THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

There's no disputing the important messages at the heart of The Last of the Dragons. In just one hour, Lifeline Theatre packs quite a bunch into this world-premiere children's musical based upon Edith Nesbit's book.

The Last of the Dragon uses a fairy-tale format to celebrate unconventional characters breaking from traditions kept in place for tradition's sake. Yet I wish the musical's many authors ( David Bareford on the script; Mikhail Fiksel, Kyle Hamman and Alex Balestrieri all contributing to the five pop-song score ) could have pushed things further.

Instead of being fascinated by frilly dresses and pining for princes, the Princess Andromeda of Astoria ( who prefers being called Andy ) is quite the spunky swordfighter. Princess Andy ( an endearing, if not always powerfully singing Anne Sears ) is dreading her kingdom's forthcoming wedding ritual, where she gets tied to a rock outside the last living dragon's cave to await a prince to rescue her. Andy asks her king father ( Mike Ooi ) why she has to marry, and why can't she fight the dragon herself.

Thanks to a deliberate message mix-up courtesy of the odd parrot-human D'Artagnan ( a resourceful David Fink ) , Princess Andy's intended turns out to be Prince Stanley of Tuscany ( a solid Scott Allen Luke ) , a bookish and shy guy who would rather be reading and inventing contraptions rather than saving princesses. At his queen mother's urging ( a very amusing Mallory Nees ) , Prince Stanley goes through with pretending to be a butch dragon fighter.

Since this is a fairy tale, everything ends happily for everyone, including the big gray dragon ( cleverly created by puppet designer Joanna Iwanika and voiced by Fink ) . Director Dorothy Milne and set designer Ian Zywica do a good job with the limited stage space afforded them ( played over Lifeline's upcoming Mrs. Caliban ) .

But in terms of the writing, the musical's authors could have made Prince Stanley even more unconventional as a lover of music, poetry and dance ( and if he had used those interests to charm the dragon—even better ) . As he is now, Prince Stanley doesn't challenge as many stereotypical male norms as the tomboy Princess Andy.

And though the show is a fantasy, the musical's authors jumble time periods together ( possibly to allow for the pop score ) , creating an armful of historical anachronisms. I'm sure a few parents may cringe at Astoria's kingdom—which possesses a phonograph player, but has never heard of a car or a telescope ( both of which happen to be invented by Prince Stanley ) .

Lifeline's The Last of the Dragons is fun and its overall messages are important to hear. However, the show's nagging imperfections makes you wish more time was devoted to make it a better crafted one.