'Reluctant Dragon' is a bit uneven

"THE RELUCTANT DRAGON," SCERA Theater for Young Audiences, through Nov. 5 (801-225-2787 or www.scera.org); running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

OREM — "The Reluctant Dragon" is a mixed bag.

There's some good stuff, some funny stuff and some enlightening stuff.

But there's also some slow stuff.

When the dragon is waxing on about his poetry, the show loses the very young. They start to shift in their seats and bug mom for candy.

When the puppets are singing, they sit right up and pay attention.

It's not really clear whether the problem lies in the staging or the script. It's always tough to bring a classic tale to life, so it's probably more to do with the script than the staging.

And the dragon, played by Shawn Mortensen, is likeable, funny and energetic. He doesn't fit the stereotype of a dragon, so at first, when he goes about dressed in scales but without his head, wings or tail, he's pretty much just a guy talking.

The youngster next to me didn't know whether to get ready to be scared or not. "Why isn't he wearing his head?" she asked.

When he does wear his head, tail and wings, he's a delightful dragon. He has heart, a great roar and plans for the future. He's amused to find he's regarded as an enemy of the human race.

It's fun to watch him joust with St. George — the aged knight (played nicely by Mark Pulham), who originally comes to kill and behead the dragon. "I've killed my share of lizards. Remember the dinosaurs?" he quips.

Their joust is one of the highlights, as is every scene with the villager muppets and the random puppet sheep who baa "baadly" every time mutton stew is mentioned.

The boy in the story is actually played by a girl — Victoria Rimington.

She does a fair job in the role, although she is clearly young. Sometimes her reactions are a little awkward but she certainly has enthusiasm for the role.

Celesta Rimington and Matt White play the parents both in the introduction and in the storybook.

Villager puppeteers include Brodee Ripple, Ashley Harvey and Jeff Harvey. They all do an animated job with different voices and inflections for each character.

The set is engaging, with lights and sound and magic bricks.

The moral of the story is a good one: Reading takes people far away to magical places.

So it's a good show for schoolchildren, and it's blessedly short, so parents can get through it without much pain.

Just leave the very small ones home.

e-mail: haddoc@desnews.com