‘Dragon’ tells a Chinese tale well with puppets

SEATTLE – Things aren’t always what they appear to be.

A wizened monk turns out to be a marauder. And an aged hermit is really a dragon in disguise.

These characters appeared on stage last weekend at the world premiere of Seattle Children’s Theatre’s “Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like.” Designed for children ages 5 and older and their families, and featuring an assortment of puppet characters, this play took theatergoers to ancient China, telling a compelling story of an orphan’s desire for greatness.

The play continues through June 10 in Seattle.

On all counts, this production was excellent. Seattle playwright Bret Fetzer succeeded in expanding Jay Williams’ fairy tale-type picture book into an engaging script, lacing it with liberal amounts of humor and beefing up the characters. Puppets worked well. They visually increased the size of the relatively small stage in the Eve Alford Theatre, adding to the sense of majesty.

They also captured the essence of the play’s multiple characters. Thanks to puppet coach Douglas Paasch’s training of the amazing four-member cast, the focus is on the puppets, rather than the actors, from the minute the play begins.

The action starts at the gates of the Chinese city of Wu, where orphan Han (Khanh Doan) ekes out a living as a gate sweeper. At his side is his only friend, his pet pig, Ping.

In the course of his day, Han meets some interesting characters including a crazy old hermit woman who threatens to move the city, a conniving merchant who temporarily swindles Han out his meager possessions and an aged monk who has an important message for the mandarin. Along the way, Han asks himself, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Perhaps a soldier, perhaps a mandarin.

At the mandarin’s palace, the ruler shows himself to be addle-headed and self-centered. The monk announces that the Wild Horsemen, a band of bloodthirsty barbarians, are on their way to attack Wu. Minutes later, the supposed monk rips off his disguise to show himself as a wild horseman. The mandarin decrees that all of Wu should pray to the Great Dragon for help.

At the end of the first act, Han once again meets the old hermit woman who proclaims, “I am the great dragon.”

A stirring second act finds Han aligned with the hermit woman who pleads her case to the mandarin in vain. He doesn’t believe she is the Great Dragon. Later, because of Han’s hospitality toward her – he shares his last bit of food and water – the old woman agrees to save the city. She reveals her true dragon form.

By the end of the play, with the city saved, a courageous, generous Han is certain of what he wants to be when he grows up: Not a soldier, nor a mandarin, but a dragon.

This was a fine performance. Kudos go to Tristan M.T. Dalley for her design of puppets and the set, which uses cloth banners and two-dimensional flats, evocative of Chinese painting. Lee Dombroski’s costumes take the viewer back to ancient China. Finally, director Rita Giomi keeps the production flowing along nicely.