The New Victory opened their 2011-2012 season last weekend with an innovative adaption of the beloved story, “The Little Prince” by Amtoine de Saint-Exupery. This seventy year old story has been stretched into an hour long production at the New Vic using Bunraku Puppetry. Forget what you know about puppetry- the unique art form of Bunraku originates from Japan in the 1600’s and includes large puppets (from 2-4 feet) and the visible puppeteers can be just as active as the puppets. The dual onstage action is mesmerizing and engaging to watch as the story unfolds.
The play opens with a pilot crashing in the Sahara Desert. A thousand miles from civilization, the stranded meets the Little Prince, a boy who seems to have come from nowhere, and strangely demands that he draw a sheep. “When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey,” says the pilot who attempts to draw a sheep.
Gradually the Little Prince reveals his story that is the magic of this compact play. He comes from a small asteroid, where he lives alone until a rose grows there. But the rose is demanding, and he is confused by his feelings about her. Eventually he decides to leave, and journey to other planets in search of knowledge. After meeting many confusing adults, he eventually lands on Earth, where he befriends a snake and a fox. The fox helps him to understand the rose, and the snake offers to help him return to his planet — but at a price.
The intimate set consists of a desert with a circular screen behind it that changes from a starlit sky to a planet to a backdrop for stark shadow shows. The carefully constructed puppets keep the play close to the illustrative style of the book and their large size is appealing to kids. The puppets have a quirky muppetlike appearance and not surprisingly, they were built by Monkey Boys Productions of Sesame Street, Avenue Q and Little Shop of Horrors fame.
While both hauntingly beautiful and thoughtful, this children’s adapted play (and the book) really isn’t for kids as young as the recommended audience age of six years old. The creators, Rick Cummins and John Scoullar, have done a fantastic job to make it feel like kids’ theatre with the play’s size, brevity, and whimsical set, but its sensitive teachings and nostalgia for childhood appeal more to teens and adults. Kids ages 8 and up are probably a better age for this thoughtful production.
“The Little Prince” is the story of a child whose innocence carries the wisdom of many years beyond his age and million galaxies yonder. It is the story of a boy who sets out on an unknown adventure in search of, of all things, a sheep. Yes, a sheep: so that it could eat away little baobabs before they grew too big and discover elephant-eating boa constrictors. A little complicated for even grown ups!
Little nuggets of wisdom are delivered in an appealing offhanded fashion. We learn that one can love a rose and not be made fun of, because in this truth the object of love is not important – what matters is that there is love. Deep stuff for six year olds!
As a mother wanting to raise both a self-actualized and thoughtful daughter, I set out to ponder on the question that Saint Exupery sets out at the end, “Look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Has the sheep eaten the flower, yes or no? And you will see how everything changes.”
To end, the greatest quality of the play is that it provides a context for families with older children to discuss the kindly philosophy of this play that I hope to one-day revisit with my daughter.
Details:
Performance Schedule
Sat 10/8 12pm, 5pm
Sun 10/9 12pm, 5pm*
Fri 10/14 7pm
Sat 10/15 12pm, 5pm#
Sun 10/16 12pm, 5pm
Ticket Information
Tickets for Cummins and Scoullar’s The Little Prince at The New Victory Theater (209 West 42nd Street) cost $25, $18, $12 and $9 for Members and $38, $28, $18 and $14 for Non-members based on seat locations.
Theater-goers who buy tickets for three or more New Vic shows qualify for free Membership benefits, including up to 35-percent savings.
On sale now for all shows of the 2011-2012 Season:
ONLINE at NewVictory.org
BY PHONE at 646-223-3010; Sunday – Wednesday, 11 am-5 pm; Thursday – Saturday, 11 am-7 pm
IN PERSON at The New Victory Theater Box Office (209 West 42nd Street); Sunday & Monday 11 am-5 pm; Tuesday-Saturday 12 pm-7 pm*indicates Talk-back following the performance. # indicates signed performances.