STAGE AND MUSIC REVIEWS : Christmas Is Coming : ‘Carol of the Angel’ Is Not a Heavenly Play for Children

The 1930s town of Perry, Okla., with the “biggest oil wells and the coldest, smallest hearts,” is the setting for the American Childrens Theatre’s slim production of “Carol of the Angel” at the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center.

Not a full-blown play, director David Alan’s holiday show for children is a series of expository scenes telling the story of hard-hearted townspeople, a condemned orphanage, a caroling contest and a sad orphan boy who asks for and receives a miracle from God.

With a shoestring-budget feel, the play is performed not on stage, but on the floor of a small auditorium with the audience seated on folding chairs. Sketchy sets are changed by the actors as the lights go down between scenes and the child cast sings Christmas carols outside the room.

The adult cast, underused here, does a competent job with the one-dimensional plot. Jeff Richards as good guy Fred Ketchem, Bruce Roberts as Dickensian miser Mr. Scrind and Mary Edmonson as orphanage matron Mrs. Motherwell especially give the audience a brief illusion of substance.

In the role of the orphan boy Christopher, 13-year-old Joseph Conrad--fine-boned, big-eyed, snub-nosed and dimpled--might have been cast for appearance alone. But Conrad is more than just a sweet face. He’s experienced and has good stage presence.

Conrad’s singing voice, however, is supposed to be the catalyst that creates the town’s turnabout, where icy hearts are melted and the true meaning of Christmas shines forth. Conrad sounds fine, but the rest of the children in the show can sing equally well, making the sudden denouement--it comes at the end of 30 minutes--and Christopher’s miracle as unbelievable as the rest of the play.

Finally, to have cast member Bill Turner refer to children in the audience as “kiddies” when he invites them to come up for autographs isn’t fun--it’s patronizing. It is fun, however, to join the cast in singing “O Come All Ye Faithful,” as the audience is invited to do to wrap things up. A bit of Christmas spirit comes through after all.

Performances continue at 931 N. Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 4 p.m. through Dec. 20. Tickets are $4 per child, $5 per adult. (714) 751-5032.