PINOCCHIO reviews!

International Students of Wheelock College, saw and reviewed PINOCCHIO. I am posting 3 of them here... and they are a good read and an interesting perspective!

Christabelle Peter

The acting skills of everyone on stage are fantastic. They played their characters really good that you can tell each of their characteristics from the audience point of view. The caught my attention was the words they used like yen, beef stew, pachinko, and more. These words blends in Japanese setting till I feel like ordering a ramen from the stall. Addition to that, the dancing also caught my eye as the movement of the dancers remind me of a Japanese painting called “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” because they movement looks like a wave. Other than that, I also realized that the person who dances behind the Blue Fairy resembles her shadow.

From all the characters, my favourite is the snail that passes by at a certain time of the scene. It was confusing at first about its appearance but then I notice it represents the time that passed by. The snail also have its part when he told Pinocchio of Blue Fairy’s condition. My favourite scene is when the snail picks up its body like a dress and ran off immediately. It is not realistic like a real snail but the actor gave a humorous and playful scene to us as he was doing so.

Alaye Princewill

Compared to the Pinocchio I have read and watched when I was a child, the play was very similar and slightly different. It starts off with a man named Geppetto. When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto builds a puppet to be his son, a fairy brings the toy to life, the boy could move and talk its name was Pinocchio hopes to become a real boy someday. The fairy appointed a cricket to look over Pinocchio. But even with the help of his cricket friend who the fairy assigned to be his guide Pinocchio seemed to struggle and have problems. Instead of going to school he gets tricked by two puppeteers who lied that they could make him rich. He found and made a friend and they both were deceived and taken to toy land. Toy land is a place for lazy kids, they played all day and both won, after winning the next morning they started changing into donkeys gradually and eventually were sold. Pinocchio was swallowed by a whale, the same whale that swallowed his father eventually they got out. The blue fairy rewarded him by transforming him into a real boy.

I enjoyed watching the real play because it was very creative, it made me laugh that’s why I kept watching and it caught the eyes of the audience. The Pinocchio story tells you to go after your goals. The plot was perfect, the purpose of the play was delivered or transferred to the audience. I think the acting was played well, the way the characters displayed their behavior, dancing and following the rhythm of the music which was played at the right time.

Michael Ly

“Pinocchio” is a play about the love in family, between parents and children, the strong relationship in family. Pinocchio, the wooden boy, care about his father, he leave home to find gold. He meet and overcome many challenge, also, his father go very long way to find him. At last, they meet each other and together to overcome the last challenge. Finally, Pinocchio is became the real boy.

The light is suitable to the background or the main topic is going on in the state. The connecting between light and music caught customer’s attention. The changing of the background had the appearance of many people. But it did not make the viewer feel uncomfortable, they can feel more natural. The costumes were suitable with the character and the Japanese scene in the play.

In all characters, I like the snail. He is the symbols as the time go through, also, I think it is the symbol of trying. From the beginning, he went slow and moved the rock. To the end, the number of rock was more, this was the result for his trying. In addition to, the snail was also very fun, when someone caught his rock and Pinocchio told him to send mail, he ran very fast. That point made audience very fun.

Gareth

When I watching the comedy which called Pinocchio, I really pleasantly surprised about it because I had never seen a Western comedy has a lot of Eastern culture elements like Pinocchio.

As an oriental people, I am very glad to see that oriental and occidental cultures combined in this comedy: Kabuki and Peking opera are combined with a western fairy comedy and audiences do not feel strange. Several Japanese words spoken by the actors: Sushi, Yen…etc.

The props design and lighting are also very attractive. Pinocchio is a fairy comedy, so actors prepared lots of props which consist with the subject like scooter and fountain, these props can make audiences feel warm and attract their attention. Besides, the lighting also very fits with the plot of comedy.

Then, the most important thing is the story. Pinocchio is a very old story of European fairy, but we saw many Asian actors and African American actors perform in this comedy, I think it is prove the inclusiveness of American culture and convey love to all the audience. In this comedy, people can experience love, brave and friendly from this story and I believe it is the real meaning of this comedy.

 

Meng-wei Chen

Pinocchio just like us he did something wrong many times and finally he knows what is the right. He’s a regular adolescent trying to figure out how the world works and, more importantly, how he can navigate it. He is always shown the error of his ways and promises to change but he most often repeats the same mistakes. Experience is the best teacher. The best way to learn is to experience mistakes.

At some stage while growing up, children “challenge” the authority of their parents. In the story, Pinocchio always cries out for his father but he don’t know his father was do a lot for him. His father is really poor that he cannot grow up in the rich environment but he’d like to sale he only coat to get book for Pinocchio. He loves his father but maybe he don’t know how to use right way to expression in this stage.

Don’t be gullible. Pinocchio runs into the Cat and Fox. He thought they are his best friends, but the true is they just want his money. In this reality world, we can have many friends but not all friends are all true for you. However, we still need to trust if we are to develop meaning and lasting relationships with other people. In other words, don’t be too trusting.

Tell the truth. I thought that this was all about telling lies and regretting it because every time Pinocchio tells a lie, his nose grows longer.

Don’t give in to peer-pressure. We all want to fit in especially when we are ne to a certain environment. Pinocchio has resolved to himself to be a good boy and he goes back to school and studies diligently. But he saw the other kids were not going to school so he followed. Wrong move.

Pinocchio not just a story, I think the author want to expression some experience and through this story to tell reader which meaning inside.