The current production of “Pinocchio” at Children’s Theatre Co. is a radiant, joyful reminder of what they do best: taking a well-worn yarn and spinning it into fresh theatrical gold through sheer imagination. Based on Carlo Collodi’s classic fable, this spirited staging, adapted and directed by Greg Banks, pares away lavish technical excess to champion the pure magic of handcrafted play.
Glen Stubbe Photography
The framing device evokes the rustic charm of Shakespeare’s mechanicals in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Five painters arrive onstage ready to paint, only to discover an expectant, full house eagerly waiting for a performance of Pinocchio. Rather than pack up their ladders and drop cloths or send the audience home, this scrappy crew decides on the spot that the show must go on, gamely stepping into the roles themselves.
From the carved puppet’s first awkward steps to the shadowed belly of the whale, these five performers spin an entire universe out of everyday workaday items. Costume transformations happen in the blink of an eye with a simple painter’s bandana, a repurposed smock, or a mop head tossed on as a wig. It is a stunning triumph of minimalist stagecraft. In one particularly delightful stroke of brilliance, an ordinary rubber glove is inflated before our eyes and instantly becomes a buoyant, swimming fish. At times, the boundary-pushing physical storytelling channels the kinetic wonder of Cirque du Soleil clowns, trading literal marionette strings for breathtaking physical feats that send the cast bounding across Joseph Stanley’s multi-tiered, playground-like set.
The ensemble of Antonisia (Nisi) Collins, Dean Holt, Autumn Ness, Reed Sigmund, and Victor Zupanc tackles anchor doubling and multi-rolling with effortless grace. Seeing CTC’s legendary resident company members work together remains one of the true privileges of Twin Cities theatergoing. Their mutual trust is so deeply ingrained that their performance feels like pure, unfiltered play. Audiences are even treated to a sly, insider wink to their recent run of “The Wizard of Oz” as Holt, Ness, and Sigmund link arms and skip blithely off into the dark woods.
Glen Stubbe Photography
Anchoring the mayhem in the title role, Collins is a revelation. Delivering a turn brimming with impish playfulness, Collins effortlessly captures the stiff mischief of freshly carved pine before steadily carving out a poignant, hard-earned maturity. By the final bow, as life’s bruising lessons in bravery, truth, and genuine selflessness take hold, we are left watching not just a clever physical transformation, but the authentic, tear-pricking transformation of a real boy.
Banks directs with a lively, rhythmic precision, underscoring the narrative with rich physical humor, warmth, and buoyant original compositions by onstage musician Zupanc that skip along with the action. Beyond the clever theatrics, the production never loses sight of Collodi’s moral heartbeat: true humanity is earned not through perfection, but through empathy and moral courage.
A visit to CTC always extends beyond the curtain call, and this outing is no exception. The lobby activities and thoughtful program notes offer wonderful opportunities to extend the conversation on the drive home. I urge you to work through the discussion prompts with your young theatergoers, and perhaps more importantly, pose those very questions to yourself. They carry a quiet resonance that challenges us at any stage of life. While nominally aimed at ages five to ten, this enchanting production speaks to the child in all of us. “Pinocchio” runs through Oct. 18.
