Pinocchia

The Story of a Little Wooden Girl

BOOK by CONI KOEPFINGER and JUNE RACHELSON-OSPA

MUSIC and LYRICS by C. MICHAEL PERRY

Vittorio, a puppet master, is lamenting negative reviews of his show. Pinocchia, a wooden girl puppet, awakens and expresses her desire to be a star. We visit with Pinocchia and Vittorio, her father and puppet master, in their apartment, with flashbacks to Vittorio’s past, encounters with a talking parrot named Reynaldo, and a Blue Fairy named Fantina. Pinocchia is lured to a Coney Island Carnival, where she meets Madame Pan and her Creepers, the Side Show performers. The first act ends with Pinocchia feeling trapped and wanting to leave. In the second act we discover that Pinocchia is a cousin to Pinocchio. Their fathers are brothers and former partners in a theatrical puppet venture before the brothers were separated.

Cast of 4f, 4m (+ensemble of 4-8) + small ensemble
- Vittorio Genarro — Puppet Master and producer extraordinaire (m)
- Pinocchia — a little wooden girl (f)
- Pinocchia Genarro (GHOSTDAUGHTER) — daughter, ghost from the past (f)
- Cosima Genarro (GHOSTWIFE)— wife, ghost from the past (f)
- Reynaldo — a Parrot “brother’ to Pinocchia (m or f)
- Fantina — the Good Fairy (f)
- Madame Pan — Evil Carnival Mistress (f)
- Iris — Dance Student (f)
- Charlotte — Dance Student (f)
- Pinocchio Genarro— The original puppet-turned-boy (m)
- Geppeto Genarro — Pinocchio’s Puppet-Master and Father (m)
- Mangiafuoco — Mangiafuoco means “Fire Eater”, the over-arching evil manipulator who fights against humans and fairies (m)
- ENSEMBLE: 6-8 in number
  - Creepers — performers at Madam Pan’s Side Show — (m & f)
    - Sammy-The-Spider
    - The Snake-Twins
    - Sol-The Unsingeable,
    - Benny-The-Bender, 2-4 others
  - Students — of Dance — (m & f)
ABOUT 90 MINUTES
Setting: New York City. 1936 (Flashback to 1911)