Compagnie Les Voisins' THE QUEEN OF COLORS to Play the Wallis, 1/9-18

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Queen of Colors from France and Germany's Compagnie Les Voisins for 10 performances only, January 9 through 18, 2015 in the Lovelace Studio Theater.

The Queen of Colors, based on the renowned children's book by Jutta Bauer uses ingenious puppetry to weave a simple story about kindness and originality. The Court Painter (accompanied by a Court Musician) creates vivid backdrops for the feisty little puppet queen who ventures into her kingdom to experience the personalities of each color of the rainbow. However, while fun comes in all colors, too much of a good thing can turn into a mucky yucky mess. Full of kaleidoscopic wonder and vivid imagination, The Queen of Colors is a whimsical story about unleashing creativity and choosing not to color within the lines (recommended for ages 4-7).

The Queen of Colors has been seen all over the world. The Sydney Morning Herald said, "The Queen Of Colours combines shadow puppets, music and live painted projections. The show unfolds on a small, arched screen where the puppet queen appears. Eva Noell draws the world around her, projecting images from the castle to her living quarters, filling each scene with block colors as the queen calls for her favorite color, chopping and changing between her colorful best friends like a fickle child."

Eva Noell and Paul Olbrich, originally of Theater Waidspeicher, founded Erfreuliches TheatErfurt (Pleasant Theater Erfurt) in 2004, which became Compagnie Les Voisins in 2010. They studied puppetry at The Actor's School of Berlin and have been working as puppeteers, puppetry directors, authors and lecturers ever since. They have staged and performed in numerous productions for children and adults, including classics, modern drama, fairy tales and adaptations of contemporary children's books.

Winner of the Children's Jury Award at the International Puppet Theater Festival, Compagnie Les Voisins makes its West Coast debut with a delightful production that weaves music, painting and puppetry that "provides a magnificent, multilayered, multimedia show that educates and entertains," said The Star Phoenix. Theatremania said, "A magical event for young and old theatergoers alike. Indeed, if you can imagine an animated picture book being assembled on the fly, you have a pretty good sense of the remarkable accomplishment that co-creators Paul Obrich and Eva Noell have created here."

Subscriptions and single tickets, and family dinners ($5 per person) prior to the Friday, January 9th and 16th performances are available at www.thewallis.org or by calling 310-746-4000 or in person at The Wallis Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

About The Wallis - Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (aka "The Wallis") brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. With eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles, and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the US and around the globe. This fall marks The Wallis' second season, which also includes its prestigious "Arts & Ideas" series, conversations with guests from the realms of culture, literature and politics. Housed in a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA of Studio Pali Fekete architects, The Wallis celebrates the classic and the modern. This is reflected in the juxtaposition of the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, as well as a theater school for young people, and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these two structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for LA-area visitors and residents alike.

Photo by R. Irmer.

To post a comment, you must register and login.