‘Mermaid’ Hits Some Rough Seas

Sensitive writing, inadvertent comedy, varying performance levels, graceful and awkward movement--Serendipity Theatre Co.’s staging of “A Little Mermaid” at the Burbank Little Theater is uneven to be sure, and a little more polish would go a long way toward making this thoughtful production something special.

As adapter-director Denys Gawronski notes in the program, this is not the cheery Disney version of “Mermaid.” Although it contains some intentional comedy, the play admirably adheres more closely to the Hans Christian Andersen classic, with its themes of sacrifice and sorrow.

This course leads to some unexpectedly lovely scenes--one with indispensable adult company member Sarah Lilly in motherly colloquy with her mermaid daughter, Pearl (Maura Murphy Barrosse). Lilly does a standout job with a bittersweet reminiscence about her doomed girlhood love for a human boy.

Barrosse rises to the occasion, too, in a tricky scene for a youth actor in which Pearl falls in love with the drowning prince (handsome Marcus Gualberto), clasping him to her and marveling at his beauty. It could have been wince-making, but excellent writing and Barrosse’s substantive reading make it a standout moment.

The other highlight is Lilly’s other role as the hissing, slithering Sea Witch who persuades Pearl to sacrifice her voice and her life for a chance at human love.

As the prince’s advisor Yorick, Michael Heatherton, the only other adult cast member, is at his best when allowed to give rein to his comic impulses; as Pearl’s father, the Sea King, Heatherton’s uncertainty with lines works against the character’s dignity--as did his accidental, thudding exit following a tender father-daughter scene at last Sunday’s performance.

Youth actors Ashley Hendra and Malaika Latimer are word-perfect but not dimensional and Denise Anderson’s “mer”-people costumes, with flipper feet, don’t help. Lilly fares best in her glittering, footless Sea Witch black, but flippers give the other actors a limited penguin gait, interrupting the play’s rhythm with labored, noisy and sometimes comic exits and entrances.

Young ensemble member Nicolas Cowan does a nice job with the simple ocean/wharf set and his evocative lights are excellent.

* Burbank Little Theatre, George Izay Park, 1100 W. Clark Ave., Burbank, Saturdays, 1 p.m.; Sundays, 1 and 4 p.m. Through May 4. $8 (ages 17 and under) and $14. (818) 557-0505.

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Pulling Strings: Shadow puppets, sock puppets, hand puppets, marionettes--see ‘em or make ‘em at the Los Angeles Puppet Guild’s annual “A Day of Puppetry,” an all-day workshop and performance event for professionals, teachers, hobbyists, kids and anyone else interested in marionette magic, on the campus of Monrovia’s First Lutheran Church on April 19.

Aimed at adults and young people ages 7 to 18, the event features such professional puppet masters as Bob Baker, Jim Gamble, Alan Cook and many more leading 20 workshops in design, costuming, staging, sound editing and performance technique for levels from beginning to advanced.

Professional performances spotlight Rene & His Artists and comedy ventriloquist Randel McGee & Groark.

* “A Day of Puppetry,” First Lutheran Church, 1323 S. Magnolia Blvd., Monrovia, April 19, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Full-day registration is $20-$30 ($15-$25 before Monday). A special child’s fee of $7.50 includes one child’s workshop and performance after noon. For anyone attending only the last performance, $5. To register, call (818) 577-6827 or write to Day of Puppetry, 414 Castano Ave., Pasadena CA 92209.

Passover Crafts: My Jewish Discovery Place Children’s Museum is offering a “Passover Family Workshop,” on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring such crafts as Passover hand-washing towels, matzo covers, creating a family haggada and sampling various kinds of charoset from different countries. 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., $8 for museum families; $10 for non-museum families. Reservations: (213) 857-0035, Ext. 2257.

Eco-Art: See how students at Crossroads and St. Monica’s High School in Santa Monica tackle global issues in “Eco-Logical--Santa Monica Students Celebrate the Environment,” now at Santa Monica Place’s Community Focus Gallery. This exhibition of collaborative and individual original artworks--masks, murals, paintings, collage--explores the relationship between man and nature. A special reception will be held April 17, from 6 to 8 p.m.; the exhibition, which opened Tuesday, runs through June 30.

* Third Street Entrance, Santa Monica Place, between 2nd and 4th streets. (310) 394-5451.