When Anne Tournié's parents were getting married her father presented his soon-to-be wife with a book. He told her “this will be the guide for your life,” recalls Tournié, a director and choreographer. Her mother, in turn, introduced the book to Tournié, reading the novella to her young daughter before bedtime.
That book was Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved novella, The Little Prince. The reflective and rich story centers around a young prince and his planet-trotting odyssey to find connection, understanding and ultimately love.
Tournié would grow up to adore The Little Prince as much as her parents and millions of others. “I was so touched with all the lines. They were very simple but also so deep,” she shares. “It became the book that was by my bedside and has always been with me through my life.”
Quotes from the book like “One runs the risk of crying a bit if one allows oneself to be tamed,” were particularly moving to Tournié. She adored the messages of respecting the planet and one another. “Everybody can understand the passages whether you are five or 100-years-old with a long life behind you,” she adds. "That is the miracle of the book.”
When looking to create a show with choreography and aerial artistry that addressed humanity and our connectedness as its underlying theme, Chris Mouron, Tournié's longtime collaborator suggested adapting The Little Prince.
Since she was a child Mouron was also smitten with The Little Prince. “I first experienced it though a recording with the French actor Gerard Philipe who played the aviator and fantastic Georges Poujouly who was the Little Prince,” says Mouron. “I heard all these beautiful voices from great actors and was suddenly transported to another land. I was in tears, filled with emotion.”
Mouron thinks back to the quote, “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Those words continue to stay with her. “We are all human,” she adds. “And I hope that people have the same emotion that I had experiencing the book when I was twelve-years-old. This was a new world opening to me—the world of poetry. When you are a child and teenager, you think nobody understands you. And here suddenly somebody understood me.”
With Tournié directing and choreographing, Mouron co-directing and adapting the libretto and composer Terry Truck writing the original music, they created an epic theatrical production with dance, aerial acrobatics, an eclectic mix of African, Asian and European musical styles and pioneering video mapping technology. Muron also performs in the show as The Narrator.
Presented on stage in Paris, Sydney and Dubai The Little Prince is now playing on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre. “I wanted to do a show without any sets or scenery. Just a white page. The video images could bring the audience in,” says Tournié.
"I really hope that people go away with a better feeling in their hearts than when they came in and that the show transports them to a different world view that things can be better,” adds composer Truck. "We can make things better.”
So what would Tournié say to The Little Prince’s creator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry who passed away before his novella would be a global sensation, touching legions of people around the world. “I would like to to say, ‘thank you.’” shares Tournié. “From generation through generation he created hope and a fantastic guide to life. When you believe somebody has hurt you, just go back to who you are. Don't be somebody else. Be yourself.”
Some of the cast members of The Little Prince shared their reflections about the show and what makes It meaningful to them.
Laurisse Sulty: After reading the book, I was really touched by the relationship between the Rose, who I play, and the Prince. It actually echos my own relationship with my husband. It makes me think of how love is also about caring. You have to care for it order to make it last.
Dylan Barone: At first we believe The Little Prince is a children's book. But when you go inside the real meaning of the story, it refers to everyone. As we grow up, we lose our inner child spirit. I believe that the story and the show is about always keeping your inner child.
George Sanders: If you watch the show and follow the book, it's about the Little Prince and his journeys to different planets, meeting different people and experiencing different things. In a way, it’s something that we all go through in life. We all hope that somebody is going to be kind and appreciative and show a little bit of love, even to have that extra five seconds of kindness to give someone. This show is a great reminder of that kindness and sharing.
William John Banks: We forget about life’s simplicities. But simplicities are what are most important and beautiful. As we become adults we complexify events as we are growing. It gets to a point where what's the purpose of life? I believe this show really echoes that message. It strips that down and reminds you of life’s most beautiful things.
