L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs: children's theatre sans children
Hailing from Orlando, Florida and Austin, Texas, *L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs*, a “Junkyard Melodrama” thuds enthusiastically onto the Factory Theatre Mainstage as part of Toronto's "Next Stage Festival":http://fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html. Unfortunately for them, the audiences have not yet come out in droves, and there was only a smattering of people in the audience for Monday night’s show.
I am not only referring to the economic dismay they will be feeling, but the fact that this is a show that relies on a big crowd to match the energy the eight performers throw at the audience. And that crowd should include a bunch of kids. Though not explicitly billed as a family show, this show might fare better if it was.
The show has a clean plot line: set in 1940’s France, a famous clown, Baptise (Christopher Lee Gibson) is unhappy and announces he no longer wants to be a clown. He leaves the circus and goes on a search for happiness. He hitches a ride with a taxi driver who warns him all roads lead you somewhere, but they also lead you back. And so the play within the play sets forth. Along the way Baptise joins and leaves the army, becomes a monk, ultimately a guru, then quits, falls in love, marries, shacks up then breaks up and winds up in the same taxi ride back to the circus. With each new chapter of his life, Baptise becomes progressively disillusioned, before happily discovering that he is indeed meant to be a clown. I found the fast tracked marriage scene to be the most engaging; a clever mime sequence whipping through all the phases of a stereotypical marriage, from the happy beginning to the alcoholic/raging ending. This is the show at its best, providing a familiar set up with humour, skill and classic clowning; tragedy which makes us laugh.
Accompanying the play with impressive timing is the Bric-a-Brac Band providing sound effects and music to the many scenes, slapstick tricks and jokes that occur. The play is told (in faux French accents) with song, puppetry, mime and storytelling. The performers are all good physical actors, in white face and bright costumes. At times the performances lacked honesty which stole the comedy at those moments. Between the three acts of Baptises’ story, the narrator, musician (and writer of the show’s lyrics and music) Rob Houle introduces other songs and characters into the mix, including an idiotic Nazi officer and A Big French Bear, whose jokes and songs fall a bit flat. However, I do wonder, if more kids had been there (one was present, and seemed to be giggling quite a bit) would the play have taken off with a blast?
L’Ange was indeed charming and creative in many ways with hand painted scene backgrounds, a lovely small puppet theatre, skilled mime sequences and animated musical numbers (particularly a fun solo from Cami Alys Yankwitt). However, ultimately the show wasn’t original or profound. But perhaps I’m jaded. I’ve seen some brilliant, unique clown shows in my day. L’Ange is a fun show, with plenty to admire and enjoy and if I were a kid, I’m pretty sure I would have had a fantastic time. And if I were in a crowd with giggling kids enjoying live theatre, I would probably be more forgiving of the sometimes tired, clichéd jokes that this cast fed us in the jam-packed ninety minutes. So grab a kid or twenty, and test out my theory. L’Ange Avec L’fleur deserves a bigger audience than its 6:30pm Monday night crowd.
_L'Ange Avec les Fleurs, a Beth Marshall presentation, part of the Next Stage Festival, Directed by Rocky Hopson; Starring: Cami Alys Yankwitt, Rob Houle, Christopher Lee Gibson, Kate Arpke-Houle,Agustin Frederic, Monica Pasut Gibson, Mike Lane, Christopher McIntyre for more information on the show and festival clown your way_ "here":http://fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html.