News

YouTheatre's 'Little Prince' opens next week

Dave Hart directs The Little Prince opening March 8 at the Playhouse Downtown.

By Bill Moss, Published: February 27, 2013

The Flat Rock Playhouse YouTheatre brings to life the beloved children's book The Little Prince at Playhouse Downtown March 8-17.

The musical adaptation is based on a novella that is the most read and most translated book in the French language. Voted the best book of the 20th century in France, The Little Prince has sold more than 1 million copies a year and more than 140 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books ever published.

The Little Prince features a cast almost entirely made up of YouTheatre students. The one exception is Jesse Siak, who plays the role of the Aviator. Jesse first came to Flat Rock Playhouse at the age of 10 and over the next eight years graduated from every level of education that the Playhouse offered including a summer as an apprentice in 2008. He also appeared in Almost, Maine and The Rocky Horror Show as a member of the 2012 Fall Acting Company.
The student cast will feature: Louise Cummins, Anna Yokote, Caroline Ryan, Luke Umphlett, Daniel Torres, Lainie Robertson, Eleanor Palmer, Ryan Jalerpan, Raja Jalerpan, Hannah Daniels, Maggie Conner, Emily Holbert, Liz Morgan, Sarah Grace Paul, Ava Moss, Clancy Penny, Samantha Penny, Kaia Pelz and Marie Danos. The student technicians for the show are Sarah Hart, Cecilia Bockoven, Sage Albert and Miriam Cummins.
The Little Prince is the story of a world-weary and disenchanted Aviator and his two-week encounter with a mysterious, regal "little man." During their time together, the Little Prince regales the aviator with stories about his adventures through the galaxy: how he met the Lamplighter and the Businessman and the Geographer, and about his relationship with a very special flower on his own tiny planet. Through his stories he shares unique insights such as, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Authored by French aristocrat, writer and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince is an enduring tale that remarks on the strangeness of the adult world.
Dave Hart, YouTheatre Artistic Director, directs play.
"My first encounter with The Little Prince was as a child, swept into the adventures of planet hopping and desert travel," he said. "But it is as an adult that I see this simple, poetic story offering so much more, speaking to me in ways I had not appreciated as a child. I had no idea what a richly layered and very grown-up work it was, speaking to me of the loss of childhood innocence, of creativity stifled, of magic, joy and mystery. I am thrilled to both share it with my student actors and to introduce or reintroduce it our YouTheatre audiences."