The fresh rewriting of “Ramona” may border on heresy, but it’s a brilliant way to liven up the outdoor play that made Hemet famous following its debut in 1923.

A livelier “Ramona” should be more appealing to people who see it for the first time. The change is upping the ante for the cast, which will make it a better production. It will draw people who have seen the play in the past and are curious about how it changed.

The changes are likely to attract more than the usual amount of television, newspaper and magazine publicity.

Lori VanArsdale, president of the Ramona Bowl board that presents “Ramona,” thinks it will boost attendance of its traditional spring run by about 2,000 tickets. I think that is a conservative estimate. I predict at least 4,000 more.

The play, which is presented in the spring in the Ramona Bowl in the hills above Hemet, is beloved by its longtime fans and volunteers who put on the production. Many saw the play during the traditional fourth-grade performance offered to school kids every year and kept going back over the years. They knew the lines by heart.

Rewriting the love-lorn story that includes themes of Early California racism and romance, and is presented with great pageantry, is a big deal to “Ramona” devotees.

“As a Catholic, I would not consider it as dramatic as Vatican II, but it is a bold move,” said Dennis Anderson, Ramona’s longtime artistic director, referring to the 1960s modernization of church doctrine.

“Ramona,” frankly, can use a little freshening up. The old script was too long and plodded in parts, but was still fun to watch, especially since it was put on by volunteers.

The original script was written by Garnet Holmes and was about 90 percent the same before this summer’s rewrite by Stephen Savage, a Hollywood film and commercial producer who calls Idyllwild home.

He produces the type of films that appear at film festivals, which makes him ideal to modernize “Ramona.”

He based his rewrite both on Jackson’s novel and Holmes’ script. Anderson said he likes the way Savage made characters fuller and more interesting, modernized the dialog and quickened the pace with more action.

Just as importantly, it should shorten the play from two hours and 20 minutes. Anderson said the goal is to cut the length to about two hours. That’s important. “Ramona” suffers the reputation of being too long.

VanArsdale, the Ramona Bowl president, said rewriting the script has been discussed for years. She said Tami Wilhelm, the bowl’s vice president, was the impetus for the change finally being made.

VanArsdale said Wilhelm was impressed with Savage when he met with her about bringing an event like the Idyllwild Film Festival he organizes to Hemet. She pushed for the rewrite, which took place this summer.

Because of the changes, Anderson said he has called actors for private auditions and expects to announce the cast in about a week. Rehearsals already started for cowboy scenes. Normally, there are open auditions after the Christmas season.

He said familiar scenes like fiesta dancing, cowboy entrances and the starling appearance of young Rock Indians still will be major parts of the play. The story will be the same, but he believes it will be more interesting.

“We are definitely raising the bar,” he said. “We are proud of our show and want to take it to another level.”

I like watching “Ramona” because of the great pageantry of scenes and witnessing the tremendous volunteer effort it takes to put on the play.

This spring, I’ll also be quite interested in the play and its changes. I don’t believe I’ll be alone.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9078 or bpratte@pe.com