Sunday, October 05, 2008
A+E, Theater, Reviews

Magic ‘Prince’

Say hello to 7 Stages’ little friend

Abby Gaskins
Portia Cue and Erin Weller in “The Little Prince”

THE LITTLE PRINCE
7 Stages
404-523-7647
www.7stages.org
Through Oct. 26

BY BERT OSBORNE

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. That sounds like something you’d hear in “The Little Prince,” the fabled children’s book by Antoine de Saint Exupery, in which the title character often speaks in truisms: “What is essential is invisible to the eye,” “It’s only with the heart that one sees rightly,” etc. The play (adapted by Rick Commins and John Schoullar) might seem a conventional offering at any other theater in town—which is exactly what makes it so unconventional coming from 7 Stages, where such family-friendly shows are practically unheard of.
 
At the risk of being labeled a “grown-up”—a bad word to the Little Prince, because they “always need to have things explained to them”—when the usual alternative is the company’s penchant for head-scratching avant-garde fare (“In the Solitude of Cotton Fields,” “Skinwalkers”), you learn to stop and smell the roses on those rare occasions when they opt for relative realism (“A Song for Coretta,” “Boston Marriage”). Or, in the case of “The Little Prince,” simple surrealism.
 
After an aviator (and frustrated artist) crash-lands in the Sahara, he wonders if he’s hallucinating when he meets the Little Prince, a yellow-haired sprite who regales him with fanciful tales about interplanetary travel and the mysteries of the universe (learning lessons in the process about making friends and appreciating the unique beauty of even the most “common” flower). Against a backdrop of parachute fabric, the set consists of a single sand dune that, in keeping with the moral of the piece, leaves a lot to the imagination in terms of establishing the otherworldly scene.
 
Artistic director Del Hamilton’s production is frequently hypnotic nonetheless (with a nod to Jessica Coale’s lighting design). Of course, 7 Stages will be 7 Stages. The notion of casting black actress Portia Cue as the Little Prince initially feels like an indulgence or concession—another example of how the company relishes being different, sometimes just for the sake of being different. But Cue is so magical in the role that you’re left instead questioning why the theater didn’t go all the way with it (the program and posters still depict the character as a white kid).
 
There ought to be a greater sense of wonderment to John Benzinger’s portrayal of the pilot. Had he seen as many weird 7 Stages shows as the rest of us, he’d know how truly special "The Little Prince" really is. SP
 

DULY NOTED

 
Does this mean I should be including comedy clubs as part of my beat, or that sketchy improv shows qualify as “theater”? Go figure. “The Second City: Too Busy to Hate ... Too Hard to Commute,” a joint venture of our own Tony-winning Alliance Theatre and Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe, is a suitably hectic hodgepodge of silly skits (created by the cast, under the direction of Matt Hovde). Some are keenly observed and specific to Atlanta, others more random and beside the point. Some stop too short, others rattle too long. For every two routines that hit, another one misses. There’s obligatory audience participation, too, deftly handled by six gung-ho actors. That it isn’t bad improv, though, doesn’t mean it’s good “theater.” Through Oct. 26. 404-733-5000. www.alliancetheatre.org.
 
With an actual plot (however mundane), Stage Door Players’ “Don’t Dress for Dinner” is good old-fashioned theater—with an emphasis on “old-fashioned.” Despite their contemporary costumes, the stock characters in this British drawing-room farce may as well live at the turn of the last century, for all the contrived complications they get into covering up various romantic flings. When artistic director Robert Egizio doesn’t have them standing in a line reviewing the situation with a lot of redundant exposition, the show breezes along painlessly enough. Not every cast member is as consistent, but it’s hard to deny the spunky charm of leading man Bobby Labartino. Through Oct. 19. 770-396-1726. www.stagedoorplayers.net.