‘Blue Palm’ Is a Wacky Treat for All

Whether you’re 4 or over 40, here’s a wacky winner: “Blue Palm Startles Little Red Riding Hood, Eats Hansel and Gretel, Then Dances With the Sleeping Beauty,” free at Barnsdall Art Park’s Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.

In a departure from their sensual, unique dance theater works for adults, the professional dance duo Blue Palm--Jackie Planeix and Tom Crocker--performs a trio of hilarious take-offs on familiar fairy tales for children.

They’re just getting warmed up in their opener--nine versions of “Little Red Riding Hood,” including a barking dog rendition.

Then comes “Hansel and Gretel” and the husband-and-wife team make an instant hit with matching Alpine shorts outfits and outrageously funny Arnold Schwarzenegger accents.

They also have big, bulging bellies, because the witch put a spell on them as they pushed her into the oven. Now, whenever they hear a polka, they have to dance; when the music stops, they have to gobble goodies.

Cousin Siggie Freud phones in the cure: If they can get friends to dance and eat with them, the spell will be broken. There’s no shortage of audience volunteers--after all, those are real doughnuts up there.

The piece de resistance is a wacky version of the marriage scene from Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” ballet. Before they’re done, Planeix and Crocker have donned false beards and parrot beaks and played Ping-Pong. Surprisingly, they also manage a fair bit of real ballet. Encore, encore.

“Blue Palm,” Gallery Theatre, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Saturday, 2 p.m., Ends next Sat. Free. (213) 485-7393. Running time: 50 minutes.