carmichael as the befriending priest of the title character is new), “The William” isn’t warming with time.

This revival, under Clete Keith’s direction, is actually more of a reunion. Although that may be wonderful for the cast, it still leaves aside the question of the play.

For example, why go back to something so painfully dated, so hopelessly determined to romanticize the tough human problem of mentally capable people living with someone who isn’t? A lot has happened since ‘82, including the overwhelming drive to deromanticize the lives of every conceivable minority group. Daly’s comedy-drama isn’t nearly good enough to hide the fact that it belongs to another era.

His central figure, inexplicably known as “The William” (Keith), is awkwardly deposited (by both his sponsoring Catholic parish and the playwright’s plot machinery) in an apartment building full of unemployed malcontents who nevertheless spend most of their time relaxing on the building roof. Crusty landlady Lucille (Dorothy Bennett plays her with blue-collar starchiness) oversees it all like a den mother.

Even before The William enters, rumors fly that Lucille is selling the building. That’s all Theresa and John (Evon Cerda and Bruce R. Barrett) or Ginger and Hal (Diane Adair and James LaZelle) or April (Rebecca Russell) need. The rumors prove well-founded, which makes one wonder why Lucille agreed to take on The William as a tenant. Where could he go, with the parish cutting back and the building in a precarious state?

Alas, we’re supposed to ignore such inconvenient problems and accept the notion that The William is put here to improve others’ lives. He’s like Pollyanna, coming to town to make everyone glad. Even loudmouth, drunken Hal and herpes-riddled April. The William is designed as a poster-boy for the normalcy-is-relative group, so sensitive women like Theresa and Ginger warm up to him more than their husbands.

But because Keith’s performance, though always skillful, never delivers The William to the realm of a spiritual character, we must take much of his charisma on faith. Thus, the play’s mass transformation to goodness from self-pity feels unearned: For a play about how people change their lives and circumstances, “The William” is awfully low on the juice of real conflict and crisis.

Most of this comes through Keith’s eyes, which can bulge with regrets and past terrors that render every other performance fairly flat and unengaging.

Harrison Ellenshaw’s rooftop set suggests Manhattan, but it doesn’t jibe with the play’s unreal dramatics. As reunions go, this one goes through its paces, but the point of it all seems to be lost.

Where and When

What: “The William.”

Location: Burbank Little Theatre, 1111 W. Olive Ave.

Hours: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays.

Price: $12.

Call: (818) 980-2477.