Pinocchio

**** (...out of 5 stars)

Teatro Del Carretto at La Mama

This sexy, highly stylized, wildly theatrical production of the story of the puppet who wants to become a boy is glorious. Italian director Maria Grazia Cipriani has meticulously created a dusty, surreal, dark world that at times has the feel of a well produced Beckett play. Just beyond an imposing circular black wall, curious- possibly malevolent- masked figures lurk in the shadows and drift in and out of the playing space leading our hero on his journey. WARNING: This production is performed entirely in Italian. If you don't know a lick of Italian (like me) relaxing into the fact that you're not going to understand a single word and allowing the music of their movement and expressiveness guide you through this beautiful production is the best way to go about it. Whether you speak the language or not, this show is worth it.