They’re Having Too Good a ‘Time’ in This Stagingof the Saroyan Classic

With his gravelly voice and relaxed manner, John Glover brings a convivial charm to the champagne-soaked philosopher Joe in a revival of William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life” at the Skylight Theatre.

Director Gene Reynolds fills this Camelot Artists production with sweet little moments, but the desperation and grinding poverty of the era are absent, diluting the power of this piece.

The world is hovering at the edge of war in 1939. Times are hard. People wander into Nick’s Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace looking for work, while a bemused Joe holds court.

He gallantly buys all the papers from a newsboy (Matthew Morgan Scott). He supports Tom (Jack Kyle alternating with Will Potter), who runs errands for him. He’s respectful toward the streetwalkers, particularly the one Tom is in love with, Kitty (Renee Weldon alternating with Tracy Silver). He’s patient with the tall-tale-spinning Kit Carson (Al Mancini).

Mancini makes an affectionately comical windbag. He and Steve Owsley (as the unfunny comedian who dances) shine and amuse, making the time pass lightly.

Yet for all the care of Eva Frajko’s costume design and the gathering of a large cast, the hardships of the time never become a reality. The anxiety that makes Elsie (Cheryl Dent) hesitate in accepting Dudley’s marriage proposal and the contrast of the society couple slumming is minimized.

Instead, Reynolds presents an amusing slice of life that sanitizes the period’s poverty.

*

“The Time of Your Life,” Skylight Theatre, 18161/2 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 9. $20. (310) 659-0741. Running time: 3 hours.