THEATER:Continuing an amazing run in ‘Posada’

On South Coast Repertory’s Segerstrom Stage, Hal Landon Jr. prepares to slip into Ebenezer Scrooge’s nightgown for his 27th year of headlining “A Christmas Carol,” a record of local single-character portrayal that probably will never be equaled.

Next door, however, on the Julianne Argyros Stage, Tiffany Ellen Solano is embarking on a record of her own — though it’s highly unlikely it’ll ever be of Landonian proportions. She’ll be playing the role of Gracie for the eighth straight year in the repertory’s other holiday show, “La Posada Magica.”

Matching Landon’s longevity would be difficult for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the character of Gracie is 14 years old. Tiffany took the part over when she was turning 16, back in 1999.

“This is my eighth year with the show, and now I’m a decade older than the character is supposed to be,” the actress said. “I’ve never actually thought of it in those terms. I suppose because I’m still very young at heart and have somewhat of an innocence about me — it’s not difficult to feel 14 still.”

The other 11 months of the year, Tiffany could be found at Disney’s California Adventure performing in the “Aladdin” show. She recently left that job to “take some time away to really pursue my goals.”

Tiffany vividly remembers auditioning for “La Posada” as a 15-year-old girl on the threshold of 16. “My mom saw an article in the paper about Crissy Guerrero [the original Gracie] leaving the show,” she said. “She has always been my biggest supporter and has always believed in me more than anyone.”

The still-youthful actress added, “I started performing as a kid. At first it was just a hobby, something to do for fun. As I grew older, I began realizing I could really make a career as a performer, and I started to get more serious. By the time I was a pre-teen, I knew I wanted to be an actress.”

The beauty of “La Posada,” is that it’s not a year-long commitment, she said. “It comes at the perfect time of year when everything else starts to slow down. Then it’s over and things pick back up in film and television.”

While Tiffany admits she’d love to be on a TV series or in a feature film, her heart is “truly on stage.” Born and raised in Southern California, she’s anxious to see the country and the world while being paid to perform.

“ ‘La Posada’ has become a tradition for me,” she said. “Honestly, the holiday season is about family and tradition, and there’s nothing that defines that better than performing in ‘La Posada Magica.’ ”

As the teenage Gracie, Tiffany portrays a young girl disillusioned by the holidays because of the death of her baby brother. She joins a neighborhood Posada (the Latino custom of recreating Mary and Joseph’s search for an inn) only in an attempt to sabotage it and extinguish the marchers’ candles. When she succeeds, the story veers off into a Twilight Zone of eerie events from which she must help extricate the couple playing Joseph and Mary (who is, indeed, pregnant and about to deliver).

How long does she imagine she can pass for a teenage girl on stage?

“As long as SCR wants me, I’m willing to do what it takes as an actress to connect to being a kid again,” she says. “Who doesn’t want the opportunity to be a kid forever?”

And when the time finally comes to pass the baton on to another, younger, actress?

“If I wasn’t in the show, you better believe I would be there opening night to support and partake in the joy the show brings,” she said. “I have truly created an extended family with everyone involved in ‘La Posada Magica,’ from cast to crew.

“It’s been quite a journey for me,” she added, “and it’s great to know there are people out there who have taken that journey with me and watched me grow, literally.”

IF YOU GOWHAT: “La Posada Magica”

WHERE: South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage

WHEN: Dec. 10 to 23

COST: and tickets may be ordered by $14 to $38

INFO: (714) 708-5555 or visit www.scr.org