PREVIEW: Pinocchio at Pacific Northwest Ballet
“Hi-diddle-di-day, an actor’s life is gay.”
The famous story of Pinocchio begins when, as a real boy, he sees his puppet image reflected in a mirror. The puppet Pinocchio steps out of the mirror and the real boy steps in and starts to remember how he became a real boy. First, Geppetto the carpenter created Pinocchio as a puppet. And when Pinocchio goes to Pleasure Island he dances with Harlequin and Columbine and meets Cricket, his conscience. Two untrustworthy characters, Cat and Fox, steal Pinocchio’s money. Then the Blue Fairy appears and consoles Pinocchio. “I’ll forgive you this once, but remember…a boy who won’t be good might just as well be made of wood.” She says.
She tells him that his father Geppetto is looking for him over the seas. To find Geppetto, Pinocchio dives into the ocean only to find that a whale has swallowed his father. Pinocchio saves his father from the whale and the Blue Fairy rewards him for saving Gepetto by turning him into a real boy.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Pinocchio is conceived and choreographed by Bruce Wells and will feature nearly 60 students of Pacific Northwest Ballet School in each specially-created, hour-long matinee performance. (Pinocchio does not feature PNB Company dancers.)
Bruce Wells has created over 50 ballets since he began at the New York City Ballet, under the direction of George Balanchine, in 1967. Some of the works he created as a choreographer include Nutcracker, La Fee Mal Gardee, Swan Lake, and his highly acclaimed A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Boston Ballet. For the past eleven years Mr. Wells has been on the faculty of Pacific Northwest Ballet School. His first children’s ballet for PNB was Snow White in 2001, followed by Hansel & Gretel in 2006.
Pinocchio runs February 7 and 8 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Performances are at 1pm on Saturday, February 7 and Noon and 3:30 pm on Sunday, February 8. Tickets to Pinocchio range from $22-$67. For tickets and more information, visit www.pnb.org.
