Wit, merriment, and mirth are the hallmarks of The Great Pancake Escape, Ballet Theatre of Toledo’s winter production, which finds three of the city’s most creative minds joining forces to lift characters from the pages of a children’s fantasy for two weekend performances.

The project began in 2002, when local author Paul Many brought his lifelong cooking passion into the pages of the book he was writing at the time. He says, “I have been making pancakes since the time I was a kid, throwing everything that children love into the batter. It became a sort of joke with my parents, and when I grew up I continued the tradition with my own family.

“It fascinated me. How a gloppy bowl of lumpy flour gravy transforms into tasty, crisp pancakes through the wizardry of cooking remains above my comprehension grade. The result, however, I do understand, is the perfect delivery system for syrup, blueberries, or whipped cream.”

That magic inspired his rollicking children’s story and eventually this new ballet’s plot. A wizardly father inadvertently uses his magic book to whip up breakfast for his children rather than a cookbook. The result is a wayward group of flapjacks that take flight and must be retrieved in order to save the city from the antics in which they engage. The finale is a bit of irony involving store-bought, frozen waffles.

Says author Many: “My head is full of foolishness that is the genesis for most of my children’s books. Any kind of nonsense that goes through your head is creative fodder in this genre.”

The book itself is written in the style of the best kid lit, ballad verse with lots of good old rhyming. Add to the plot tidbits of magic and fantasy and it’s a winner in every respect. As Many says, “It’s very kid friendly.”

Enter creative contributor number two, Toledo composer David Jex. He and Many are colleagues at the University of Toledo, and shortly after the book’s publication, the two of them sparked on the idea that the story was perfect for a ballet.

With the assistance of an Arts Commission of Greater Toledo grant, Jex undertook to write music for the project. His vision was to use jazz as a vehicle, a small combo of piano, bass, drums, and himself on trumpet and flugelhorn.

In working with the text of the book, the structure and flow of the verse became central to the creative idea. On the book’s jacket, Many had suggested how the verse was based on the same pattern as the Stephen Foster song “Oh, Susannah!”

“It was irresistible not to compose a ballet of jazz variations on that American classic,” says Jex. It pervades the entire work: augmented, upside down, time signature variations, a whole tone version. It also provides a great anchor for younger children in terms of what to listen for in the music. The original score, true to jazz, was in the form of a lead sheet, with much of the music being improvised.

Since a dance company was not readily available, Jex and Many rethought their ballet idea into a story reading with jazz interruptions. They took the piece on the road to a number of local schools. The result was a successful hit with the education system. It had a great run and slowly passed into retirement. That is, until last year.

Enter creative component number three, Ballet Theatre of Toledo Artistic Director and Choreographer Nigel Burgoine. In searching for ideas for this season’s programming he happened on a score and proposal that had crossed his desk years ago. His creative wheels started turning.

He approached Jex and Many about resurrecting the work in its original concept as a full-length ballet. Although his call came from out of the blue, the composer and librettist were completely re-invigorated over the prospects.

Jex immediately contacted his original group of instrumentalists. He expanded the score to include two additional songs and a woodwind player. Finally, because ballet dancers need a tighter musical structure and consistency of performance, he rescored the work, closing up the looseness of the improvisation.

Many agreed to become the narrator for the work. His vision was an offstage voice similar to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Somehow, however, he ended up on stage, dressed in black, front and center. “I have to get over my stage fright and be a focal point,” the author reflects.

Burgoine, a consummate impresario, added his own magic to the mix. To begin with, there is his dance company. Of it Jex says, “They are a wonderful mix of very polished dancers interspersed with up-and-coming youngsters which Burgoine likes to call his ‘silver dollar pancakes.’ This is one of Burgoine’s strongest gifts. He has the ability to utilize an individual dancer’s skill level to contribute to the overall success of his artistic whole.”

Burgoine says, “I was grappling with how to make pancakes come to life. The result is a great mix of classical ballet technique with jazz in a flight of fancy. The dancers are actually costumed so they have pancake skirts with fruit on the top. On their heads I wanted little jugs of maple syrup running down overall.”

Finally, Burgoine called on his ability to connect with the community. The list of “guest actors” for this production is impressive. Magician Andrew Martin prestidigitizes his way across the floor as the children’s father. Local TV celebs Chris Vickers, Tony Geftos, and Heather Pollauf turn up in the around-the-town antics scenes. Even Scrambler Marie’s Restaurant makes a contribution by providing vouchers for a free order of pancakes to everyone who comes to see the performance.

The goal was that this production be a whole new dance concept: a fantasia mix of narration, magic, movement, and music. Again Burgoine, “We wanted to create a ballet experience that was entirely geared, not to adults, but to children in every aspect.”

Public performances of The Great Pancake Escape are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Valentine Theatre, 410 Adams St. Toledo. There is a special student performance at 10 a.m. Tickets are $7 to $14 and are available at the Valentine Box Office at 419-242-2787 or valentinetheatre.com. For more information call the Ballet Theatre of Toledo at 419-861-0895 or balletheatreoftoledo.org.

Contact Wayne F. Anthony at classics@theblade.com.

First Published February 28, 2016, 5:00 a.m.