This songbird never takes wing
There’s no reason a theater company can’t take liberties with a classic fairy tale, add some laughs and zingers. It happens all the time.
But at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, a lamentably shallow script sinks the message of redemption in “The Enchanted Nightingale,” based on Hans Christian Andersen’s bittersweet tale about a greedy emperor humbled by a little songbird.
Expectations are high at first sight of set designer Sherry Santillano’s pretty, well-crafted representation of a palace treasure room, miniature wooden bridge and garden in some long-ago China. Sensitive lighting by Mike Jespersen adds to the dignity of the scene, and a professional adult cast, dressed in Lou Carranza’s sumptuous period costumes, waits in the wings.
Yet it’s soon apparent that co-writers Lori Marshall and Joseph Leo Bwarie, who directs, offer no transport to a fairy-tale past.
The sulky emperor (West Liang) finds credit card offers and bills in his mail. His gardener, Mrs. Wu (Emily Kuroda), with a wink-wink to the audience, “coins” such terms as “Healthy Choice” and “Lean Cuisine.” References to smelly feet and smelly burps pander for cheap laughs. And as Major Mi, talented comic actor Simon Yin pumps out glib one-liners and breaks into snippets of pop songs.
Not so enchanting. Only graceful Kathleen Chen, as both Cook and Princess Jade, and a gliding tai chi group exercise convey the magic that might have been. As a team, Marshall and Bwarie have a better track record than this.
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‘The Enchanted Nightingale’
Where: Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank
When: 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. Sundays; ends Nov. 4
Cost: $12 (12 and younger) and $15
Info: (818) 955-8101 or www.falcontheatre.com
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