An Ageless `Wolf' Has A Tale To Tell

It's been more than half a century since Sergei Prokofiev's ``Peter and the Wolf'' first charmed concertgoers and radio listeners with its classical orchestration of a narrated Russian folk tale.

Yet as audiences will see in an upcoming local dance/theater production of the 1939 composition, the work's appeal is ageless.

Olympic Ballet Theatre's ``Peter and the Wolf,'' with a live orchestra, plays at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Puget Sound Christian College in Edmonds and March 8 at the Moore Theater in Seattle ($8-$10; 628-0888).

This is the fifth year OBT has offered this family show preceded by a brief lecture-demonstration of theater art. But it also marks the 10th anniversary of OBT, a pre-professional group that's something of a folk tale itself in an era of shrinking funds and growing turmoil in the arts.

``The emphasis in this show is on the fun of it, on the fantasy,'' said OBT co-artistic director John Wilkins. ``It's very comedic, played broadly like a cartoon. You've got to play it that way, as well as for dance value, because there isn't that much pure dancing. It's more characters, and that wonderful music that goes along with each role.''

What dancing there is, said Wilkins, is carried mostly by the costumed cat and bird, represented musically by a clarinet and a flute. The threatening wolf is more of an athletic presence, whereas the boy Peter (played by 12-year-old Kerry Simon) and Grandpa (Wilkins) are mainly actors who dance a little.

Wilkins has seen the Walt Disney animated version of this fable. But he choreographed this work differently.

``It has so much vitality, it's so good, but you just cannot do animation on stage,'' said Wilkins. ``You can't do those tricks, have everything happen instantly. All you can do is tap into some of it, capture a bit of those characters.''

Pam Moore of Everett designed the costumes. The sets, some new this year, are by Vashon artist Hita von Mende, with lighting by Seattle's Stan Green.

A 30-piece community and student orchestra led by Margaret Dezell will play the Prokofiev score, with narration by Ed Aliverti. A short classical ballet to Mozart music, with choreography by OBT co-artistic director Helen Wilkins, opens the show.

The music was written to introduce audiences to the instruments, themes and organization of an orchestra. This production also serves as an introduction to theater arts - and to Olympic Ballet Theatre.

``Our school and this company in Edmonds can't offer anything on the same professional level as Pacific Northwest Ballet, with that quality of technique or that budget,'' said Wilkins.

``I'm offering something, important in its own way, at a different level. People who are doing these parts are aspiring pros, or else adults who like to dance, although not professionally. The little boy playing the lead is basically acting out every boy's fantasy.''

Wilkins said it's the goal of his company and school, occupying one large, windowed studio in the Frances Anderson Center in downtown Edmonds, to attract a small cadre of dancers on the way up - not necessarily to PNB, but somewhere. To that end, he hires professionals such as PNB's Deborah Hadley, and jazz choreographer Ray Bussey, to teach, choreograph and draw serious students.

OBT's board recently hired its first marketing director, Steve Hortegas, to look at expanding the group's influence and to find new funding sources.

``What I see John and Helen doing is reaching out to Seattle and to Port Townsend,'' explained Hortegas. ``OBT is in Edmonds, but not only for Edmonds.''

Said Wilkins: ``We stay small enough to be closely involved in all we do, and stabilized in our artistic growth until we can handle it. Yet we come out of a ballet tradition started by Dorothy Fisher and others in the 1940s in Seattle. We'll continue to build on that.''