My Son Pinocchio

A charming tale of Pinocchio, conceived by Disney, with some delightful music.

The set was well thought out.  The back drop of a book, featuring the beginning and end of a tale, and a picture of Pinocchio was lovely, with two plinths adding dimension to the stage. I also like the side flats that depicted Pinocchio and Gepetto.  

The lighting plot was simple but effective, and I really liked the swirling effects on the backcloth, and the swirling roundels on the side flats, all helped the illusionary effect of the production.

I felt the sound was a little suspect, as I found it difficult to hear some of the actors.  I’m not sure whether it was because the cast weren’t projecting enough, or whether it was because they weren’t mic’d.  The backing tracks played well.

Musically the ensemble numbers were good, some nice harmonies and enthusiastic performances, but in a couple of the numbers the cast raced ahead of the music, so it got a little jumbled, I would have liked to have seen the MD in evidence to keep them all on track. I thought some of the musical timing was very difficult, particularly Stromboli’s number, but Finlay Dawson coped admirably.

Costumes were mostly good, the girls all looked lovely, colourful costumes and neat hairdos, all of which helped create a lovely picture. Most of the lads costumes were good, however I thought Gepetto needed different trousers, to keep him in line with the feel of the other costumes.  He looked a little untidy, but had good makeup to make him look older.  

The choreography overall was fine – however I did think the fairy dance in Just Because It’s Magic was a little strange. Sometimes the choreo did not fit the feel of the music, although it was mostly suitable for the varying degrees of ability.  In Pleasure Island I noticed that when the ensemble was marching on the spot there were several youngsters out of time – that needed tightening up.

Gepetto was played by Gianni Marcantonio, he got the essence of the character with some nice facial expressions, but I had trouble hearing him, he was obviously able to project well as in certain places he was fine.

Olivia Prutton was a good Pinocchio, she acted well, and although she only had small snatches of song, she sang them well, and her costume was excellent.

I liked Clemmie Milligan’s portrayal of the Blue Fairy, she projected really well, and gave the part a bit of sass!  Backed by her trainee fairies – Ela Gozen, Emily Rapley, Saskia Maric and a very feisty Beatrix Whitby, this was a very good grouping. The only note I have here was that in the dance the fairies did with their arms crossed, the taller fairy should have been on the end, as the raising of the crossed arms obscured her face and looked awkward.

Finlay Dawson was a good strong Stromboli – projecting well.  He struggled a little with the timing of his song, but it didn’t deter him.  I would have liked him to make a bit more connection with the audience, but other than that, well done.  I liked his relationship with his unfortunate Marionette, played by Elliott Dawson.

The Farmer – Aayan Hoque spoke well, and the leaders of the Satisfaction Guaranteed number (Erin Dalrymple, Scarlett Bahnsen, Alfie Fitzgerald) all performed well, although the tempo with the ensemble was out of time towards the end.

I always enjoy watching young people perform, and this was a charming vehicle for their talents.  However, there were parts when the principals needed to play to the audience more, and not face side stage or up stage, as when mics aren’t used that blocks the sound going out to the audience.

The finale was well sung, but it would have been nice for the cast to have been more spread out on the stage, as there seemed to be a bunch of people behind the principals centre stage, who we couldn’t see, which was a shame.

My thanks to Young Thespians for their hospitality, on a bright sunny afternoon, enhanced by a nice production.

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