Review: Sunny 'Perô' is a tale of night and day, heartbreak and happiness

Performance review |

A flour-dusted baker romances a sunshine-loving washerwoman, and all magic breaks loose.

So goes "Perô," the most recent collaboration between Seattle Children's Theatre and the Dutch troupe Speeltheater Holland — and among the most enchanting.

That's strong praise, given the inventiveness and charm of the four previous shows they have joined forces on, including "Stellaluna" and "Apple to Grandma."

But "Perô" earns it with sparkling music, adorable handheld puppets and a story based on stock figures of European comedy, Pierrot (here called Perô) and Colombina.

The story, adapted from a Michel Tournier story, "The Mysteries of the Night," is easy to grasp: the sweet-natured baker pines for Colombina. (Both are puppets resembling the Pillsbury Doughboy.)

But Colombina works days, while Perô bakes on a nocturnal schedule. So like the Sun and the Moon (singing humans here), it's hard to mesh their biorhythms.

When a spaghetti-legged Italian housepainter turns up to brighten Colombina's tall, dollhouselike abode, he also wins her heart — as she breaks Perô's.

Happy-ever-after does arrive for the baker. But only after the nimble cast of singer-actors conjures a bounty of whimsical visual effects with human and animal puppets, many mini-props (a tiny washing machine, a roaring baking oven) and a big box that opens up to reveal a vibrant swatch of rural Italy, with fish-stocked stream.

The style of the Edam, Holland-based Speeltheater's stagecraft (wrought by company designer/director Onny Huisink and puppet designer Saskia Janse, with Seattle lighting designer Michael Wellborn) is always ingenious and theatrically sophisticated, but never slick.

And much of the delight is conjured by the cast — at SCT, a tireless quartet who keep "Perô" popping for the under-6 crowd.

Vivacious Jennifer Sue Johnson and limber Matt Wolfe are always in motion, playing (respectively) Colombina and Perô, as well as Paletino (the Italian swain), a fleet of mice, a pair of ducks and sundry other creatures.

Their energy and mastery are matched by musical director Mark Rabe and a marvelous opera-trained singer, Corrina Lapid Munter, who face off on rolling keyboards and play the instrumentals in Guus Ponsioen's score.

And what a score it is! It boasts Baroque chorales, light mock-operatic arias, jazzy passages — all suited to the action and to kids' ears.

That doesn't mean "Perô" will only enthrall the tots. For adults who enjoy puppetry and/or imaginative musical theater, European-style, what's not to love?

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com