Lady Grey Elementary School is inviting the community join them on their journey through the classic story of Pinocchio, with No Strings Attached.
“It’s a play within a play, based on the original Pinocchio story. But it’s a musical as well,” said Maggie Calledine, teacher at LGES, and director of the play.
More than 60 kids, ages nine to 12, will be acting, singing and dancing on the stage of the Civic Centre.
“It’s a musical based on the original Pinocchio story, with modern day twists. We’ve got hip-hoppers, and ballet dancers, the bug chorus, and crickets singing the blues,” said Calledine.
The play centres around a professor and an older woman with a travelling marionette show. While at the same time, the story of Pinocchio will be acted out by a character that needs to learn a lesson.
“We have so many kids that are able to pull off these staring roles, the ones where they get to sing solo, that we have a double cast. We’ve got two Pinocchios, two blues fairies and two crickets and so on all the way through the main cast,” said Calledine.
“To give them all two shots at performing, we’ll be having four performances, two evening and two school show.”
Eight faculty members, and countless parent volunteers have helped put this massive production together. The Golden Secondary School drama class will also be lending their hands, working as the stage crew for the performances.
“They’re doing the sets as part of their senior drama program,” said Calledine. They will also be working as stage managers, backstage helpers, and controlling the prompters.
Calledine, who has been involved in several LGES productions before, is continually impressed by the talent found in our local schools.
“We’ve got some kids who were dancers, and are now singing and dancing and acting. So we’ve got some triple threats starting to emerge here,” she said.
“People come and think they’re just going to live through this performance by the kids, but they really enjoy themselves.”
The CirKids, a circus arts group co-ordinated by the Amuse-Troupe’s John Denom, will be performing as well, opening the second act.
“The kids are so excited, and so am I. I’ll be sad when it’s over,” said Calledine. “The children are really starting to get into their characters now, since we’ve been casting and rehearsing since November.”
The evening performances of No Strings Attached will be at 7 p.m. on April 24 and 25 at the Golden Civic Centre. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for children, and are available now at Lady Grey Elementary. Tickets will also be available at the door if there are any left.
