Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Young King’ makes for a fun show — with a moral — for children, in Hoboken

From left, “The Young King” cast members Joe Bliss, Jasmine Hawkins, Mikey Miller and Lindsay Thurber.

If you only know Oscar Wilde as the playwright who wrote “The Importance of Being Earnest” and landed in jail for loving the wrong person, you may not realize that he also turned out some of the most haunting fairy tales of the Victorian Era. One of them, “The Young King,” has been resurrected at Hoboken’s Mile Square Theatre — not as stuffy literature, but as an interactive kids’ show that tickles the imagination and entertains even as it teaches a lesson on wealth and entitlement.

The setup is straightforward: A poor waif learns that he is royalty and is plucked from his simple woodland home and dropped into palace life. Before the curtain even rises, the audience is pulled into the pageant — posters in an anteroom explain the kingdom’s industries (pearls from the sea, gold from the mills, jewels from the mines) and kids get to craft their own crowns in the lobby before joining the coronation parade into the theater. It’s not “sit down and watch” as much as “come play with us.”

Mikey Miller leads the small, energetic cast as the wide-eyed Young King, while Joe Bliss, Jasmine Hawkins and Lindsay Thurber juggle multiple roles with the enthusiasm of camp counselors running on juice boxes and adrenaline. The audience becomes part of the action, offering gifts and reacting to cues — which keeps even the wiggliest kids glued to their seats. The short running time won’t strain the young’uns’ attention spans, either.

From left, Mikey Miller, Joe Bliss, Jasmine Hawkins and Lindsay Thurber in “The Young King.”

Wilde’s moral, though, cuts deeper than the sparkly set pieces. On the eve of his coronation, the Young King endures a series of vividly staged nightmares that strip the shine off his new riches — visions of starving workers, greedy merchants and child laborers paying the price for royal luxury. He learns where the pearls and rubies and fine embroidery come from, and who pays the price.

The show doesn’t linger on those dark moments, but they may prove a bit intense for pre-schoolers. Grades 1 to 4 seem ideal. When the time comes for the Young King to take the throne … well, this is a fairy tale, but let’s just say that rubies, pearls and gold brocade aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

The production makes creative use of Mile Square’s compact stage — panels move and swing, boxes transform into bits of imagined scenery, and a few clever projections and shadow puppets bring everything from the royal palace to the deep woods to life. Of the cast, Thurber stands out, pulling real emotion from her dual roles as the King’s tragic mother and a figure in his disturbing dreams. Director Misti B. Wells performs magic with the intricate choreography of the set, but most of the performances err on the side of the broad — think costumed princesses and mascots you meet at theme parks. This works fine for the elementary-school set, but may leave adults quietly checking their watches.

Judging from opening night, though, the kids were all in — laughing, cheering, gasping, and marching out with crowns askew and imaginations lit. It’s an hour that will give children their first real taste of live theater, free of Disney gloss but full of wonder. And parents will feel good about bringing them. Couples who aren’t parents … maybe save this one for when and if you do have kids.

The Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken will present “The Young King” though March 8; visit milesquaretheatre.org.

_________________________________________