Prokoviev’s classic Peter and the Wolf is reimagined in a snazzy reboot at the Guggenheim Museum, an ingenious recreation from Isaac Mizrahi. The fashion designer cum cabaret performer has worked costuming for theater for decades, and for the Guggenheim’s program of Works and Process the Peter and the Wolf story is set, where else, but in the neighborhood, in Central Park.
Grandfather (
Guillermo Resto), deaf and disoriented, speaks, through Mizrahi’a narration, with a Yiddish accent. Mizrahi-dressed, Peter (
Macy Sullivan) wears a beanie with propeller, and Bird (
Elizabeth Coker) wears gym shorts. Most brilliant of all, ill-fated Duck (
Marjorie Folkman) looks like an edgy Park Avenue matron in tulle skirt and beaded cardigan, head covered in a schmatte. Cat (
Kristen Foote) is suitably clad in velvety paws and pompoms, fashionably black with white and pink trims, while the gray Wolf (
Daniel Pettrow) sports Ugg-like feet, with the Hunter (Derrick Arthur) an oversized boy scout. The look of this Peter and the Wolf is reason enough to attend, better still, to entertain your three-year old. A more formidable reason is the talent of the musicians and dancers, who bring this simple story to life.
Max (3), my companion, mesmerized by the musicians warming up, did not want the 30-minute performance to end, even though Wolf was suitably contained after eating Duck whole. Never mind, Duck is seen knitting in orange, just like her webbed feet. If you are able, take your child to the Guggenheim’s rotunda for an awesome follow-up to awesome theater.
Regina Weinreich
Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura
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