Although Antoine de Sainte-Exupery’s novella “The Little Prince” is one of the most well-known stories in the world, in its current form as a Broadway show it gets a new, modern look; and while most of the audience who will see it will have already known the story, they will find the performance itself unpredictable, which makes it thrilling to watch live.
The show, directed and choreographed by Anne Tournie, is built as vignettes, each one showing the prince (Lionel Zalachas) meeting various characters from the original story, and interacting with them, mostly through dance and incredible aerial acrobatics. As none of the characters have speaking roles, aside from the narrator, movement is their form of communication with one another and with the audience.
Although the characters are familiar to those who know the story, the manner in which the characters interact with the prince gives the story a deeper meaning and enables the audience to see it from a different, unique perspective. So, while the story may be familiar, you never know what is going to happen on stage. And the acrobatics just keep getting better and better with each scene culminating in a surprise at the very end of the show, after the curtain has already come down.
One of my favorite scenes (aside from the very end of the show) was of the prince dancing with the Rose (Laurisse Sulty), who was absolutely exquisite.
I also loved the gender-bending dance of the roses, performed almost exclusively by men, which seemed like a sort of homage to the “Waltz of the Flowers” from “The Nutcracker.”
The eclectic music by Terry Truck is also a “character” in the show and is eerie, magical and sometime whimsical.
As mentioned, the only person speaking in the show is the narrator, portrayed by renowned singer Chris Mouron, who is also librettist and co-director. Although she sings only two songs in the show, I would have loved to hear her sing more throughout the performance, as her voice was absolutely gorgeous and had depth and impressive range.
To sum up, the performance reflected the original story in a really cool way that kept me at the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next, and that, along with the acrobatics, was exciting to watch. In a world filled with remakes and retelling of stories, this was retelling of a story that was an absolute delight to see live on stage.
The Little Prince is playing at the Broadway Theater (1681 Broadway at 53rd St.) until August 14th. The show is just under two hours, plus an intermission. Recommended for ages five and up.
I was not compensated for this post. I received tickets to the performance. All opinion is my own.
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Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman is a PR consultant and freelance writer and has written for several blogs, including The Huffington Post. She has been living in the New York City area for over twenty years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree. Maytal is a mom to three kids, ages 15, 13 and 9.
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