‘The Little Prince’ Draws Full House at The Merc Playhouse

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Update: The Merc has notified MVE that there is a block of 30 seats that will be released at 6:30 on Thursday (Dec. 18) at the door for admission-by-donation night. For the other remaining performances, at least 12 seats are reserved each night for walk-up patrons and available for purchase at the door beginning 30 minutes before the performance.

If you haven’t seen The Merc Playhouse’s production of The Little Prince, chances are you won’t.

Only three tickets are left for sale online at the time of this publication.

The popular novella by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a story about a young boy who looks at the world with childhood innocence and experiences painful confusion when his world doesn’t respond the same in return.

He finds himself incompatible, un-rescuable, and ultimately leaves to go back to his true love- a simple rose, whom he grows to understand and appreciate in the course of his journey.

It’s also a refrain about any adult who has found themselves disturbed by a child and responded, “I’m too busy.”

The story begins when an aviator crashes into a desert “a thousand miles from any human habitation.” He meets a child- the Little Prince- who recounts seemingly unbelievable stories about people on other planets. The people, it turns out, are parodies of people on Earth. They pursue power, money, fame and knowledge, unaware of their own absurdities.

Saint-Exupéry was himself an aviator, first flying airmail routes in Europe, North Africa, and South America, then working as a test pilot before joining the French Air Force doing reconnaissance during World War II.

He survived several airplane crashes, including one in the Sahara during an air race in 1935. Saint-Exupéry and his navigator survived not only the crash but, in another parallel with the novella, dehydration before they were rescued by a Bedouin four days later.

Saint-Exupéry was highly critical of the Vichy Regime in his native France, which collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. He lived in exile in the United States from 1941 to 1943, where he produced three literary works, including The Little Prince. It was published in 1943 in French and English, but wasn’t allowed into France until after liberation.

Saint-Exupéry was in declining mental and physical health when, at 43, he successfully petitioned for an age exemption to fly for the Allies. He suffered physical ailments that made it difficult for him to put on his flight suit. He took fate in his own hands even further when he reportedly read novels and wrote stories while piloting a single seat airplane.

Saint-Exupéry didn’t return following a reconnaissance mission in 1944. In 1998, a fisherman discovered his identity bracelet in the coastal waters south of Marseille, France. In 2000, a diver found debris from a Lockheed P-38 Lightning off the coast of Marseille, which was confirmed in 2004 to be Saint-Exupéry’s plane. How his plane crashed- whether it was shot down or crashed on its own, remains up to debate.

The Little Prince is a story that might best be appreciated read, when one can take their time to savor its full meaning. Director Kira Wood-Cramer’s production is ambitious. Third grader Izzy Naney bites off more than she can chew in the lead role. She did a great job remembering her lines, which is practically the entire book, but her performance lacks emotional depth from scene to scene.

Understudy Jacob Curtis, who is in the ensemble, will have his chance to perform in the lead role on Friday, Dec. 19. Dan Kirkmire gives a solid performance as the Aviator, but could have tapped deeper in some scenes.

Merc heavyweights Phil Quevillon, Matt Armbrust and Tim d’Auteuil put on strong but brief performances as the Businessman, Conceited Man, and King, and relative newcomers Rebecca Curtis and Daniel Schmekel deliver solid performances as Jographuh and Lamplighter. Sophomore Rowan Kelley shines as The Rose and is reportedly considering an acting career.

If you miss The Little Prince at the Merc, don’t fret. Pick up the original from the library. Saint-Exupéry was reportedly a perfectionist when it came to writing and editing, weighing every word. You’ll experience its simplicity and beauty on your own terms, the way the author intended.