MOUTHS OF ‘BABES’ : Young Cast Had a Voice in Orange County Children’s Theatre’s Contemporized ‘Babes in Toyland’

Ever read the soap opera plot lines in the TV listings?

“Sam and Lydia depart for Bermuda Triangle tryst while Austin ponders leaving priesthood to become dental hygienist. Best friends Dara and Oliver suspect they are Siamese twins.”

Even if you’re not a fan, you may tune in just to see how these fragments could be pieced into any kind of reasonable plot. They generally aren’t, of course, but with such delightfully bizarre situations and such fetching characters for company, who really cares?

The story line of Orange County Children’s Theatre’s “Babes in Toyland” promises to be just as tangled, only in a cheery, G-rated musical kind of way. Directed by Terri Miller Schmidt and presented by a 60-member cast aged 7 to 17, “Babes” opens Friday at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center.

According to Schmidt, the OCCT version includes familiar elements of Victor Herbert’s 1903 Broadway classic, including well-known tunes such as “March of the Toys” (think wooden soldiers and “Toyland,” but in a quirky 1978 adaptation that, when coupled with the company’s own touches, veers quickly into the fantastic).

Orphans Alan and Jane have come to live in Toyland with Uncle Barnaby, a sinister toy baron who is cornering the market on realistic playthings by turning real children into toys. The latest entries in his product line are three adopted children of the Widow Piper, a Mother Hubbard wanna-be whose 15 kids, all nursery rhyme and fairy-tale celebs, include Simple Simon, Little Boy Blue and Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son.

As in the soaps, romance abounds. Barnaby’s accomplices, Gonzorgo and Rodrigo, are vying for the attentions of Ms. Piper, and Barnaby himself is sweet on her oldest daughter, Contrary Mary. Mary only has eyes for Alan, and Tom just wants to get next to Jane.

The lovey-dovey stuff takes a back seat to high adventure when Alan and Jane are banished to the treacherous regions of Spider Valley, where they have a grand old time vanquishing bad guys and cashing in on magical wishes before Santa shows up and, as he is wont to do, makes things peachy-keen once more.

Although they occasionally had trouble dissecting the plot (who wouldn’t?), director Schmidt said, “Babes” has helped unleash her young cast’s imaginations in a way that a more convention-bound story would not.

“Most kids like to have a beginning, middle and end that makes sense,” noted Schmidt, a Huntington Beach resident who has acted and directed for community theaters in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “It’s more of a challenge when (a story) is unconnected like this.

“But this cast is very bright,” she continued. “One of the frustrations of directing children’s theater is that sometimes authors don’t consider how bright these children are. These kids are always asking questions . . . like ‘Who is paying Widow Piper’s electricity bill?,’ or ‘Why would (a character) do that? It’s dangerous.’ ”

In fact, many of this show’s script changes have come directly from the cast, which ranges from rank newcomers to more experienced actors, Schmidt said.

To help prepare for their roles, each child did a character study and discussed his or her idea during rehearsal workshops, a process that helped enhance performances while adding some contemporary, comic touches to the show, she said.

Choreographer Chai Chubb has added to the mix with dance styles that range from hip-hop to classical ballet to the military precision of the “March of the Toys,” and Schmidt has emphasized visual excitement with large-cast production numbers and costumes and sets as elaborate as her volunteer corps of cast parents can create.

For all its complexities, Schmidt thinks her “Babes” will appeal to wide audience.

“You might have to be 10 or so to really follow it, but . . . even if the little ones don’t understand the dialogue, there’ll be lots of twinkly lights and candy canes and dancing Christmas trees.”