THEATER REVIEWS : The Makings of a ‘Homecoming’ Without Detail

BREA — Time was when Walton’s Mountain was Spencer’s Mountain. And John-Boy Walton was Clay-Boy Spencer.

That was in Earl Hamner Jr.’s “The Homecoming,” the novel on which the pilot film for “The Waltons” television series was based. The names were later changed, Michael Learned replaced Patricia Neal as the mother, and the fictional version of Hamner’s semi-autobiographical book went into TV history.

All the ingredients are there in Christopher Sergel’s (a.k.a. Perry Clark) stage adaptation of “The Homecoming,” which the Brea Theatre League is staging at the Glen Curtis Theatre.

There is mother Olivia, the oldest son feeling the first glimmering of ambition to be a writer, his seven feisty siblings, their cozy grandparents and, finally, the Christmas Eve homecoming of the sturdy, country-wise father who completes Hamner’s holiday wreath of warm memory around what families sometimes were like in days gone by.

Sergel’s adaptation has the ingredients, but in its brevity he misses some of the scope, some of the richness and depth of the original. This production makes it look more like an adaptation of the television production, secure in the knowledge that the audience, knowing the Waltons so well, will fill in the details. It is a collection of incidents rather than the human drama it could be.

Director P.J. Mansur’s staging is physically fluid on and around Rob Wyatt’s simple kitchen setting, with brief scenes taking place at its edges, all lit to good effect in Alfred Ronquillo Jr.’s design. And in a couple of instances she has found actors able to provide some interior details to their characters.

*

Roger Shank is excellent as the narrator of the story, Clay-Boy, the Hamner figure. Full of energy and the slowly developing personal integrity of a fledgling writer, Shank’s Clay-Boy also has a broad streak of sensitivity that is just right.

Elizabeth Barrett’s Olivia, although without much variation, has the look and sound of Olivia and, in her scenes alone with Shank, some of the rough-hewn understanding that makes his affection for her believable.

The Spencer brothers and sisters are solidly real, with only a few moments of unnecessary overenthusiasm. Katie Krajanowski stands out as the oldest daughter, in the throes of an adolescence that Olivia says she will outgrow, “but I don’t know if we will.”

Pierre Burkhart is good in his brief appearances as the father, in Clay-Boy’s and Olivia’s daydreams and his final boisterous entrance with gifts, and Kevin Groot is affecting as the slow-witted townie, Birdshot.

What Mansur hasn’t done is keep in line the giddy, overboard performances of Sandra Goo and Bernie Astier as the spinster sisters who keep the countryside high with their “Papa’s recipe.”

Nor has she controlled the absolutely silly performance of Carolyn Nowell as the grandmother, which bounces irresponsibly back and forth between Minnie Pearl and Marjorie Main.

* “The Homecoming,” Glen Curtis Theatre, Brea Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 & 8 p.m. Ends Saturday. $7-$12.50. (714) 990-7722. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. Roger Shank: Clay-Boy Spencer Elizabeth Barrett: Olivia Spencer Pierre Burkhart: Clay Spencer Katie Krajanowski: Becky Spencer Kevin Groot: Birdshot Carolyn Nowell: Grandma Ida Sandra Goo: Miss Emma Staples Bernie Astier: Miss Etta Staples

A Brea Theatre League production of the Christopher Sergel (a.k.a. Perry Clark) adaptation of Earl Hamner Jr.’s novel. Directed by P.J. Mansur. Scenic design: Rob Wyatt. Light design: Alfred Ronquillo Jr. Sound design: Terry Bailey. Costume design: Lorna E. Paine. Makeup/hair design: Michelle Eden. Stage manager: Wade Williamson.