The Retro Electro Pinocchio Show

The original story of Pinocchio ‘The Story of a Puppet’ by Carlo Collodi was serialised in 1881 and ‘was meant to undermine the traditional idea of a fairy-tale – and also to send a political message: …Once upon a time there was…a piece of wood.’ But, with the above title what story would we be watching tonight?

Many thanks for your warm welcome it was also great to see the hall filling up with a large audience of varying ages.

The large aproned stage was set up with steps down to the hall and on both stages left and right used by the cast to enter and exit the playing area. The sound and lighting desk was set up at the back of the hall. The lighting bar set with a variety of different lights was set above the stage and the changes of lighting added detail to the performance.  The speakers were set either side of the stage and there were two monitors placed in front of it to help singers on stage keep time with the backing tracks. I realise that many companies use expensive radio mics these days but they do come with issues mainly positioning and use. There were some issues with the mics with the storytellers. They head mics appeared too close to their faces so their dialogue crackled and Red’s was fixed to the wrong side of her costume because she inclined to the right so her speech was quiet. I did notice that changes were made during later scenes and improvements were made. The sound effects used during the performance added reality to scenes.

The backdrops and stage decorations all gave detail to the various scenes. I particularly liked the decorated edge of the curtain for the circus and teeth inside the monster. The large props worked well doubling up in some cases to represent different items and dressing the stage. The smaller personal props were well managed by the cast.

Your production team certainly took time to choose those numbers included in the show. The electro beat was evident in all those in the performance both older and newer numbers. Your musical director had obviously spent time ensuring that those songs with harmonies were projected and whether the songs were delivered alone or in groups all knew their words. I would just like to praise those members of your cast who had to perfect the songs with complex rhythm patterns when performing to a backing track a feat that many more experienced performers would not attempt.

Your choreographer had perfected the skill of showing everyone to their best by creating more difficult routines for those more able and more achievable routines for others. It was great to see a tap routine and Charleston steps included this year.

The costumes chosen this year gave a ‘Peaky Blinders’ feel to the piece with the flapper dresses and 1920’s suits. The animal costumes were carefully sourced and the chorus costumes all fitted into the appropriate scenes but some could have been altered a little for a better size. I felt that maybe some of the more modern costumes chosen for the Sirens were to show them as a group apart from the rest.

Blue, Red and Green who I feel were some sort of sprits appeared from stage right attired in their 1920’s flapper dresses with feathered headbands and attached wings. They delivered their lines with confidence setting the scene with a preamble for the story while behind them the curtains opened to a solid wooden workbench where Geppetto was working with wood and creating Pinocchio. The two actors playing the parts added detail to the commentary. Blue’s singing of ‘A Real Hero’ a very complex off beat song added reality to the story as did her words to Pinocchio to be’ Brave, kind and true’. These three characters popped up during the performance to ensure we were up to date with the plot and how it was moving along.

The next players on the stage were four young women dresses in school uniform who presented a well-choreographed and sung upbeat version of ‘Mr Sandman’. On checking the programme, it became evident that these were the four sirens in this production. On checking the meaning of siren, I found that they were classed as ‘a woman who sings with enchanting sweetness…a temptress’ and your four certainly displayed all these tendencies plus an additional nastier streak when their plans didn’t go well.

A village scene opened with a simple routine and people milling about and interacting well with each other. The next character we met was a handsomely attired Jimmy Cricket. What a lucky company you are to have this your man within your group a true ‘triple threat’ a very versatile performer. He was proficient in all three areas of theatrical performance. His acting was exceptional bringing meaning to every line, he interacting with whoever he worked with, his singing was on point and delivered with feeling and he danced brilliantly. I expect to see this young man in many other shows. A tour de force performance.

The time had come for Pinocchio to go to school and Geppetto sent him off with sound advice saying he would meet him after school. The actor portraying Geppetto was great, speaking in a clear voice, great wood jokes, and he showed his concern for his son during the show.  The young man depicting Pinocchio created a believable character, moved and sang well, he was very trusting and easily led astray especially by the Sirens and Kitty and Henhouse. It was a good job Jimmy Cricket was around to pull him back with ‘always let your conscience be your guide’. A lovely performance and the minimal make up added to your character.  The teacher did seem to stumble over a few lines but showed a dour, strict manner.

The two young members of your cast playing Kitty and Henhouse were both well attired and spoke clearly with determination and persuaded Pinocchio to leave a note for Geppetto and go with them to the circus.

The actor portraying Stromboli the circus master looked resplendent in his red tailcoat, gold bow tie and black hat he created a strong friendly character.  He unknown to Pinocchio was under the influence of the Sirens and welcomed a real live wooden puppet into his circus with alacrity. The circus performance was great with some clever acrobatics. When dragged away with Pinocchio by Jimmy from the voices in their heads they produced a great song and dance electro version of ‘Hit the Road Jack’.

Called by the pleasures of Redruth the team end up in well appointed bar serving the lethal ‘Black Betty’ drink. The proprietor Walt who we later find out was a theme park owner, was dressed as a walking, talking version of Mickey Mouse with a wonderful high-pitched voice which he maintained throughout. Of course, like the rest he was being influenced by the Sirens to be part of the downfall of Pinocchio plying him with ‘Black Betty’. Your actor did a fantastic job of creating an identifiable caricature of Mickey Mouse, well done. All this drink led to a fight. The young player depicting Biff was determined and animated.

The Sirens thought they had won and no matter how much they hissed and demanded Pinocchio replied ‘No’ leading to them screaming and a storm erupting and Geppetto, Pinocchio, Jimmy, Walt and Stromboli found themselves inside a monster. The only way out was to light a fire and of course there is only one wooden character. There was an emotional scene between father and son but as Blue said ‘only love can set you free!’ The Sirens were all on the floor crying when a disembodied voice said ‘you failed me’. I was then a little confused when the sound guy appeared on the stage in costume.

This pantomime had a story with known and unknown characters and it contained the story of good versus evil, great jokes, larger than life characters and of course a happy ending.  I would like to thank you for inviting me along and congratulate all those members of your group both on and off stage.

Lastly, I would like to commend you on your tribute to Alec he was a lovely, kind, talented gentleman who I’m sure you all miss.

Disclaimer 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be affected by that knowledge. 

The NODA Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular, the performance.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

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