It’s a strong start for San Diego’s newest youth theatre company. Like Full Circle Theatre Company, Shaun T. Evans’s California Youth Conservatory has professional adults working side by side with youth actors, and there is no better example than the two leads themselves. 18-year-old Brandon Pohl lends his winsome grin, easygoing playfulness, and excellent singing voice to the role of Huck whose journey down the river is as much about self-discovery as it is about discovering the world. Beside him, professional actor Darrell Allbritton delivers a powerful performance as Huck’s loyal friend Jim, both with his fine acting and his tremendous voice. Their duets Worlds Apart and River in the Rain as the two glide down the Mississippi on their raft are the big highlights of the show, along with Jim singing Free at Last accompanied by the other slaves.

Other great talents in this cast include the rascally “King” (Josh Gronner) and “Duke” (Mario Portugal) – a couple of con artists who hitch a ride on the raft and end up plotting against their hosts (at the same time delivering most of the humor in the show). The charismatic Kevin Koppman-Gue is the spunky troublemaker Tom Sawyer who likes to challenge his ability to get in and out of trouble as much as possible. Alex Wiesel turns in a fine performance as the lovely Mary-Jane Wilkes who takes a shine to Huck, Caleb Sharp sings the praises of the grand state of Arkansas in a hilarious little song, and the entire ensemble shines brightest in The Royal Nonesuch which opens the second act on a light and witty note as the King and Duke try to swindle a town.

The first half of the first act is a little slow and disjointed, and the lack of any real sets or backgrounds during those scenes makes it feel rougher. But as soon as the journey down the river starts, the story takes off and flows as strongly and steadily as the Mississippi, and the beautiful backdrop and more colorful sets and costumes in use after that point enhance the rest of the show. In a way it all works to even stronger effect – highlighting the difference between Huck’s stark life before his adventure and the much fuller and vivid life he finds on the river much in the same way that the film version of The Wizard of Oz uses black-and-white film for Kansas and vibrant colors for the Land of Oz. In this case Oz is the Big River, and the journey down it turns out to be an enlightening and magical one.

California Youth Conservatory plans to follow up on this success with two even more ambitious projects and a couple of my all-time favorites – Les Miserables (School Edition) and Ragtime.