Family : Serendipity Bounces Back With ‘Quimby’

Financial considerations forced the Serendipity Theatre Company to leave the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles this summer, after four years of children’s theater there as a resident Equity company.

Down, but not out, Serendipity has bounced back as a touring company, kicking off an ambitious 1994-95 season with an engaging production of “Ramona Quimby” at the Hermosa Civic Theatre and UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

Based on one of children’s literature’s most endearing characters--the spunky, outspoken, irrepressible heroine created by author Beverly Cleary--the deft stage adaptation by Len Jenkins is economy-sized but a lively success nonetheless.

New third-grader Ramona has a lot to cope with: her big sister Beezus (Marisa Zuckerman), a strict teacher (Annalisa Erickson), the imminent departure of a favorite aunt (Erickson again), and baby-sitter Mrs. Kemp (Caryn Ronis), who watches soap operas all afternoon.

Worst of all, Dad (Sam Kuglen) has lost his job and started smoking again, Mom (Laurie Lapinski) has gone to work, and economizing measures mean no more dinners at Whopper Burger.

The modest production features a flimsy-looking set of smaller-than-life building cut-outs, and lighting was erratic in Hermosa over the weekend, but director Katy Realista’s even pacing, the script’s genuine humor and Ramona’s unsappy, real-life quandaries, plus an agreeable mix of adult professionals and child actors, make the show a worthwhile family excursion.

The highlight, however, is the amusing, dark-haired little dynamo in the title role. As Ramona, Lynsey Bartilson is remarkably at ease on stage, with a knack for comedy and character.

Upcoming Serendipity shows are a reprise of its holiday “Snow Child,” a musical “Black Beauty,” “Island of the Blue Dolphins” and “The Velveteen Rabbit.”

* “Ramona Quimby,” UCLA, Freud Playhouse, Westwood, today, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 and 4 p.m. $12 per adult; $6 per child, age 13 and under. Not recommended for under age 5. (310) 825-2101.