THEATER REVIEWS : The Point Gets Lost in ‘Wilderness’

MISSION VIEJO —  In his toweringly tragic “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” Eugene O’Neill painted a truthful portrait of his family. But he wanted his family to have been like the one in “Ah, Wilderness!”

A nostalgic, dreamy comedy, a kind of wish-fulfillment of the youth he never had, “Ah, Wilderness!” is about a family idealized for any era, close to perfect, sort of a precursor of Andy Hardy’s in the classic MGM series.

Newspaper owner Nat Miller is calm, kindly and warm; his wife, Essie, is the sort of mother who would gather a boy to her comfortable breast to ease his growing pains. They both pretend sternness when necessary, but there is always that sense of humor, that love, beneath the surface.

In his production at Saddleback College, director Patrick J. Fennell seems to have missed that point. Indeed, he has missed the whole point of the play, and has distorted O’Neill’s intention. He has staged something closer to modern television sitcom than to the sepia-toned memory play this was meant to be. Even Wally Huntoon’s setting has a Hallmark cuteness that is jarring.

The playwright’s imagined version of himself as a high school senior is pretty close to the mark in Joshua James Stecker’s performance as Richard Miller. Stecker understands the radical attitude assumed by every teen-ager in every era, and his sense of fun bubbles under even his most serious moments. He is particularly effective during his innocent beachfront love scene with Muriel McComber, played by Jennifer Lambert, who also charms with her comprehension of an earlier period’s teen-age mating rituals.

Nancy E. Zeltzer is effective as Nat’s sister Lily, who has waited 14 years in vain for Essie’s brother Sid to sober up. The oldest son, Arthur, can’t always be heard in John C. DeGhetto’s performance but DeGhetto captures the aura of the period’s Yale man home for holiday.

The problem is with the older actors. Fennell has led them down a primrose path, to their disservice.

Monte Collins makes the father a fussy fidget instead of the tower of strength and wisdom Richard would respect. Joyce Anderson fares worse as Richard’s mother. Her Essie is a nag, even shrewish at times, and when she tries to be understanding and motherly the insincerity is grating. These are not parents poor O’Neill would have dreamed of.

Fennell’s saddest mistake is allowing Tom Snooks to turn tippling Uncle Sid into a caricature who doesn’t belong even in this misguided production. Snooks overacts--particularly in his drunken dinner scene--as though his were a solo turn in an old third-rate burlesque act.

Thomas Baba’s period piano music that punctuates the action, and Charles Castagno’s costumes, are as on-target as Stecker’s Richard.

* “Ah, Wilderness!” McKinney Theatre, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends Sunday. $7-$8. (714) 582-4656. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes. Joshua James Stecker Richard Miller

Monte Collins: Nat Miller

Joyce Anderson: Essie Miller

Nancy E. Zeltzer; Lily Miller

Tom Snooks: Sid Davis

Jennifer Lambert: Muriel McComber

John C. DeGhetto: Richard Miller

A Saddleback College Department of Theatre Arts production of a comedy by Eugene O’Neill, directed by Patrick J. Fennell. Scenic design: Wally Huntoon. Costume design: Charles Castagno. Lighting/sound design: Kevin Cook. Stage manager: Brent Fleshman.