Lois Lowry's dystopian novel "The Giver" casts a coolly utopian society as a chillingly pragmatic one as well. The people have no war, pain or disappointment. Nor do they have weather, happiness or love. What they do have is "sameness," and those who are not going to fit in are given their "release," though exactly what that entails has a mysterious vagueness to it.

In the intensely moving B Street Theatre Family Series production, this Orwellian idea of a perfectly controlled world has a sudden dramatic confrontation with a sensitive and curious boy whose imagination longs for more.

Lowry's novel has sometimes been criticized for having content too strong for children, but the author was awarded the 1994 Newbery Prize for the work. Similarly, the stage story and the production have a depth and weight not usually associated with children's theater, but the young students I sat with at a midweek matinee were thoroughly engrossed.

Eric Coble's taut adaptation carries us into this edgeless future through a seemingly typical family. Jason Kuykendall's Father and Elisabeth Nunziato's Mother are a methodically caring couple carefully nurturing their two children.

Young Lily (an active Brittni Barger) who is 7, adores her stuffed animals (there are no real ones) and also her older brother Jonas, who soon will become 12. When children turn 12, the Elders give them assignments that are the children's future duties. In this seamless world, people are given few choices so there no "mistakes."

Grant Jordan's Jonas is a special boy who not only innocently probes the edges of this tightly constricted world but has abilities that set him apart. Jonas has the capacity to "see beyond," which is the ability to see colors that most people no longer can. Jordan deftly shows us a bright curious Jonas, who seems wiser and older than his age would suggest. In various ways, he feels himself growing beyond the limitations of the world he lives in. In particular, Jonas has strange feelings for his female friend Fiona (Erika Lecaj) and he's also wondering about the future of the baby Gabriel, recently placed with his family.

Jonas' life takes a drastic turn when – at the Ceremony of Twelve – he is sent to the Giver (Gary S. Martinez) to become the community's next Receiver of Memories. Through the Giver, Martinez puts the recognizable passion and feeling of life into obvious relief with their continually even surroundings. Jonas begins receiving memories of how their world was before "sameness," learning about things that no longer exist. The Giver transmits all his memories of weather and snowflakes and the thrill of a sleigh ride. He also experiences love, beauty, joy, family and violence, pain and sadness. The more Jonas learns about the world of choices, the more he wants to experience it and the more he realizes he somehow will have to break away from the community and strike out on his own.

Director Laura Baker fashions a tight, moving production that continually finds drama and subtle tension in the story. The outstanding cast of B Street company members creates a palpable world of quiet conformity while Ian Wallace's evolving set and Nancy Pipkin's stark costumes complete this compelling satisfying production.

THE GIVER

four stars

What: A dramatic and sensitive stage adaptation of Lois Lowry's Newbery prize-winning novel "The Giver" about a society without pain, violence, happiness or joy

Where: B Street Theatre B3 Stage, 2727 B St., Sacramento When: 1 and 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 19

Tickets: $13-$22

Running time: 65 minutes with no intermission

Information: (916) 443-5300, www.bstreettheatre.org

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