A Satisfying Irony

LONG BEACH — The setting for “An O. Henry Christmas,” now in its fifth year at the California Repertory Company, is a crummy back alley somewhere in the tenements of New York City. The only sign the holidays have arrived is a tiny, bedraggled Christmas tree, more of a Christmas twig, bent over in one corner.

But within this underfed environment, good cheer pulses strongly.

It takes awhile for the lowlifes who populate Cal Rep’s satisfying production to get into the season, but when they do, we happily go along. Director Joanne Gordon and her confident cast turn the show into a treat, sentimental but without the overpowering schmaltz that claims so many stages this time of year.

The play, adapted by Howard Burman and based on a few of O. Henry’s holiday-flavored stories, opens as a seemingly unsavory lot faces Christmas with cynicism and doubt. Yuletide spirit? Forget it; these homeless folks would settle for a trash-can fire and a handout of turkey bones.

All of them have hard-luck stories, but the saddest character is Marguerite (April Hall), a young prostitute who’s sick and preparing to die. When a stranger suddenly appears, everybody is more suspicious than welcoming. He announces himself only as O. P. and sets out to cut a deal: He’ll fill the night with stories if they’ll give him a bowl of broth.

Only much later do we learn that O. P. is William Sydney Porter, an escaped convict and writer who eventually became known as O. Henry. O. P. starts unraveling his tales, making sure his tattered new friends play roles. Scenes shift instantly, and gracefully, from the alley’s squalor once the stories spin.

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An indication of Cal Rep’s sureness is how nicely the company handles the ever-familiar “The Gift of the Magi,” probably O. Henry’s best-loved tale. The story can bring a groan from those who equate it with more mawkishness and pushy irony than even Tiny Tim could stomach, but here it plays out as wry and almost delicate.

Matt Southwell, a cast standout with his timing, comic and otherwise, is gentle as the husband who sells his prized watch to buy his wife bejeweled hair combs. And Dawn Flood is a symbol of pure devotion as the wife who cuts and sells her beautiful hair to get him a platinum chain for that same watch.

As the anchor and ringleader of all that transpires, Patric Taylor turns O. P. into an ideal Southern gentleman, all good manners and soothing baritone. The rest of the cast keeps pace, with Mark Piatelli as a doctor unable to recover from the death of a patient, Susan Watson as Marguerite’s best friend, Michael Pando as a cop with a conscience and Baron Kelly as a bitter artist whose epiphany (taken from O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf”) closes the show.

The production’s look is also effective. Lisa Hashimoto’s set, with its tangle of dirt and debris, reflects just how down-and-out these people really are. Yoonmi Choi’s ragged costumes and Sharon Alexander’s moody lighting are also well-crafted.

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* “An O. Henry Christmas,” the Cal Rep Theatre in the Cal State Long Beach Theater Arts Complex, 7th Street and West Campus Drive. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 20. $15. (562) 985-7000. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Patric Taylor: O. P.

Mark Piatelli: Grover

April Hall: Marguerite

Susan Watson: Agnes

Michael Pando: Paddy

Baron Kelly: Dinty

Dawn Flood: Fran

Matt Southwell: Hal

A California Repertory Company production of Howard Burman’s play, directed by Joanne Gordon. Set: Lisa Hashimoto. Lighting: Sharon Alexander. Sound: Mark Abel. Costumes: Yoonmi Choi. Stage manager: Sarah R. McCay.