Art Imitates Life in Play About Tiny Bird’s Effect on Fate of China’s Empire

The leadership of China has lost touch with its people. Disaster looms. Salvation may rest on the actions of an insignificant individual.

Yesterday’s newspaper headlines? Yes, but it’s also the plot of “The Nightingale,” a century-old tale by Hans Christian Andersen that has been adapted for a children’s production this weekend by the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre.

Based on the Andersen story of the same name, the Youth Theatre’s production of “The Nightingale” was written by Rita Grossberg and John Urquhart and will be directed by Katy Realista and Scott Davidson.

“We’ve been planning this for more than a year, but with all that’s going on lately (in China), the parallels are really quite remarkable,” marketing director Brian Murphy said.

“The leadership has been very greedy,” he said, “and the emperor needs to see beyond that because he is making the people and himself unhappy.”

In the one-hour play, targeted for a very young audience, a young servant tries to bring happiness to the empress, who learns about joy from the servant’s gift, a nightingale.

The fate of the emperor and his country may be turned by a plain little bird, a metaphor that could be applied to the dramatic photos from Beijing of a solitary protester who brought a Chinese army’s tanks to a halt in the middle of the street.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun with it in the rehearsals,” Murphy said. “We are quite excited about it.”

Seven children will perform in the production patterned after the Peking Opera acting style, in which characters and props remain on stage throughout the play but fade from focus when not involved in the drama.

Sets were designed by Scot Bennett, dances choreographed by Katy Realista and costumes created by Richard Odle. Saturday’s performance will be signed for playgoers with impaired hearing.

“The Nightingale” will be presented tonight (Friday) at 7, Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at noon and 3 p.m.. Tickets, at $3 for children under 13 and $5 for adults, can be bought at the theater, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Information: (714) 494-8021.