Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The stilted circus and dance adaptation of THE LITTLE PRINCE lands on Broadway with a thud

• By drediman
• April 12, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, the circus and dance adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved novella The Little Prince landed at the Broadway Theatre with a thud. The production – which originated in Paris and subsequently toured internationally – has been directed and choreographed by Anne Tournié, and the adaptation and co-direction has been credited to Chris Mouron (who also stars in the show as its singing narrator). The production also features a significant amount of music by English composer Terry Truck.

The concept for the family-friendly show is enticing, inspired even. Indeed, the surreal and episodic nature of the fantastical intergalactic adventures of an ageless prince seems ripe for musical and movement-based forms of expression. In execution, however, this bizarrely stilted stage version of The Little Prince – which has been given a pseudo-steampunk, pseudo “Alice in Wonderland” look – squanders its considerable potential, only very rarely offering up novel surprises. In its attempts to be fancifully and whimsically aloof, the storytelling suffers, coming across awkwardly and clunkily, not in least part due to Ms. Mouron’s bewilderingly stiff performance. Additionally, Ms. Tournié choreography registers as a knock-off of the kind of contemporary dance you’d see at The Joyce, and her circus acts become repetitive very quickly. Perhaps the most accomplished aspect of the production are Mr. Truck’s artful but lulling cabaret-like songs by Mr. Truck, which are put over dreamily by Ms. Mouron. But even the score has been compromised by using recorded instead of live musical accompaniment.

The most obvious comparison for such a spectacle are the productions of Cirque du Soleil. But even the spectacle is underwhelming – the parade of production numbers are performed without much personality and invariably amount to very little. There’s also an over-reliance on choppy, amateurish video projections that makes the show seem hastily and under-designed. To say the least, The Little Prince lacks the variety and cohesion of even the least of the shows produced by the Montreal-based entertainment behemoth. In summary, the production at the Broadway is something that you’d more likely expect making a weekend stop at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theatre rather than sitting down on the Great White Way for months on end.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

THE LITTLE PRINCE
Broadway, Theater
Broadway Theatre
1 hour, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Through August 14