CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : Laguna Troupe Gives ‘The Blue Bird’ Major Revival

“Surely,” sniffs young Tyltyl, a central figure in Maurice Maeterlinck’s “The Blue Bird,” “I can find a better place than this.”

Proving that human nature hasn’t changed much in 82 years, Maeterlinck’s classic children’s play reminds audiences young and old that the search for real happiness often ends in our own back yard. “The Blue Bird,” which premiered in Moscow in 1908, is enjoying a major revival by the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre. The show closes this weekend at the Moulton Theatre.

Staged by Youth Theatre director Scott Davidson, this “Blue Bird” offers an enchanting mix of fairy tale imagery and theatrical magic. Davidson and assistant director Joe Lauderdale have used a soft touch in their adaptation of the original script, occasionally lightening Maeterlinck’s rich dialogue with contemporary language in a bid to make the tale more accessible to ‘90s audiences.

Set in the early 1800s, “Blue Bird” introduces us to Tyltyl and Myltyl, the son and daughter of a humble Russian woodcutter. Sick of the usual borscht, books and chores, Tyltyl is easy prey for the fairy Berylune, who sends the pair off on a midnight jaunt to capture the bluebird of happiness.

With the help of their tour guide, Light, the children visit the Land of Memory, the Lair of Nature, the Palace of Luxuries (Tyltyl’s personal favorite) and the Kingdom of the Future in search of the bluebird, gathering insights about human nature along the way. The bluebird--at least the one they originally set out to find--eludes them, but they return home to find another kind of happiness and beauty waiting on their doorstep.

“Blue Bird” is one of the best-known works of Maeterlinck, a Dutch dramatist, poet and naturalist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911. After its Moscow premiere, the play was translated into English and ran for nearly a year at London’s Haymarket. It debuted in the United States in 1910 and in Paris the following year but has since appeared infrequently on American stages. Film versions have included an early French adaptation, and in the late 1930s, an American extravaganza featuring child star Shirley Temple.

Audiences have come to expect imaginative staging and technical excellence from this award-winning children’s troupe, and their revival of “Blue Bird” is no disappointment. Davidson’s open staging, enhanced by Jacquie Moffet’s understated sets and Gail Lehtinen’s fanciful costumes, create a magical environment where virtually anything can--and does--happen. A little black light, a little music and--poof!--the family pets stand on all twos and pass the time of the day with their masters. The strobe lights flicker, a key is turned, and--bingo!--all of man’s dreams, represented by a chorus of 16 youths in silvery bodysuits, burst across the stage in a high-stepping dance routine.

Davidson’s 25-member cast, which ranges in age from 11 to adult, is not overshadowed by all this theatrical wizardry. Lyndie Robbins, one of the five adults in the show, does a fine job as Mama/Grandma and is delightfully, well, earthy, as Mother Earth. Jackline Vincent as Berylune, however, could use a little of Robbins’ fire.

Fourteen-year-old Brad Bredeweg and 12-year-old Katy Killackey get a workout in the central roles of Tyltyl and Myltyl, but both turned in admirable performances, weathering the bizarre twists and turns of their journey with a balanced mix of cockiness and wonder. Swathed in glittery mesh, 15-year-old Danielle McDermott as Light has some of the gentle magic of Glenda, the Good Witch in “The Wizard of Oz.” And Richard Stauffacher, 17, and Kari Geller, 18, provide plenty of laughs as Tylo and Tylette, the spatting dog and cat who travel along with the children.

‘THE BLUE BIRD’

A Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre production of Maurice Maeterlinck’s children’s play, adapted by Scott Davidson and Joe Lauderdale. Directed by Scott Davidson. Runs two hours, one intermission. With Brad Bredeweg, Katy Killackey, Lyndie Robbins, David Earley, Kari Geller, Richard Stauffacher, Jackline Vincent, Danielle McDermott, Kimberly Anne Timlege and Craig Hammill. Choreography by Katy Realista. Sets by Jacquie Moffet. Costumes by Gail Lehtinen. Lighting and sound by Cosmo Pterodactyl. Makeup by Joe Lauderdale. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Moulton Theatre, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Tickets: $5 to $8. Call (714) 494-0743 or 494-8021.