Theater Review

Tom Titus

The recipe for success in children’s theater contains only two main

ingredients: Get the youngsters involved in the show through interaction

and throw in a few chuckles for the older audience members.

Playwright Larry Shue took both admonitions to heart when he adapted

the classic tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” into a musical comedy for

young people, replacing the word “the” in the title with “my.”

The result is a most enjoyable exercise in fun and exaggerated frolic

at the Newport Theater Arts Center.

“My Emperor’s New Clothes” succeeds primarily because of the thick

slices of ham served up by a coterie of adult actors, tickling the kids

and nudging the grownups in the ribs.

Director Terri Miller Schmidt misses few opportunities for physical

comedy, and the veteran members of her cast respond with rampant

enthusiasm and unbridled slapstick -- recalling the likes of Laurel and

Hardy or, in the show’s more freewheeling moments, the Three Stooges.

With sprightly choreography furnished by Kerri Vickers and colorful

costumes pulled from the theater’s wardrobe or furnished by the actors,

“Emperor” is a visual as well as comic treat. And these wily veterans

will stop at nothing to induce a laugh -- up to and including popping a

grape into a local critic’s mouth.

It was tasty, as is the production. It’s a broadsword assault on the

legendary tale of a vain and foolish ruler who promises half the empire’s

treasury in exchange for a comfortable set of threads, and the other half

to anyone who can pull the wool over his eyes.

In the title role, Damien Lorton is a rotund riot, reveling in his

self-styled magnificence while steeped in insecurity. Adriana Sanchez

employs her considerable charm to hoke up the straighter role of the

princess, who pines for an eligible suitor with no prince in sight. She’s

kissed a lot of frogs just in case.

The show stealers, however, are a pair of goofy con men (Jack Millis

and John Gillies) who scheme to relieve the emperor of his treasury. Both

exert a full measure of comic villainy, with the clueless and cloddish

Gillies perfectly balancing the Harvey Kormanish larceny practiced by

Millis.

Darren Buckels as the empire’s one-man army and Dominic Passarrelli as

the wise kid who proves the fly in the plotters’ ointment contribute

solid support. Buckels is particularly effective in his duet with the

golden-voiced Sanchez and his somewhat lame pursuit of her hand.

A well-drilled flock of young people -- at least four yet to

experience first grade -- completes the stage picture. And director

Schmidt has given them ample duties, especially a trio of button-cute

preschoolers who musically implore the audience to send telegrams to the

cast backstage.

“My Emperor’s New Clothes” is intended to launch a trend of children’s

summer shows at the theater. If future projects are as imaginatively

handled as this one, it could be the start of a successful relationship.

FYI

* WHAT: “My Emperor’s New Clothes”

* WHEN: Closing performances at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2:30 and

8 p.m. Aug. 12, and 2:30 p.m. Aug. 13

* WHERE: Newport Theater Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

* HOW MUCH: $8

* PHONE: (949) 631-0288