THE LITTLE PRINCE Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 12:01am

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Broadway is about to get a taste of something unique, as The Little Prince begins previews tomorrow night at the Broadway Theatre following sold-out engagements in Paris, Dubai, and Sydney; opening night is currently set for April 11. Based on the bestselling children’s book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, this immersive theatrical event provides its audiences with an experience like no other. Choreography is by Anne Tournié, with direction by Tournié and Chris Mouron (who also plays the Narrator). Lionel Zalachas and Aurélien Bednarek lead the company as the title character and The Aviator, respectively. The Little Prince will play a limited run through August 14.

“After an aviator descends from the sky to find himself in the middle of the desert, he meets the Little Prince, a young hero on an extraordinary adventure. Join the Little Prince on his journey as he meets many fascinating characters who help him learn how to follow his heart. A fantasy of imaginative storytelling that combines theatrical stagecraft with aerial artistry, soaring music and electrifying choreography, The Little Prince is a spectacular immersive experience you’ll never forget.”

Who’s taking flight?

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 8:10am

Going on Wednesday. Intrigued. Gives me Slavas Snow Show vibes from the videos on social media 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 10:19am

I'll be seeing the show Saturday afternoon.

If anyone would like to meet up with me, I'll be wearing a wristwatch and black shoes.

Updated On: 3/28/22 at 10:19 AM

[bwayplays]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 11:05am

hearthemsing22 said: "Going on Wednesday. Intrigued. Gives me Slavas Snow Show vibes from the videos on social media"

I hate that I missed Slava's Snow Show. Thank you Amtrak for yet another canceled train! haha 

Anyway, I'm planning on a two show Sunday with The Little Prince at 1, and American Buffalo at 3. Won't be until June though. Can't wait to see what others think! 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 11:58am

Rush policy:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-LITTLE-PRINCE-on-Broadway-Announces-Rush-Ticket-Policy-20220328

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:10pm

Was anyone there tonight? 8:00 show, 1 hr 50 runtime (including intermission).

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:00pm

I was there tonight. I wanted to like this more than I did. Everything ran smoothly, nothing seemed like it was a first preview. This is basically a cirque ballet telling of the classic story with narration and dialogue performed onstage by the show’s adaptor.

I won’t fault the performers, as they all do what is asked of them, including some perilous aerial work. However, I think the production is ill conceived from the tone of the piece to the music to the projections. I expected higher quality everything. There are some nice moments, but the sense of childlike wonder in the book is totally lost. This feels like it should be playing in Vegas, and even then, the spectacle would be amped up considerably.

One positive thing I will say is how captions were included in the show. Every show on Broadway should have these for every performance. It did not detract from the performance at all. Accessibility like this should be available at every single performance and not just select ones.

It was nice to be in the Broadway again. This was the first time an audience has graced this house since March 2020.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:30pm

I imagine this will be deemed a musical when it comes to Tony eligibility. There is a script, dance plays have been put in the musical categories in the past, and there are a couple of songs as well.

In terms of merch, I noticed the paperback version of the book, magnet, and four different shirts (logo shirt, two quote shirts, and a fitted shirt). Perhaps there was more, but that’s what I noticed at a quick glance.

For those going, I recommend rereading the book or looking up a synopsis beforehand. Otherwise, you will be confused with what’s going on, even with passages from the book being narrated.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:33pm

HeyMrMusic said: "I imagine this will be deemed a musical when it comes to Tony eligibility. There is a script, dance plays have been put in the musical categories in the past, and there are a couple of songs as well."

Maybe Best Original Score and Best Choreography at least. Both of those categories allow plays and musicals to compete alongside each other.

[Bobster159]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:45pm

I agree with everything HeyMrMusic writes, though think them generous. This is massively ill-conceived. It has absolutely no idea who its audience is. It looks and sounds exceptionally cheap (like a Windows XP screensaver blown up with overamped music to match). A few of the costumes are the only saving grace. The marketing makes it look Cirque-ish, but it's actually a reasonably small scale dance piece (mostly solos/duets) with some occasional competent aerial straps work, but that's about it for the circus elements.

It stars a very pretentious narrator who is perhaps the evening's biggest problem. Her French accent is thick, to the point where they've put screens on either side of the stage with subtitles. How an even above average child is meant to follow any of this, I have no idea... They should replace her with someone who can be easily understood, but they won't because she wrote it... A couple of songs are sung in French; god knows why.

