La Posada Magica

((South Coast Repertory Second Stage, Costa Mesa; 161 seats; $ 22 top))

South Coast Repertory (producing artistic director, David Emmes; artistic director, Martin Benson) presents a play in two acts by Octavio Solis. Directed by Jose Cruz Gonzales; music by Marcos Loya.

Cast: Ruben Sierra, Ruth Livier, Edna Alvarez, Christine Avila, Teresa Velarde, Vic Trevino, George Galvan, Phillip Daniel Rodriguez.

Musicians: Trevino, Loya, Lorenzo Martinez. Under the forgiving light of the holiday season, sins often pass for blessings. "La Posada Magica," playing to near-sellout houses at SCR, masks its amateurism in so warmhearted a wash of Yuletide cheer that resistance seems futile and irrelevant.

The story, by veteran South Coast writer Octavio Solis, staged by another SCR stalwart, Jose Cruz Gonzalez, rings changes on that well-tested storyline, the grouch made lovable by Christmas, with results that are agreeable and forgettable.

Teenage Graciella (Ruth Livier) refuses to join her neighbors in the Christmas Eve candlelight procession (posada). Heartbroken at the death of her baby brother, she renounces Christmas to cavort with ghosts in a graveyard.

There she journeys back in time, meets Joseph (George Galvan) and the pregnant Mary (Teresa Velarde), who are desperately seeking shelter, rejected by the villagers and ... get the idea?

The play throbs with songs sad and cheerful by film composer Marcos Loya, invested with vast funds of unmerited energy by a three-man guitar combo.

In the space cleverly but simply furnished by designer Cliff Faulkner, good cheer and good intentions become almost tactile. Run ends Christmas Eve, not a moment too soon.

Sets, Cliff Faulkner; costumes, Shigeru Yaji; lighting, Lonnie Alcatraz; musical director, Loya. Opened, reviewed Dec. 14; runs through Dec. 24. Running time: 2 hours.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.