Courtesy of WCT.
The beloved children’s classic The Little Prince is now 76 years old, but its themes are timeless: What it means to become friends, learn to love, suffer loss and ultimately move on. And for the Aviator, he rediscovered his “inner child” through this little man, this “little prince.”
The whimsically strange tale of the boy from another planet who fell to Earth by Antoine de Saint-Exupery was dramatized for the stage by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar. It recently landed at Waukesha Civic Theatre in a production that underscores its quiet grace with a Zen-like quality that perfectly captures the mood and sense of the stranded pilot in a desert with no one around. That is, until the Little Prince shows up.
Over the course of eight days, the two struck up a friendship, the younger sharing stories of his intergalactic adventures while the Aviator rediscovers his lost love—drawing. Turning into a grown-up and doing grown-up stuff can do that sometimes.
Directors Laura Hughes and Shannon Sloan-Spice have brought a thoughtful, focused perspective to this production, the large children’s ensemble moving in balletic unison amid the simple yet effective set pieces and rear-screen projections of the Aviator’s drawings. The main actors do a fine job, with the Little Prince played by three of the young actors, Olivia Vitrano, Azure Schroeder and Max Vitrano. As the lone “grown-up,” Brant Allen solidly handles the key role in animating the storyline to the Prince’s steady, gentle approach. And kudos to Bret Abel as a forlorn fox yearning to be tamed, as well as playing the puppet King. Puppet Master Michael Pettit’s life-sized creations are just plain fun to watch.
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The production’s main challenge on opening night was vocal projection at times, but as the production found its rhythm, it also found its voice. As that forlorn but wise fox tells the Prince: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
And as the Aviator looks for his friend, gone back to the stars, the Little Prince is right there with him—in spirit. Friends forever.
Through Sunday, Sept. 29, at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 W. Main St., Waukesha. A “sensory-friendly” performance will be performed on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m. For more information, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