If you slimmed it down to 70 minutes, swapped in an intelligible narrator and simplified the book, this would be an ok but below-average New Victory Theater childrens' show. As it is, give it a wide berth and particularly don't take children. If I'd seen this as a child, I'd have never wanted to enter a theater again,.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:46pm

I was also there tonight, thought it was worth the watch but didn't love it.  Though, I hadn't read the book and only had a passing familiarity with it but one of my friends who adores the book also loved the show.  For those that are more dance inclined, I think you'll enjoy it a lot more than I did, as a lot of it feels like "modern ballet" with some cirque elements (mostly aerial silks but also a bit of gymnastics and some other acrobatics), though the dance is definitely first and foremost.  I'd agree that the projections seemed a little hokey but it seemed like they wanted the emphasis to be on the performers and the projections were really there to add a bit of set dressing.  

I thought The Vain Man had the best number, though I also enjoyed The Snake and The Fox, and overall liked act 2 better than act 1.  The runtime felt about right for this kind of show, and the intermission was 20 minutes which surprised us.  I enjoyed having the narration (and agree that the subtitles were a wonderful addition as well), though I wish the narrator differentiated a bit more between the different voices as it was tough to tell who was speaking in the dialogue at the beginning.

The music didn't really stand out much to me at all, and I think I appreciated the orchestrations more than the music itself.  We were wondering if this would even be submitted for award consideration as I doubt it would get much notice in this season, but certainly the choreography is the biggest standout.

Got TDF tickets for this and were seated center orchestra row S, which was a pretty fantastic view.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:51pm

I was right behind you in T via TDF, and I agree, the view was great from there.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 4:28pm

Saw the show this afternoon and loved it. It's less a "show" than "performance art" but very well done. I was mesmerized by most of it

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 5:05pm

I have to say that I felt uneasy when an aerial act was performed over the heads of the audience without a net.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 1:30pm

Dollypop said: "I have to say that I felt uneasy when an aerial act was performed over the heads of the audience without a net."

I think you may have just sold a whole bunch of tickets for them.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 5:01pm

I have no problems with that

[MsPiety&Rectitude]

Posted: 4/4/22 at 12:34pm

HeyMrMusic said: "... There are some nice moments, but the sense of childlike wonder in the book is totally lost. This feels like it should be playing in Vegas, and even then, the spectacle would be amped up considerably."

This is so important and really why I was thinking of going soon. I'm glad to have had the chance to read these reviews. As a fan of the book, I was expecting something more sweet and touching with some beautiful spectacle. I don't think I'm down for what sounds like mostly a long dance piece. Thanks for the info!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 10:31am

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 11:58pm

Saw the show tonight, and my overall reaction is basically light applause for the ensemble,  choreography and aerial stunts, and giant WTF for the scenery (Windows Screensaver is probably the winning descriptor) “book” and “music” that were hard to follow at times. It also sure as hell did not need a 20 minute intermission.

I didn’t hate it entirely, but it felt very overblown to me - like Zero Calorie Cirque De Soleil. I don’t feel any more enriched for having seen this.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/6/22 at 3:07pm

Intermission. This really is a modern dance piece on a way too big Broadway stage that would have fit better somewhere like the Hayes. I can tell the audience (the little audience there is here today) would rather be elsewhere and while some of the dancing is beautiful to look at, I guess the point of this show existing is just lost on me. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/6/22 at 3:59pm

Well I liked act two more but they really do assume everyone walking into the theater knows this story very very well. Again, some gorgeous imagery and movement but I just don’t know who the audience for this is, on Broadway. 

[mbaker2]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 1:32pm

I had tickets for tonight at 7pm and got an email this morning with a refund. Called Telecharge and they confirmed my tickets were cancelled and refunded but said the theaters don’t tell them why tickets are cancelled. Did this happen to anyone else? Covid cancellation maybe?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 1:37pm

mbaker2 said: "I had tickets for tonight at 7pm and got an email this morning with a refund. Called Telecharge and they confirmed my tickets were cancelled and refunded but said the theaters don’t tell them why tickets are cancelled. Did this happen to anyone else? Covid cancellation maybe?"

Tonight is the show's Opening Night –– so if it isn't Covid-related, perhaps they needed the seats for official purposes? (Out of curiosity, were your tickets in the orch or mezz? Usually only seats at the far backs of the mezz are available to the public for openings)

[mbaker2]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 1:43pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said:
"Tonight is the show's Opening Night –– so if it isn't Covid-related, perhaps they needed the seats for official purposes? (Out of curiosity, were your tickets in the orch or mezz? Usually only seats at the far backs of the mezz are available to the public for openings)"

Tickets were back of rear mezzanine section. Didn't realize it was opening night when I had bought them, but then figured they had the rear mezz open to general public since that's where my tickets were. Good point though, maybe they ended up needing them.