On Theater: A voice from the past returns, sort of

By Tom Titus

May 23, 2017 2 PM PT

The Huntington Beach Playhouse has taken a fancy to old TV shows recently, mounting stage productions of “M*A*S*H” and “Get Smart.” Now the theater has reached even further back in time to revive a show that has its roots in radio, “Our Miss Brooks.”

At the risk of dating myself, I remember fondly as a wee lad tuning in weekly to catch the adventures of English teacher Connie Brooks (Eve Arden), her biology instructor boyfriend Philip Boynton (Jeff Chandler), irrepressible student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) and the authoritarian principal Osgood Conklin (the terrific character actor Gale Gordon). And no, I didn’t have to check any of these out on Wikipedia; they’re all plucked from memory.

The only trouble with the current incarnation is that the script – by R.J. Mann and adapted by Christopher Sergel — has jettisoned the characters of Boynton, Denton and Conklin, leaving only Miss Brooks valiantly striving to teach and direct a play (“Lost Horizon,” no less) while battling the gym teacher for rehearsal space. As for all the biting quips Arden once uttered, those are MIA also.

Instead, in the Huntington Beach production (which opened May 12 and closes with a May 28 matinee), we have a dumbed-down story line probably intended for a younger audience and a show deficient in pace and timing under the direction of JoLynn Jones Ibanez. The cast, like Miss Brooks, strives valiantly to overcome numerous obstacles, and in some cases exacerbates them.

Pacing and tempo are two qualities which need to be addressed in the Huntington Beach Playhouse production. And actors must be cured of the tendency to deliver their lines “out front” to the audience rather than to their acting partners. A noisy air-conditioning unit, which often muffles the actors’ lines, doesn’t help in that regard.

Thankfully, the title character is highly watchable. Ashley Langton is quite proficient, even though she appears, and is dressed, more like a student. Thus, her pursuit of the coach, who seems old enough to be her father, never really registers with credibility.

Rick Weberlin assumes the latter role with a feigned gruffness masking his similar emotions. His star player, torn between the team and the school play, is nicely enacted by Josiah Canto, while Rachel Lawrence is effective as the school board president’s spoiled daughter, rebuffed in her quest both for Canto’s character and the leading role in “Lost Horizon.”

The show’s best performance is delivered by Laurie Robbins as the aforementioned girl’s mother, a strong voice of overarching authority. But Robbins also takes on a second character, a literally fluttery music teacher who flaps her hands incessantly, a bit of unnecessary magnification.

Eduardo Mora appears to be channeling Gale Gordon with his vocal gyrations as the huffy principal, but it’s merely distracting. Karla Abrams Franklin is nicely upbeat as Miss Brooks’ teaching buddy, while Noelle LeBlanc is fine as the shy girl who covets Canto’s character and winds up in a romantic scene with him in the play that she hopes to continue offstage.

True, few playgoers will remember the old radio version of “Our Miss Brooks,” but this one would have preferred to have seen the original characters reimagined in a newer environment. Say, Walter’s pursuit of “Old Marblehead’s” (his affectionate term for Principal Conklin) daughter in this day and age.

Still, the Huntington Beach Playhouse is surviving after losing its longtime lease on the city library theater, and better days are in sight. The playhouse’s next production, opening July 14, is “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Rounding out the 2017 season will be “Tea for Three,” opening Sept. 15, “Dracula,” arriving Nov. 10 and a Christmas show planned from Dec. 6-17. All are scheduled for the theater’s new location at Westmont School in Westminster.