Captain Louie is an inept kids show performed by kids who sing well but leave a lot to be desired in the acting department. But the play's the thing that sinks the project. Based on "The Trip" by Ezra Jack Keats, the book for the show, by Anthony Stein, is condescending, trite, saccharine, and basically at such a low level that my grandnephew, Mathew Sprague, who is nine, said, "It was kinda young for me." Scenes where Louis goes back to his old neighborhood are based on rejection without motivation and throw the whole mess further out of whack.
There are a couple of good songs by Stephen Schwartz, including "Trick or Treat," and some cute Halloween costumes by Elizabeth Flauto, but director Meridee Stein keeps it all false and presentational. The clunky set is based on drawings from Keats' book, but they lack the grace of theatricality. The dialogue is unconvincing, there are no surprises or thrills, and Matthew (and his mother and I) were glad when the very long fifty-five minute show ended.
