ACT I
A young pilot introduces himself to the audience. He explains how grown-ups never really understood him and that now, as an adult, he earns a living soaring through the sky. The stars sing to him as he glides through the air, but, despite the pleasant atmosphere, he suddenly loses control of his plane and crashes into the Sahara Desert. The pilot looks over the damage and begins to try and fix the plane. But just as he grabs his tools, he’s interrupted by a small boy who curiously asks the pilot to draw a sheep. Though confused at first, the pilot comes to know the boy as “the Little Prince,” and, slowly, the prince reveals his unusual story. We learn the prince was once the proud owner of a tiny asteroid, where he cared for a lovely rose whom he adored but who was also very difficult to please. She challenged him to leave his home and gain more wisdom in order to be able to take care of her better, and so… he set out to visit some neighboring planets. During his travels he met several strange adults, including a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, and a lamplighter. After meeting these men, the Little Prince—not quite satisfied with what he’d discovered so far—decided to journey to planet Earth.
ACT II
The prince continues his story while the pilot listens. On Earth, the prince says, he met a slithering snake who claimed that his deadly poison could “ease” all the prince’s worries. The Little Prince then encountered a garden full of roses and cried at the thought that his own rose might merely be one out of a million other common flowers. The prince resumes his tale. Soon after meeting the roses, he adds, he was comforted by a friendly fox. The fox, who begged the prince to tame her and make her his own, gently explained that everything worthwhile is invisible and that such things cannot be touched, but can only be felt with the heart. She also told him that the bonds of love are what make all things—including ordinary flowers—uniquely special. The pilot then cuts off the prince’s story, saying that the two of them will need water if they are to continue to survive in the desert. Exhausted, they travel to a spot directly beneath the prince’s planet (which sits high in the night sky) and discover a well. As they collect cool water from the crystal-clear well, the pilot realizes his friendly affection for the prince and begins to understand the fox’s message. Still, the prince longs to return to his rose as he has promised. Will the tired and weary Little Prince make it home? Will the pilot be able to keep the prince’s lessons in his heart if the Little Prince disappears?
Courtesy of The Kennedy Center
