When my son was born a friend of my mom's sent him a wooden Pinocchio puppet from Italy. Let me tell ya, that thing is MAGIC! When my baby would cry and nothing would soothe him, we would pull out Pinocchio and make him dance and suddenly my son was all smiles. Now over a year later that Pinocchio puppet is still one of my son's favorite things.
So I was THRILLED when Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences invited my husband, son and me to a performance of Pinocchio. Knowing the theatre is in Lincolnshire, we got an early start last Sunday and headed out. We were pleasantly surprised by the easy drive; there was no traffic (being a Sunday morning may have helped!) and the drive took much less time than our GPS said it would.
Once we arrived at the theatre we took our seats and were so excited about the space. Marriott Theatre is theatre in the round, so there is literally not a bad seat in the house. No matter where you sit there is always something wonderful to see.
And Pinocchio gave us a lot of wonderful. The sets were simple, but so colorful and effective for both the show and space. And what great costumes! Pinocchio's costume was especially fabulous as it truly looked like he was made of wood!!
Technically the show was very well done. From fun light cues to amazing quick changes to Pinocchio's growing and shrinking nose, there was a sense of wonder and magic through the entire production!
And to round all of that out, Pinocchio's cast was made up of wonderfully talented actors who sang, danced and kept my son and an audience full of children entertained through the entire show!
Not only did Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences provide a good show, they also offer a wonderful Q & A with the cast immediately following each performance. The actors and backstage crew are all introduced and then the audience can ask the actors anything we want. The day we were there we heard questions ranging from "why did your character do that" to "how does the Blue Fairy's wand light up".
It was truly a fantastic experience from beginning to end and I can't wait to take my son to see more Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences productions!
Pinocchio runs through August 29 at 10AM daily (including weekends) with additional performances at 12:30PM on select days at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 847.634.0200 or visiting marriotttheatre.com.
Disclosure: I was given 3 tickets to Pinocchio, but there was no expectation of a review and all opinions are my own.
