Laurisse Sulty (The Rose) and Lionel Zalachas (The Little
Prince)
Photos: Joan Marcus
The Little
Prince
By Deirdre Donovan
Great love and labor have clearly gone into the new stage
production of The Little Prince at the
Broadway Theatre. Produced by the Broadway Entertainment
Group, and directed and choreographed by Anne Tournié, with
a libretto by co-director Chris Mouron and original music by Terry Truck,
it is based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s immortal novella.
This adaptation is true to Saint-Exupèry’s fable. But rather
than being language-driven, it retools the French children’s story as
a theatrical spectacle, drawing on dance, aerial acrobatics, and
cutting-edge video mapping technology. the simplicity of
the language gets lost in the pyrotechnics of the show.
The result? It’s an epic theatrical event that immerses
the audience in a visually stunning display of
circus artistry. Yes, it offers some breath-taking
moments. But for those yearning to experience
the charming classic with its bevy of unforgettable personages with
their peculiar—and sometimes profound—world views, this show is
likely to be disappointing.
Pictured: The company of The Little Prince
Photo: Joan Marcus
Yes, there are strong arguments for dramatizing the 1943
masterpiece. One is that the classic shouldn’t
be relegated to the library shelf, collecting dust and edifying no
one. And by the bye, it may be worth mentioning here that
Saint-Exupéry’s original manuscript has been in the Morgan Library &
Museum’s collection for decades. Indeed, it’s a fitting
place for it, considering that the exiled French author
wrote, illustrated, and published The Little Prince betwixt and
between Long Island and Manhattan.
The other argument for staging The Little Prince is that
many people are familiar with its famous quote (“It is only with the heart
that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the
eye.”) but have no idea of its relation to the whole narrative. Take or
leave the above arguments, it’s quite likely that Tournié, and her
two accomplices, Mouron and Truck, pondered such things before tackling
their ambitious project.
That said, the basic problem with staging The Little
Prince comes down to the difference between drama and
fiction. And, put in a nutshell, drama is seen in a limited
time-frame and deals with the essence of a work; and fictive work
is read at one’s leisure, with ample time to follow the work’s subplots
and diversions.
So how can Tournié’s page-to-stage venture, which clocks in at just
under two hours, and cross-fertilizes the genres of dance, drama,
aerial acrobatics, and video mapping, possibly deliver a satisfying
theatrical experience? The answer is--it can’t. There is
just too much to digest in one sitting. For no sooner does
a character come on stage and we get a sense of what he (or she) is
about, that they vanish into the wings to allow for the
next character to enter.
And that’s not all. Dancers appear out of the blue—and do their
intricate steps. But when they are dressed in wooly sheep
clothes (costume design by Peggy Housset) in the “Draw Me a Sheep”
vignette in Act 1, they tend to lose their verve and grace. Then there’s
the aerial acrobats, executing impressive routines from every angle
of the physical stage. Yet their artistry seldom
complements the unspooling story. And the video mapping, which
covers the entire stage floor and backdrop, tends to over-amplify whatever
is happening on stage.
To the production’s credit, there is much attention given to the
importance of the ecological maintenance of a
planet. In fact, the Little Prince could be the poster boy for
Earth Day, with his diligence for uprooting and separating the
baobabs seedlings from the rosebushes.
But, by and large, the production’s razzle-dazzle is way overdone and all
but eclipses the crucial episodes of the story. To wit: the
aviator’s (Aurélien Bednarek) crash landing in the desert and his
meeting—and eventual befriending--of the Little Prince (Lionel
Zalachas) is given short-shrift; and the Little Prince’s lonely
planet-hopping through the universe and his deep love for the Rose
(Laurisse Sulty) isn’t adequately delineated with the Cirque du Soleil-ish
activity going on and on. Even the Narrator (Chris Mouron)
fails to meet the dramatic moment here, as she is dwarfed by all the
special effects detonating around her.
Whether you have read Saint-Exupéry’s book or not, it’s almost impossible
to know what’s happening at any given point in this overstuffed
entertainment. That is, until the curtain call arrives, and the
aviator flies out over the audience in a spectacular display
of showmanship. It’s the singular WOW of the immersive
theatrical event—and it comes too late.
Indeed, the acting, the dancing, the production values, the video
projections, the special effects, are all polished as can be in this
new stage adaptation of The Little Prince. Too bad that
the simplicity of the language gets lost in the pyrotechnics of the
show.
So how can Tournié’s page-to-stage venture, which clocks in at just under
two hours, and cross-fertilizes the genres of dance, drama, aerial
acrobatics, and video mapping, possibly deliver a satisfying
theatrical experience? The answer is--it
can’t. There is just too much to digest in one
sitting. For no sooner does a character come on stage and we
get a sense of what he (or she) is about, that they vanish into the
wings to allow for the next character to enter.
And that’s not all. Dancers appear out of the blue—and do their
intricate steps. But when they are dressed in wooly sheep
clothes (costume design by Peggy Housset) in the “Draw Me a Sheep”
vignette in Act 1, they tend to lose their verve and grace. Then there’s
the aerial acrobats, executing impressive routines from every angle
of the physical stage. Yet their artistry seldom
complements the unspooling story. And the video mapping, which
covers the entire stage floor and backdrop, tends to
over-amplify whatever is happening on stage.
To the production’s credit, there is much attention given to the
importance of the ecological maintenance of a
planet. In fact, the Little Prince could be the poster boy for
Earth Day, with his diligence for uprooting and separating the
baobabs seedlings from the rosebushes.
But, by and large, the production’s razzle-dazzle is way overdone and all
but eclipses the crucial episodes of the story. To wit: the
aviator’s (Aurélien Bednarek) crash landing in the desert and his
meeting—and eventual befriending--of the Little Prince (Lionel
Zalachas) is given short-shrift; and the Little Prince’s lonely
planet-hopping through the universe and his deep love for the Rose
(Laurisse Sulty) isn’t adequately delineated with the Cirque du
Soleil-ish activity going on and on. Even the Narrator (Chris
Mouron) fails to meet the dramatic moment here, as she is dwarfed by
all the special effects detonating around her.
Whether you have read Saint-Exupéry’s book or not, it’s almost impossible
to know what’s happening at any given point in this overstuffed
entertainment. That is, until the curtain call arrives, and the
aviator flies out over the audience in a spectacular display
of showmanship. It’s the singular WOW of the immersive
theatrical event—and it comes too late.
Indeed, the acting, the dancing, the production values, the video
projections, the special effects, are all polished as can be in this
new stage adaptation of The Little Prince. Too bad that
the simplicity of the language gets lost in the pyrotechnics of the
show.
At the Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway (at 53rd Street), Midtown
West.
Opened April 11th; closing August 14th, 2022.
For more information, visit www.TheLittlePrinceBroadway.com or by calling 866-302-0995.
Running time: 1 hour; 50 minutes including intermission.
