‘Pictures’ Paints a Spin on Reality

Writer Andrew Ramer has described his book “Little Pictures” as a series of modern fairy tales--”stories that describe our real reality,” as he puts it.

Now Ramer’s vision of reality has been given a fascinating spin by director Chris Beach, whose “Little Pictures” at Los Angeles Theatre Center’s Theater 2 uses movement, monologue, music and even puppets to tell a couple dozen deeply resonant tales.

While the weaker vignettes have a spacey, gee-whiz quality, others tap into the same psychological well explored by master storytellers from the Grimm Brothers to Shel Silverstein. There are beautifully written, deceptively simple parables about a girl who grows cookies in the palm of her hands, a boy who is half-human and half-bed, and a poet whose muse comes in the form of two little blue men.

Underscoring the universal themes, the seven cast members seem chosen for their diversity of ethnicities, presence and even body type, as well as their considerable talents. With choreographer Ming Ng artfully guiding their movement through Ramer’s rich imagination, “Little Pictures” gathers the mesmerizing power of a dream.

* “Little Pictures,” Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theater 2, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. Ends Saturday. $14. (213) 485-1681. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.