It's always a gamble to mount a live stage version of a classic movie. Can it live up to comparisons with the original? Or can it present a new interpretation that works on its own merit in the way that "Lion King" transformed a feature cartoon?

Diamond Head Theatre loses that gamble with its current holiday production of "Meet Me In St. Louis."

It's unfair to expect anyone to repeat the iconic performances of Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, and Leon Ames from the 1944 movie, or to match the film's original music. But it's reasonable to expect that a revival might capture the warm and nostalgic tone of an innocent family facing turn-of-the-century changes in 1904.

Directed and choreographed by Greg Zane, the DHT cast uniformly presents their characters as cardboard cut-outs held at arm's length. Everybody goes through the motions, but nobody gets inside their roles.

Not much happens in the story line. Two young women anguish over their beaus while the family prepares for a potential move to New York City. It's a parlor-dining room-front porch environment that won't work unless the characters are immediately real and the audience comes to care about them. That necessary believability and warmth are missing from the DHT production.

The collection of songs added to the 1989 Broadway version don't help very much either. Tracing the music is like sifting through layers of an archeological dig.

The title song, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis" dates to 1904 when the World's Fair opened in that city. The best music was written for the movie by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and includes "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" — each of which became instant hits.

But the songs added 45 years later when the movie moved to the stage lack the same staying power and are built on doggerel lyrics that are difficult to put over musically or emotionally.

The production is also a visual mixed bag.

Willie Sabel designs a dingy Victorian house facade that breaks up to reveal a sturdy middle-class interior that rolls forward on a giant stage wagon. It happens the first time with good effect, but fails to sustain the show visually for the next two acts.

Costume designer Karen Wolfe blows most of her budget and inspiration on the show's finale, when the entire cast dresses up in pastel shades for the opening of the World's Fair. The stage picture is a veritable wedding cake of layers and laces, glowing under all the wattage that lighting designer Dawn Oshima can throw at it.

But the big finish doesn't outweigh two acts of ill-fitting men's suits and women's dresses that look new, but that don't make anyone wearing them look good. Jess Aki also forces the two heroines into a series of garish red wigs that are inappropriate for either of them and muddle the color palate.

Musical director Emmett Yoshioka controls his small orchestra, but doesn't produce good choral sound. And while Kim Anderson in the Judy Garland role renders a sweet version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," the cast's vocal delivery, on the whole, is more brash than musically pleasing.

"Meet Me In St. Louis?" No thanks. I might meet you at the video store, but I'll be looking for a copy of "White Christmas."