Witty ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ Could Use a Tuck
Imagination Station’s tweaked version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” about a vain monarch at the mercy of a pair of phony tailors, is witty and unexpected. Adapted by Emily Dodi, it includes a refreshingly different ending that involves, let us just say, an airy new fashion and light pastries.
The show needs a bit of tailoring itself, however, to reach its full comic potential.
Jake Eberle, who also directs, is a kick as the vastly vain emperor, posturing before his mirror in outfit after outfit (the costumes are uncredited, but the company did a terrific job with a limited budget). He only remembers he’s married when he recalls the white waistcoat he wore at the wedding.
Eberle’s understated comic timing is a pleasure, scoring laughs in exchanges like this with his advisor Bartleby (Jeffrey Johnson): “Do you like this cape? You don’t think that it makes me look . . . hippy?”
It’s no stretch to believe that this emperor would give a king’s ransom for a wardrobe made of gold, silver and diamonds that only wise people can see. Or that he would eagerly accept favorable reports on the tailors’ progress from the so obviously foolish Archduchess (Jennifer Brandt) and Marquis (Johnson again).
The emperor’s unexpected equanimity in the show’s surprise wrap-up is a hoot as well. And Eberle scores high marks for expert physical business. His horsemanship--on a stick hobbyhorse--is prime pantomime, and it’s a treat to watch the well-choreographed scene where he and Johnson are out for a gallop.
As director, though, Eberle has some wrinkles to iron out. As in the company’s last fractured fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” there’s an overuse of blackouts between scenes that, though short in duration, allow momentum to flag and often flatten a genuinely comic moment.
The insertion of a happy-time TV news reporter to cover the action is funny, but ebullient Brandt, who plays reporter Rula Thumb with the right touch of emoting self-promotion, underestimates the playhouse’s excellent acoustics. She over-projects and loses clarity, something that her pre-show introductory remarks suffer from, too.
The pseudo-tailors are the weakest link--in the writing, the direction and the fuzzy portrayals by Jesse Mackey and Pamela Stollings.
From the start, they reveal their knavery so clearly in front of the emperor that it’s impossible to believe he would miss it, however self-absorbed. Where a few knowing glances or asides to the audience would suffice, Mackey dithers and Stollings’ character makes her fear and reluctance to follow through with the scam patently obvious.
Later, when the emperor dons his new invisible “clothes,” Stollings falls on the floor laughing and Eberle is hard put to look as if he doesn’t notice the ridicule. It’s premature and confusing, since a few moments later, it’s the tailors who, disguised as peasants, broadcast the obvious truth: that he’s wearing no clothes (though he does have on undershirt, boxers and black socks).
Mackey and Stollings do a lackadaisical job, too, in miming their supposed tailoring. They need the crisp believability that Johnson demonstrates in the show opener, in his mimed performance as the real royal tailor who quits due to overwork.
This company’s work shows intelligence, imagination--it’s aptly named--a quirky sense of fun and a growing sense of itself; now it’s time to tighten the nuts and bolts.
* “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Miles Memorial Playhouse, Reed Park, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. through May 28. $6-$8. (310) 854-4196. Running time: 1 hour.
A Hunting We Will Go: Here’s something a little different from the usual “Peter and the Wolf” narrative performance: The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, with music director Jeffrey Kahane, will present the Stravinsky classic in concert with the national Magic Circle Mime Company to act out the tale. The lighthearted performance finishes up the orchestra’s Family Concert Series at the Alex Theatre.
* “Peter and the Wolf,” Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, Sunday, 2 p.m. $20-$30 adults; $10-$15 for under age 16. (213) 622-7001, Ext. 215.