Pinocchio Commedia: I’m Your Puppet … Still
Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm,
through April 16
Running Time: 1 hr, 50 min
He’s one of the most famous bad boys in all of children’s literature. But just because you’re familiar with his Disney incarnation or with Carlo Collodi’s original, don’t think you know Pinocchio. The title character in this Tongue and Groove Theatre production of Pinocchio Commedia is another animal, er, puppet altogether.
The script by Hip Pocket Theatre’s Johnny Simons is set in Italy during the Renaissance and presented in the commedia dell’arte style, with Arlecchino, Pantalone, Pulcinella, and other characters familiar from this improvisational comic theatre form. Director David Yeakle has his company of “enterprising and energetic players” and accompanying band (featuring two of the 81é2 Souvenirs) perform the story in front of a barn at Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm. (On the way to the performance area, I found myself perched on a fence, watching a sow feed her young’uns. It was heartwarming, though I found myself wishing I had a hayseed stuck between my teeth.) Yeakle stages the action fairly simply, using basic theatrical devices to convey the misadventures of Pinocchio as he’s lured away from home by a fox and a cat and eventually reunited with Gepetto.
Despite the stereotypical plot, the acting is for the most part rich. As Pinocchio, Mark Stewart engages in the character’s trademark self-centeredness and alienates the audience only as much as necessary. Kate Meehan and Ellen Kolsto are natural sidekicks and entertaining as Razullo and Beltramo, Pinocchio’s newfound friends on his way to school. Kirk Smith is incorrigible as Arlecchino. And Elizabeth Doss steals the scenes in which her Pedrolina, the bratty runt of the company, tries to rise above her fool status.
As is the case in many theatre productions for children, this show has as much appeal to adults as kids. (Arlecchino announces at the top of the show, “Ladies and gentlemen, God bless you and heaven help you.”) While the first act drags a bit, the second act makes amends, with numerous references to movies (The Karate Kid, Jaws) and other plays (Shakespeare’s Hamlet). Adept acting, appropriately broad gesticulations of wit, and Yeakle’s eye for the funny keep Pinocchio Commedia going.
The story and playful spirits of Pinocchio boast more than a hundred years of life. This production doesn’t show the wooden puppet’s age one bit.
This article appears in April 14 • 2000.