‘Phantom Tollbooth’: Fare Play : Theater: The Laguna Playhouse production takes kids on a fantasy adventure that is equally appealing to adults.

Demons are rampant, like the Demon of Insincerity and the Demon of Horrible Hopping Hindsight. And the Terrible Trivium, who is the Dean of Useless Things. And the ever-present Word Snatcher, who takes the words right out of your mouth. And the royal sisters of the Kings of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, who have been imprisoned by their brothers.

It is to their rescue that young Milo flies in only one of his adventures after he passes through “The Phantom Tollbooth.”

The Laguna Playhouse production of this classic young person’s tale opens today as the season finale of the Playhouse’s Youth Theatre season, and, though the company suggests it for viewers age 4 and up, it’s accessible in many ways for children, teens, young adults and up.

Norton Juster’s “Phantom Tollbooth” was written in 1961 with young readers in mind and is required reading for many fifth- and sixth-grade classes. But like the Oz stories of L. Frank Baum, the fables of E.B. White and the Wonderland fantasies of Lewis Carroll, Juster’s work has humor and insights that can as easily be appreciated, and laughed at, by adults.

Some of the wordplay might be a bit opaque for very little ones, but the characters and action are right up their alley. Yet even teen-agers and adults have to listen closely to catch all the puns and pell-mell plot turns. If they blink, according to Youth Theatre director Joe Lauderdale, they’ll miss something.

And for adults who fear they might be bored, the game of finding the artistic inspirations in the production’s design might intrigue them. The Dr. Seuss influence will be easy to identify. But try to pick out hints of Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte in the Lands Beyond.

Lauderdale had read the stage adaptation of Juster’s book a couple of years ago but hadn’t found a spot for it in previous Youth Theatre seasons. This year, following an opening fairy tale, the musical “Oliver” and a literary adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables,” it seemed that a carefully balanced season called for a fantasy finale.

“It just filled the bill,” said Lauderdale, “a child going on a journey and learning a lot about life. I find that a lot of adults, and the teen-agers in the cast, remember very vividly reading the book and enjoying it so much. Also, Milo is pretty much a teen himself.”

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Milo’s problem is boredom. He can find nothing to do. He’s read books and watched television, but nothing intrigues him until one day when he discovers a strange package in his room labeled “For Milo, who has plenty of time.” Inside is the tollbooth that leads him into the Lands Beyond.

“He learns that life is really not as dull as he thought it was,” Lauderdale said, “that it’s actually very exciting, and that time can pass very quickly.

“It’s something anyone can relate to,” Lauderdale said. “I can recall being 13, 14, 15 years old, and being bored, wanting something to do, even though there were all kinds of things around me. I just didn’t seem to be able to find interesting things to do.”

Lauderdale later fell in love with “Tollbooth” and the lands it led to.

“I really wanted to do it because it’s so bizarre,” the director said. “It’s crazy, and it’s zany, and it’s comical. There’s also a nice message. It’s not pounded over the head, but Milo does learn something along the way.”

* “The Phantom Tollbooth,” Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Plays today and Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2 p.m. Ends May 1. Tickets: $6 (children 13 and under) and $9 (adults). (714) 494-8021.