Monday, January 30, 2012
theater Théatre du Rêve inflates 'Red Balloon' for the stage
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 2:54 PM
- Theatre du Reve
- IT IS BALLOON! Thomas Shoup with the title character
The company’s remount of last year’s The Red Balloon may be Théãtre du Rêve’s ideal gateway show, and in fact seems to be designed that way. Adapted and directed by Park Cofield, The Red Balloon features narration and dialogue that alternates between English and French in a casual, unforced way, like the conversation you’d hear in a bilingual household.
If you took French class in school, you probably saw Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon, an award-winning film whose 34-minute running time no doubt rescued many a hungover teacher. Théãtre du Rêve’s stage version runs about twice as long but seems even less eventful as it follows young Pascal (Thomas Shoup) and his unlikely friendship with the title plaything.
Instead of viewing the play as the original story padded with street scenes and musical numbers, it’s more helpful to think of the story of Pascal and the balloon as a loose framing device for quaint snapshots of mid-century Parisian boulevards. The show opens with children playing with Hula-Hoops, jacks, paint-can romper stompers, and other toys from before the era of videogames. Seth Davis provides ideal café-style musical accompaniment on the organ and other instruments, while Roy Howington’s set seems to squeeze a full street corner into 7 Stage’s Back Stage Theatre. Fortunately, the production avoids clichés like mimes or 10-foot baguettes.
Current artistic director Park Krausen, in full gamine mode, narrates the story of Pascal’s loneliness and how an inexplicably sentient balloon befriends him. Dramatizing the balloon’s movements and personality can seem like an uphill struggle compared to the convenience of the movie’s visual effects. The balloon scenes work best with the miniature puppets, shown at a distance on rolling hillsides, rendered with considerable wit and personality.
On stage, The Red Balloon doesn’t have a ton of dramatic momentum to begin with, and it takes frequent breaks for songs and a dream scene. The latter features modest bits of animation as the fractions of math class take a life of their own, and the students use individual chalkboards under a black light to create pictures. Next to the magical finale, a found-object percussion number provides the show’s most stirring moment.
Despite its languid pace, The Red Balloon ably kept the attention of the children attending Sunday’s matinee. As a family-friendly mood piece, The Red Balloon expertly introduces its audience to that certain Parisian je ne sais quoi, and provides an effective transition from Madeline and Babar storybooks to Jacques Brel’s songs and Francois Truffaut’s movies.
The Red Balloon. Through Feb. 12. Théãtre du Rêve, 7 Stages Back Stage Space, 1105 Euclid Ave. 404-875-3829. www.theatredureve.com
Comments (1)
Showing 1-1 of 1
If you like red balloons or blimps, try my Gasbags site:
www.hybridblimp.net which is the worlds only lighter than air comedy web site.
like
dislike
Readers also liked…
-
Outwrite Bookstore's last tango 2
Today is the last day of business for the Midtown LGBT bookstore
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
5 things to do: Yann Tiersen, MondoHomo kicks off
-
Drawing dance at the Decatur Arts Festival
CORE, Beacon highlight dance offerings
-
Paul Luna isn't finished with PARKatlanta 1
Chef files another lawsuit claiming private parking-enforcement deal violates city's charter
- More »
More by Author
-
Jason Segel plays another slacker stoner in quirky Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Duplass brothers new comedy has trouble convincing itself
-
Game on
Promoter/producer Jason Michael Paul champions video game concerts with Legend of Zelda
- More »
