Park Square Theatre christened its new thrust stage on Friday with "The House on Mango Street," an adaptation of Sandra Cisneros's coming-of-age story.

The spirit of the occasion matched the optimism of Cisneros' series of vignettes about a Latina's youth in a Chicago neighborhood. This is what theater does best — share a collected energy and create a ritual. Amy Ludwig's adaptation is faithful to the book. Young Esperanza and her family move into a house and soon mix in with the neighborhood denizens.

"Mango Street" is a shakedown cruise for this 200-seat theater. How are the sight lines? How does the stage work with the set design, the sound and lights? Does the flow of actors — exits and entrances — serve the work or feel clunky?

The results are mixed. Michael Kittel's excellent lighting design guides our eye through an often frenzied and disjointed production. Esperanza and her friends riding a makeshift bicycle are lit with sunny warmth. Voices carry well, and the sound design by Anita Kelling gives us a good sense of location. Director Dipankar Mukherjee's staging, however, does not do well with the theater's sight lines — at least from where I sat.

Two parallel rows of rudimentary platforms — set lengthwise on the stage — represent the homes along Mango Street. Several times, up-stage action was obstructed by set pieces on these platforms. Worse were scenes that were robbed of their emotional importance by actors down stage stealing focus. These are not trivial matters if they pull a viewer out of the moment, and that is what they did.

Mukherjee's production is workmanlike at best. It's always a little strange when adults play children. Alejandra C. Tobar is Young Espereranza, a girl who appears to be 11 or 12, judging by her level of maturity. She's spunky and happy in her neighborhood. Pedro R. Bayón plays a number of characters with an authentic ring to his work. He's Esperanza's weary father, a jazzy street celebrity and a school nun.

"The House on Mango Street" at Park Square Theatre.

Adlyn Carreras portrays Older Esperanza, who narrates and gives the weight of mature retrospection to these youthful memories.

Mukherjee's use of movement works best in metaphoric moments, such as the powerful representation of a sexual assault. The effect is starkly different from the rest of the production, which is why it works so well.

At any rate, let's welcome Park Square's Boss Thrust to the Twin Cities theater environment. "Mango Street" is the kind of diverse programming that artistic director Richard Cook hopes to put on this stage. If he can work out the kinks, we should see many new audiences.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299