‘Gulliver’ Travels Fuzzy Path

“Gulliver’s Travels,” Little Broadway Productions’ musical touring schools and public auditoriums, is a good idea needing sharper focus.

Directed by Marilyn Weitz, the show is dominated by an enormous, eye-pleasing Gulliver puppet (designed by Barbara Poznik), seen full figure, then concealed save for the head and hands. Jim Kruph, who gives voice to Gulliver, also appears on stage wearing a huge Gulliver head.

Group vocals fare well, but the youthful cast isn’t forceful enough to avoid playing second fiddle to the puppet. Segments that should be standouts, such as the black-light scenes and an amusing Lilliputian political race, are not developed fully enough.

Jacqualine Mills-Lord did the pleasant choreography; Nancy Seale and Mark Monarch wrote the upbeat, sanitized adaptation.

“Gulliver’s Travels,” Los Angeles Valley College Theatre, 5800 Fulton Ave., Van Nuys, next Saturday, 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. $8. (818) 990-3232. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. Clown for All Seasons: Adults often forget that circus clowns and little children are not automatic soul mates--those big feet and garish smiles can strike abject fear in a toddler’s heart.

One adult who remembers is Charles Kraus, better known to thousands of young fans as Charles the Clown. Kraus has been clowning around for more than 20 years at birthday parties, in libraries, hospitals and other public venues.

His gentle approach--he starts out dressed like an everyday dad, then gradually dons his clown persona--has made him a local favorite. His recent performance video, produced by A&M;, has given him wider exposure.

“I didn’t start out as Charles the Clown,” Kraus said. “I was Charles the Magician when I was 5. By the time I was 12 (after TV appearances on shows such as Ted Mack’s “Original Amateur Hour,”), I was getting paid for it.”

Kraus, 45, the father of two, began adding clowning to his magic act in 1970. It was his wife Linda, an early childhood specialist, who “helped me gain the insight to write material that would work for young children. She let me know that a clown could be a very scary character to a little child, so I went out of my way to find a method to make the child feel comfortable.”

These days, Kraus works with a puppet named Honey Bear. “Honey and I meet the kids and do some silly stuff, then I talk about getting into costume and the kids talk about what it’s like when they wear costumes. Then I slowly put the costume on, and all kinds of silly things go wrong with it.”

With the audience’s help, “we solve the problems and eventually I’m a clown.” The show is done almost completely in comic rhyme.

Kraus also does drug abuse prevention shows and memory improvement lectures at the junior high level. Many of his hospital clown performances for seriously ill children are funded by the Starlight Foundation; his public performances are free. Kraus, now Seattle-based, makes frequent Southern California appearances:

Today: noon, Panorama City Library.

Monday: 7 p.m., Peck Park, San Pedro.

Tuesday: 6:30 p.m., Fairfax Library and 8 p.m., Hoover Recreation Center.

Wednesday: 3:30 p.m., Mar Vista Library and 7 p.m., Hawthorne Library.

Thursday: 12:15 p.m., Sepulveda Recreation Center, Panorama City and 3:30, 4:10, 4:50 p.m., Hollywood Sunset Community Clinic.

Friday: 10 a.m., Valley Plaza Recreation Center, North Hollywood and 7 p.m., Vineyard Recreation Center.

Next Saturday: noon, Woodland Hills Library. Information: (213) 285-3264.

Holiday Theater Sampler:

* “Alias Santa Claus,” Santa Monica Playhouse, (310) 394-9779, Ext. 2.

* “Goldilocks and the Christmas Bear” Anaheim Cultural Arts Center, (714) 758-8393.

* “Make a Wish,” Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, (213) 250-9995.

* “The Perfect Gift,” American Renegade Theatre, North Hollywood, (818) 763-4430.

* “The Snow Child,” Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., (213) 652-9199.

* “Winnie the Pooh,” Vineyard, Anaheim, (714) 692-8102.