‘Wardrobe’ Pays Tribute to Cirque

A director’s vision illuminates the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theater’s unusual production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” with elegance and sophistication.

The opening scenes are stunning by any measure, as director Joe Lauderdale pays tribute to his inspiration, Canada’s remarkable Cirque du Soleil.

Through an oversized, sensuously curved wardrobe set against closed curtains, androgynous figures in hooded bodysuits and delicate, expressionless white masks make their entrance. They move fluidly to haunting New Age music, lit by shifting darks, whites and muted colors.

The otherworldly feel of the odd dance--smoothly choreographed by Sara Lepere--continues as the actors take ruffs and draperies, jackets and skirts from the wardrobe. Dressed, they turn away from the audience and then turn back, masks gone, to reveal faces striped with paint or wearing animal snouts. They regard the audience for a few tense beats, then gracefully disappear into the wardrobe.

C. S. Lewis’ classic story about four children who fight the forces of evil to save the magical land of Narnia has begun.

Set designer Robert L. Smith offers the next stunner. His interpretation of the Narnian woods is no fairy-tale forest, but a post-apocalyptic tangle of chairs, ladders, pieces of picture frames and other wooden detritus; in the center is an archway made of wooden columns, some upright, some askew. The centerpiece revolves to change the scene. It’s terrific.

Yes, the play loses depth with the spoken dialogue. Few of the young actors (the cast is ages 10 to adult), though beautifully directed and word- and gesture-perfect, get beneath the surface of their speeches. Adult actor Tom Clark as the majestic Christ-like figure Aslan goes deeper, however, and dancer Sandra Winieski as the White Stag and the story’s symbol of hope, is a visual delight.

But Joseph Robinette’s adaptation is true to Lewis’ large vision of death, redemption and resurrection.

A minor slip is having the leonine Aslan lip-sync taped roars that make Clark look as if he has indigestion. A major slip is allowing adult actor Lisa Hale to portray the White Witch as a raving, bumbling cartoon. Hale gets laughs, but what is supposed to be an epic struggle between good and true evil is diminished.

Still, Lewis’ story, the set, the choreography, Lauderdale’s imaginative risk-taking, Dwight Richard Odle’s eye-catching costumes, R. Timothy Osborn’s dramatic lighting and the purity of David Edwards’ sound add up to a theater outing to remember.

Late word is, unfortunately, that only a few tickets remain.

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Moulton Theatre, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. through Sunday; $4-$6, (714) 494-8021. Running time: 2 1/2 hours.

Fairy-Tale Frolic: A blues-singing Papa Bear, a doo-wop chorus with big hair, Jack Frost in black leather: It’s “The Adventures of Goldilocks,” more fairytale funny business from the Golden State Children’s Theatre.

Written, scored, designed, and directed by Adriane Coros and Raun Yankovich, the show is tuneful and well-delivered. Choreography by Janet Miller with Thomas Hildebrand adds a sly wink.

The show debuted at the La Mirada Civic Theatre; it tours the Southland through April.

“The Adventures of Goldilocks.” Fontana Performing Arts Center, 9460 Sierra Ave., Saturday (2/22),2 p.m., $5; (714) 350-6734. UCLA Wadsworth Theatre, Westwood, March 8, 2 p.m.; $4-$6, (213) 271-6402. For children 4 and older only. Information: (213) 907-7856.