OSCODA — The Northeast Academy of Dance (NEAD) will present The Little Prince this Saturday and Sunday at the Mary Ann Bartel’s Auditorium in the Oscoda High School.
The Saturday, Dec. 10 production will be at 7 p.m. and the Sunday, Dec. 11 show will be at 2 p.m. Tickets for the performances are $13 adults, $11 seniors, and $6 students and are available at the door.
Program duration is approximately 80 minutes, according to organizers, and has no intermission. This program is appropriate for all ages. For more information about the Academy and its programs, call 989-739-7955, email neadancemi@gmail.com or visit at www.neadancemi.org.
The NEAD is celebrating its 25th year by creating an ambitious new production of The Little Prince, an evening of theater and dance based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Like many of the Academy’s past productions, organizers say to expect the unexpected. The story has been adapted by co-director Scott Heinrich and the show is choreographed by both Heinrich and co-director Giuseppe Canale. The highly acclaimed book was published in 1943 and is widely considered a children’s book for adults.
“While this is one of the youngest schools we’ve had in a long while, they are a very dedicated and hard-working group,” said Heinrich.
The story begins with a pilot (narrated by Heinrich) whose plane crashes in the middle of the Sahara desert and awakens to see an extraordinary young stranger who asks him, “Please, draw me a sheep”. As the story unfolds, the pilot learns that the stranger (Lief Maurer as The Little Prince) fell to earth from a different planet.
The Little Prince shares the tale of his adventurous journey with the pilot and all of his encounters with “serious” adults. After departing his own tiny planet due to a disagreement he had with a Rose (Olivia Rowden), he visits other planets inhabited by a Queen (Cathy Kappius), a Vain Woman (Emersyn Dembowske), a Drunkard (Lily DeJohn), a Businessman (Evlyn Gartland), a Lamplighter (Claire Luttrell) and a Geologist (Olivia Willas) all of whom possess qualities that he finds beguiling in adults. His arrival on earth and his encounters with a Snake (Lynn Maurer) and a Fox (Emma Clarke) slowly make him realize the secret to what is important in life.
The dance movements in the program while borrowing heavily from the student’s ballet training are mainly contemporary and jazz. The colorful costumes, sets and unusual use of props are a visual delight in this production. Audience members can expect moments of both drama and light humor as the show progresses.
While the music may be unknown to most listeners, there is a pleasing mix for the senses that captures the mood of each scene that includes Rachel’s, Avi & Omer Avital, Traditional Turkish, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Peter Gregson, Dimitri Shostakovich, Dubfire & Miss Kittin, Bela Bartok, Alfred Schnittke, Thomas Newman, Max Richter, Rene Aubry, Eighth Blackbird, Ramin Djawadi, Ezio Bosso, Tigran Hamassyan, Grace Slick, The Head and the Heart and Raphael Gualazzi.
Students and adults in this production are Emma Clarke, Emersyn Dembowske, Lily DeJohn, Evlyn Gartland, Delilah Harms, Cathy Kappius, Claire Luttrell, Lief Maurer, Lynn Maurer, Amelia Miszak, Kerri Turner, Romy Scamazzo, Olivia Rowden, Harper Whitefield, Raven Whitefield and Olivia Willas.
