What would more than 34 young people do during their summer break? Well, the Smiths Falls Community Theatre is most grateful that they wanted to participate in their summer Youth Musical production of No Strings Attached. It’s based on the classic story of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, with a book by Patrick Rainville Dorn Music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur.
No Strings Attached is about Carl (Adéle Laferriére) a young lad who has run away from home and is looking for somewhere to belong, so he auditions for a job with the mysterious Professor Pinecone (Xander Duff) and his traveling magical marionette puppet show. He quickly discovers, however, that the position comes with many more challenges than he imagined! In this play-within-a-play, Carl is magically turned into Pinocchio and embarks on a journey of discovery where he meets some interesting characters. He first encounters Geppetto (Ryan Millls) who tries to help Carl/Pinocchio understand his new role. Then Cricket (Olivia Fowler) appears with her entourage of singing bugs, laying down the law with a good old-fashioned guilt trip and promising to “Bug Ya” if he doesn’t behave.
After this lesson, the boy-turned-puppet thinks he knows what he needs to do, but then he runs into the Fox (Chloe Bigham) and the Cat (Élise Laferriére), who play him like a fiddle convincing him he can make “Easy Money” by burying the coins Geppetto gave him for school. Destitute, Pinocchio wanders aimlessly, looking for the easiest way to survive while meeting more surprise characters along the way. Being a lazy puppet, he has no interest in working, so when he encounters the Blues Fairy (Celeste Sawan) he gets caught in lies, resulting in — you guessed it — his nose growing to uncomfortable lengths.
Seeming to learn his lesson after that, he is swayed by the mischievous Dipstick (Bryson Brown) into making another poor decision and ends up joining a group of revellers led by a malevolent Driver (Kaylan Looby) and turns into a donkey! Eventually he finds Geppetto inside the mouth of shark (yep, you will actually see a shark!) and offers to sacrifice himself to free his “father”. Fortunately, Trina Tuna (Emma McIlvenna) and her school of tuna fish come to their aid with a strategy that will truly surprise! This all happens with slapstick humour, clever wordplay, and a wide range of musical styles including hip-hop, swing, bluegrass, and good old rock ’n’ roll!
With fun dialogue, a variety of modern music and a surprise ending, audiences of all ages will enjoy this new take on an old favourite!
The play runs for 7 performances over two weekends, with 7:30pm shows on August 14, 20 and 21 and 2pm matinées on Saturdays and Sundays, August 15, 16, 22 and 23. Station Theatre now offers seat selection when you order your tickets online at smithsfallstheatre.com. Orders can also be made at Special Greetings, 8 Russell Street East in Smiths Falls, Monday through Saturday from 9–5. You can also call the store at 283–2244. Adult tickets are $25, and students are $10.