His name was Joseph. An ordinary little boy who didn’t want to grow up because the adult world is so boring and cruel. It is much better to cut with friends in the yard with wooden swords than to participate in a real war, play games, and not go to work every day to earn money. The toy department in the big store seemed to him to be the place where time stopped and if you stay there, you will always be a child, and then one day he hid among the toys and when the store closed, found that they came to life. The first person he saw was a Betty Kett doll, who drew zeros on the price tags so that no one would buy toys, and the second one was the Pink Soldier. He really was all pink - and his uniform, and machine gun, and such a girly color did not like boys, and girls do not play soldiers. The Pink Soldier has been on the shelf for a very long time, hoping that one day there will be some boy who doesn’t care about color at all – and now this boy is standing in front of him. Holding hands, they went to explore the department together, meeting chess Queen and King, who constantly quarreled with each other, took a ride on a toy train, the Young Chemist's Kit amused them a lot with puns, the Puzzle Cousin screwed up their heads, Maid In Asia told about the distant country in Southeast Asia where it was made, the Night Guard made them hide, and the Cleaner explained how to keep their childhood forever.
That's the musical. It does not strike the viewer with the entanglement of the plot, because it is written and staged for young children, its melodies are simple and easy to remember, and in the end of course everything will end well, and at the same time young viewers will understand that it is scary not to grow up - it is scary to forget what it is like to be a child. The author of the idea Louis Shedid knew what would be interesting to those for whom he created this performance. Just as he knew how to interest adults, without creating a very primitive fairy tale - and he was interested in the composition. Benabar, Albain De La Simone, Vanessa Paradis, Alain Souchon, Francis Cabrel, Shirley and Dino, Zhen Sherale, Sanseverino - these names tell a little to foreigners, except that Paradis is well known, but for the French no comment is needed. Legendary artists and musicians – and if it were a commercial musical, it would only have time to sell tickets and make a profit. But Shadid did not think about the benefits - how can you turn a children's holiday into money making?
To some extent, the Pink Soldier went the same way as the legendary Emili Jolie. The first attempt was an audio recording, which immediately fell in love with children. After the same troupe, a performance was staged - bright and funny. Young viewers laughed as they watched De La Simone's self-confused Puzzle. We sighed with Paradis over the story of a poor little girl sewing Maid In Asia. Trying to figure out what the Young Chemist Benabar set was trying to do. They sympathized with the misfortune of the Pink Soldier Mathieu Shedid. Feared the appearance of the Night Guard - how did Cabrel feel this role! We smiled at the cheerful abuse of the Queen and the King, who were perfectly embodied by the comic duo Shirley and Dino. And much more - no number could leave indifferent. And when the fairy tale came to an end, it was a fairy tale to end too quickly.
Only a few shows and the show was closed. Not because it was not a success, but on the contrary, it was shown on television and children who did not have the opportunity to come to Paris for the performance stuck to the screen so as not to miss a single moment. Just for the above reason – did not pursue the creators for profit, let their offspring remain in the hearts of the audience and the recordings of the TV exactly as they intended it. Unfortunately, the DVD was never released, but the performance was not forgotten, at the holidays the children dressed up in costumes of the heroes they loved and listened to and hummed their favorite songs again and again.
A few years later, Francis Cabrel thought about creating a continuation of the musical beloved by children. The Pink Soldier, thinking it was wrong to be different in color, decided to repaint himself and become the Blue Soldier, but soon realized that Pink was better for him. Also, the first audio came out “Pink Soldier 2”. Did Tom Dutron seem to have been born for the role of Pink - or did Blue? - A soldier. Nolwen Leroy looked amazing as Maid In Asia. Joseph performed by Renan Luca looked grown up and wise. Cabrel himself did not betray the Night Guard, becoming even more fearless and dispelling ghosts. Underwent a change and staging - in 2015, instead of a performance with scenery, a concert turned out more. Whether a full-fledged musical will be staged in the future and whether it will become a worthy successor to the first part - time will tell, but now according to the reviews of those who have listened and watched, we can say that Dutron's charm will not allow the sequel to get lost in time and forget.
10 out of 10 for the first and 10 out of 10 for the second