Next month in Vankleek Hill, everyone will believe that a wooden doll can become a real life boy.
The days are counting down for the debut of High & Main Productions’ musical performance of Pinocchio. Cynthia Martin, High & Main Productions spokesperson, promises a real treat for young and old.
“It’s a very magical and meaningful production,” said Martin. “It’s a real celebration of local talent, both onstage and behind the scenes.”
The Vankleek Hill-based community theatre group marks its second year of fostering theatre arts in the community. Last year’s initial effort featured a pair of one-act plays, The Zoo Story and Overtones, both of which received strong support and appreciation.
“We decided that our spring production this year would be more of a family show,” said Martin. “It was pretty early on that the feeling was it would be Pinocchio.”
Carolo Collodi’s classic tale of a wooden puppet that undergoes strange and difficult challenges and perils in the hope of becoming a real live boy is 145 years old now. It is best known to the general public by the Disney animated version first shown in theatres in 1940 and most people are familiar with characters like Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s best friend and personal conscience, and bright and cheerful songs like “There Are No Strings On Me”.
The original Collodi story is in the public domain, which means that it is available for local theatre groups to adapt for the stage, unlike Disney’s version which is still under exclusive copyright protection. Some of Pinocchio’s escapades and adventures in the original Collodi version are also a little bit darker in tone than the child-friendly Disney movie. So the first thing for High & Main Productions was to have local playwright Konstantine Malakos pen an abridged version of the Collodi story that everyone in the family could enjoy and also be fun for the child actors taking part in the production.
“We’ve lightened things up to bring a more family-friendly version of the story to the stage,” said Martin. “It has a lot of life, magic, and humour for all members of the family. There is a real sense of wonder here. We’ve got puppets, a giant sea monster, and deliciously fun villains that kids will love to hate.”
Like the Disney movie, High & Main Productions’ Pinocchio has its original musical moments courtesy of lyricist and choreographer Ben Tremblay. The main challenge for the theatre company, Martin noted, for its production of Pinocchio was finding all of the talent, both onstage and behind-the-scenes, needed to stage a successful performance.
“We know that there’s a lot of artistic talent in the area,” she said. “And we are finding them. That’s the real work is to find them.”
That includes offering a very unique and fun role for several of the three child actors in the production. Besides being the assorted puppets in The Puppet Theatre from which Pinocchio has to escape, they also get to work together to bring to life the dreaded Sea Monster that proves one of Pinocchio’s greatest challenge during his adventures.
Martin herself has an important role in the production as Joanne Cricket, Pinocchio’s advisor and friend as he makes his way in the world.
“I share little gems of wisdom through the play,” she said, chuckling. “I also help remind people about the things that really matter. Theatre is important in that it’s a way of looking at the important questions.”
The curtain goes up on High & Main Productions’ Pinocchio at Vankleek Collegiate Institute evenings on June 12 and 13 with a Sunday matinee on June 14. The following June 19 performances follow the same evening and matinee schedules.
Ticket information is available at https://highandmainproductions.com/.
