Royalty comes to the SCR stage

TOM TITUS

Shortly before he lost his life in a plane crash, French author

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote a fanciful story of a pilot whose

craft was downed in the Sahara Desert, but to whom fate was a great

deal kinder.

That story, “The Little Prince,” has charmed readers and -- thanks

to the stage adaptation by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar --

theatergoers for six decades. Currently it’s intriguing youngsters

and oldsters alike at South Coast Repertory.

As the second of three productions in the Theater for Young

Audiences program, “The Little Prince” is a colorful and fanciful

tale, blending harsh reality with delicious fantasy. Director Anne

Justine D’Zmura enriches her show with a sense of eternal optimism

despite the longest of odds.

As the stranded aviator who narrates and experiences the story,

Preston Maybank delivers a realistically articulate interpretation,

gradually bending to the more fantasy-oriented lessons of his

newfound companion, a precocious boy from another planet, also

stranded in an alien world.

The “little prince” is actually a princess. Jessica Goldapple dons

a unisex wig and becomes quite convincing in her boyish character.

Dispensing wisdom beyond her years, mixed with giggling youthfulness,

Goldapple successfully charms both the pilot and her audience.

There are three other actors in the show, playing multiple roles.

Most impressive is Sharmila Devar, who enacts both a seductive flower

and a poisonous snake. Her balletic moves are right on target.

Louis Lotorto excels in an extended cameo role as a high-strung

fox wishing to be “tamed.” Christopher Gerson provides a series of

comical background characters.

Donna Marquet’s desert setting is nicely broken by a portion of

the propeller-driven plane that refuses to fly. The colorful costumes

of Angela Balogh Calin contrast with the somber situation,

particularly Devar’s rose and snake attire.

South Coast Repertory is reaching out to the community with this

youth production, hosting 3,600 students from elementary schools in

the Santa Ana Unified School District for free weekday matinees of

“The Little Prince.” For many, it will be an impressive introduction

to the world of theater.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.