FAMILY : ‘Love’ Has Sincerity Written All Over It

Holiday traditions come and go (remember aluminum Christmas trees?), but for many the season wouldn’t be complete without a viewing of “Miracle on 34th Street.”

The fantasy, originally a book by Valentine Davis and first filmed in 1947, is about a department store Santa who revives a girl’s faith in the season by claiming to be the genuine article. The story has been retold many times on stage and screen, including last year’s update.

Through Sunday at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center, the Orange County Children’s Theatre presents an all-kid staging of the story. “Here’s Love” is Meredith Willson’s 1963 Broadway musical adaptation of “Miracle on 34th Street.” As directed at OCCT by Diane Christensen, it’s rough around the edges and uneven in its pacing, but its message of believing when common sense tells you not to rings out as clearly as sleigh bells through the wintry air.

Granted, if you’ve seen Edmund Gwenn or Sir Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle in the film versions, it’s a little jarring to watch a stuffed teenager with a synthetic beard try to step into Santa’s boots. But OCCT has never been a group to balk at placing children in adult roles, and Christensen’s cast of 8- to 18-year-olds seems game.

Andrew Levine plays his Kringle on the restrained side: His jolly old elf won’t knock you over with ebullience, but he projects an understated warmth that ages him nicely and allows audiences (especially frayed parents) to ease into the holiday spirit more gradually.

Kristin Wells plays Doris Walker, the Macy’s public relations person who taps Kringle to stand in for an inebriated Santa in the Thanksgiving Day parade and unwittingly finds her beliefs challenged. Wells is by far one of the strongest young actors and singers in the cast. Although it happens too quickly, her transformation from steely executive to a genuine Christmas believer is heartwarming.

Doris’ young daughter, Susan (Jamie Schwabl), is written as a bobby-socks version of her mother: She’s all clear-eyed practicality early on, but she’s readily transformed by her encounters with the gentle Kringle. Again, Christensen has hastened the transformation to hyper-speed, but the kid’s a lot nicer to be around when she ditches that tough exterior.

Matthew Levine and Patrick Keefe add color as Macy’s neurotic junior exec Marvin Shellhammer and Doris’ suitor Fred Gailey, respectively. Jon Althouse is a scream as Mr. Sawyer, the Scrooge-like store psychologist who wants to see Kringle put away, but his histrionics are over the top and out of place in several scenes. John Blaylock plays R.H. Macy as a blowhard with an eye on the bottom line; he’s a likable, good-hearted blowhard, though.

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There’s a lot of palaver in this show, especially in the 80-minute first act, and preschool-age children at last Saturday night’s performance were clearly impatient with it. Fortunately for them, Christensen has made the show’s few production numbers as visually enticing as a limited budget can allow. The Thanksgiving Day parade, complete with cartwheeling clowns and pretty ballerinas, is engaging, and Susan’s Christmas Eve dream is a toyland come to life, populated with toy soldiers, a kid-sized locomotive and pirouetting dancers.

The symbolism of Susan’s mother as an eligible princess being matched with a suitable prince will probably be lost on the kids, and a fleeting bit featuring Native American “dolls” may jar modern sensibilities, but bear in mind, this show was written in the ‘60s.

Christensen would have done better to trim the script at this point, because the ensuing scenes in the courtroom and Macy’s toy department are somewhat muddled, causing many of Willson’s most clever lines to be lost in the shuffle. And, unlike those in his “Music Man,” Willson’s tunes in this show are pretty bland, the exception being a comic three-part round of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and the title tune, sung by Doris, Shellhammer and Kringle.

Overall, OCCT’s “Here’s Love,” is a lot like a child’s homemade Christmas gift: imperfectly wrought, but filled with good intentions and the spirit of the season.

* “Here’s Love” continues at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center, 7571 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., final performance Sunday at 2:30 p.m. $5 for 12 and younger, $7 for adults. (714) 502-2244. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

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Jamie Schwabl: Susan Walker

Kristin Wells: Doris Walker

Patrick Keefe: Fred Gailey

Andrew Levine: Kris Kringle

John Blaylock: R.H. Macy

Matthew Levine: Marvin Shellhammer

Andrea Hough: Miss Crookshank

Daniel Blaylock: Judge Group

Thomas Mara Sr.: Bill Shapiro

An Orange County Children’s Theatre production of the musical by Meredith Willson, based on the book “Miracle on 34th Street.” Book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson. Directed by Diane Christensen. Musical direction: Carlene Woerner. Choreography: JoAnne Limone. Scenic design: Steve Lewis and Matt Holmes. Costume design: Coleen Keefe and Mary Levine. Lighting design: Daryn Mack. Stage managers: Andrea Hough and Beth Ginnett.