Discovering a Wonderful World of Water Puppetry

Fire-breathing dragons, comical fishermen, graceful dancers, pagodas, turtles, horsemen in battle: The charming and funny Vietnamese Water Puppets, making a tour stop at UCLA’s Sunset Canyon Amphitheatre this weekend, are a rare family treat.

Thanks to the touring Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe of Hanoi, Western audiences are being introduced to this once-secretive, ancient art of water puppetry, born in the rice paddies of Vietnam in the 11th century.

Accessible to all ages, the exotic show, performed in a pool of water, transports audiences to a miniature water world in which 3-foot-tall, brightly lacquered fig wood puppets perform scenes of heroism, magic and comic everyday life.

As the puppets dance, swim, dive and glide over the surface, they are accompanied by a vividly costumed ensemble of musicians and singers, who perform in traditional, folk opera Cheo-style, punctuating the puppets’ movements with songs and poetry and the sounds of drums, wood and bamboo xylophones, gongs, horns and shells.

The 12 puppeteers, concealed from the audience and submerged waist-deep in the water, manipulate their colorful wooden actors at the end of bamboo rods.

“They were a big success with us,” said John Rockwell, director of the Lincoln Center Festival, which presented the company last summer, “both for people who were interested in exotic art forms and for kids.

“It’s a series of little vignettes--planting the rice fields, celebrating the flower festival, a dragon attacking two lovers in a boat. The puppets seem to sort of poke up from the water and dance, or if they’re sea turtles or fish or sea gods, they go in and out of the water. And then they sometimes shoot off fire or blow out streamers. It’s a very charming show.”

* “The Vietnamese Water Puppets,” UCLA Sunset Canyon Amphitheatre, UCLA campus; enter at intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Bellagio Avenue, Westwood, Saturday, 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., $20 (half-price for ages 16 and under for 2 p.m. Saturday show).

A Reptilian Romp: There’s nothing exotic about Serendipity Theatre Co.’s production of “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” but the gentle, comic appeal of this respectful adaptation of Bernard Waber’s children’s classic makes it an entertaining outing for the younger set.

Adapted and directed by Denys Gawronski and featuring a mostly adult cast, the show about the nice reptile who becomes part of an upscale New York family is charmingly narrated by Nic Cowan as Lyle’s former show-biz partner, Hector P. Valenti.

Lyle (Michael Heatherton), whose housekeeping and cooking talents wow Mr. and Mrs. Primm (Grainger Esch and Summer Mahoney), becomes best friends with Josh Primm (Jay Sobel, the only child actor in the cast) and even charms the neighborhood gossip, Edna Nitpicker (Poppy Champlin).

Old Mr. Grumps (Ross Strauss) isn’t so easily won over, though, and Lyle ends up at the city zoo with a couple of tough crocodile roommates (Champlin and Strauss again) until fate intervenes and Lyle is welcomed home with open arms by all and sundry.

Aimed at a very young audience, about age 4 and up, the show moves along with cheerful energy, although Strauss’ pauses as he speaks in his Mr. Grumps persona--a sort of Woody Allen-Jerry Lewis combo--stretch a beat or two too long at times. The highlight is an “impromptu” musical interlude during a pajama sale at Grumps’ department store, sung to the tune of “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?” It’s so delightful, it seems a shame there are no other musical numbers in the show.

Costumes by Denis Anderson are fine, although Lyle might be more croc-like with a snout; Cowan’s serviceable set pays homage to the book’s classic illustrations.

* “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” Burbank Little Theatre, George Izay Park, 1100 W. Clark St., Saturdays, 1 p.m.; Sundays, 1 and 4 p.m., through Oct. 26. $6 per child; $12 per adult. (818) 557-0505.

Youthful Perspectives: Children’s photography of family members, neighborhoods and community are on display in “Our Neighborhood Through Our Eyes,” a special exhibition presented by the Japanese American National Museum in collaboration with the Villa Esperanza Community Center, opening Friday at Barnsdall Art Park, Junior Arts Center, Children’s Gallery, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., through Nov. 14. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. (213) 485-4474.