Mark Twain, an anti-romantic if ever there was one, wrote a very funny essay entitled Literary Offenses of Fennimore Cooper . Cooper, a writer of the romantic period, cared not a whit of truth in action, but rather of courage, spirit, and potential. In his devastating essay, Twain eviscerates two of Cooper's greatest works, The Pathfinder and The Deerslayer because they fail to be remotely realistic. However, Cooper could just as rightly critique Twain for his satiric obsession with debunking folly and creating hard-to-respect anti-heroes such as his Connecticut Yankee and slacker Tom Sawyer. Why do I mention this? Because I am Mark Twain, and Robert Fulghum is my Fennimore Cooper. What some find to be nuggets of wisdom are just trite to me. Where I gag on the layers of sugar that sloppily coat All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, others will savor it. No matter your stand, though, Cooper's cloying positive viewpoint or Twain's jaded eye, I dare anyone to show me how Mesa Encore Theatre's latest production can be considered theatrical. If that's true, then Up With People might be mistaken as high drama. Any musical whose opening song can be summarized on a poster does not meet my criteria for great entertainment. That said, MET and Director Jody Kay McNelis pour on the charm. This ensemble cast of four (with a couple of cameos) succeeds on earnestness, and that makes this evening worth watching. With two strong performers and two who mean well, Fulgham's material gets the presentation it deserves.

Kudos first to the group's set design that captures perfectly the light spirit of the evening. At the center of the ensemble is the talented Chrystalle Reed. Ms. Reed is limber with a strong voice and excellent stage presence. She is able to pull off silly preschooler and sultry dancehall vixen equally well. It is her enthusiasm and abilities that keep the evening from drowning in over-sentimentality. Balancing her is Mark Hackmann, who proves to be a solid singer and a good actor when asked to play several older characters and succeeding. Vicki Lewis is full of energy and tries to sell it to the crowd, which works to her benefit, however her sharp soprano is the downfall of many of the quartets that punctuate nearly every lesson. Corey Normandin is a genial sort, full of mirth, good intentions, and forgotten lines. His is the weakest voice of the evening, but he really tries, which makes it hard to dislike his performance.

There's something very Christmas pageant-y about this production. The strengths of Reed and Hackmann carry a lot of the show, while the lackings of Lewis and Normandin don't do enough to sink it. The sentiment has its heart in the right place: its sleeve. Many of the bits of wisdom cause one to think. However, I believe that it's best to leave Fulgham by the bedside, not on the stage.