The official plot summary for Quest for Planet X sounds like a straight sci-fi adventure. With a strange chrysalis forming over Earth, a "space team" must travel to Planet X for the antidote, lest our planet be doomed.
What we found in the Thistle Theatre "space musical," though, was a touch of light fantasy mixed with a bunch of humor and the occasional song. I'll describe the storyline, but I'm not sure how much of it mattered. My boys, ages 4 and 8, could describe only the barest plot outline afterwards, and I'm not convinced even my older son was following the subtleties. They got plenty of laughs anyway, and the beauty of the puppetry kept both rapt and silent, eyes fixed to the stage, throughout the roughly hour-long performance.
Thistle Theatre specializes in Japanese "Bunraku-style" artistry, with puppeteers who virtually blend into the background, masked and clothed in black. In Planet X, the stage lights up brightly and magically as animation come to life, especially in scenes of outer space travels and battles. Black lights, supercharged colors, and antic robots further the sense of magic.
The show in brief: Insect-like princess Aurelia, from Planet X, teams up with human spaceman "Major Tom Quaser" to journey to Planet X. They must find the "wing dust" that will both transform Aurelia into an adult and save Earth. Doing so means conquering evil Queen Xenovia, Aurelia's aunt, who has banished her because of her "half-breed" status – her mother had married an Earthling. Oh, and Xenovia has sent a minion to trail Aurelia and thwart her return. There's also a starter sequence on a golf course; and a long, comic stopover at a parts auction manned by high-pressure sales robots. See how it can be tough to summarize?
The show was co-authored by director Jean Enticknap, updated over the years to account for discrepancies like the Kingdome in the glowing Seattle skyline. (In the story now, it's a rebuilt Kingdome.) Plenty of humor hits the adult funny bone, as when lines from David Bowie's "Space Oddity" pop up from ground control to the play's "Major Tom." Puppeteers brought out the tall, handcrafted puppets and generously interacted with kids and adults at the end.
IF YOU GO
Where: Bellevue Youth Theater, 16661 Northup Way, Bellevue (May 21 and 22) and Magnuson Park Theater, 7110 62nd Ave N.E., building #47 (May 28 and 29)
When: Showtimes at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. May 21-22, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. May 28-29.
Cost: $9 adult, $7 children and seniors.
Contact: 206-524-3388, www.thistletheater.org.
Seattle writer Rebekah Denn played “Space Oddity” for her boys after seeing the show.
