FAMILY : 19th-Century Style Treatment of ‘Pinocchio’

The little puppet who wanted to be a real boy, the Donkey-Man, Lampwick, Geppetto and all the characters in one of the most beloved stories in children’s literature will come alive as Italy’s noted children’s theater company Teatro delle Briciole brings its fantasy production of “Pinocchio” to McCallum Theater in Palm Desert on Wednesday and to UCLA’s Freud Playhouse on Saturday and Sunday.

The fantasy play, a blend of puppets and onstage actors, is “classical ‘Pinocchio’ from the 19th Century,” said Roberto de Lellis, the company’s managing director. Not a contemporary adaptation, the production is based on the book by Italian author Carlo Lorenzini (Collodi), first published as a novel in 1883.

Written by Bruno Stori, with original “Fellini-esque” music by Alessandro Nidi, “it is a reconstruction of the original spirit of Collodi,” De Lellis said. The company members, artisans as well as actors, crafted the puppets themselves, designing each character to resemble the illustrations in the book’s very first printing.

“We took our inspiration from this,” De Lellis said. “In the Italian version of our play, Pinocchio speaks in old Italian, because Collodi was from the Tuscany region, near Florence. In the English version it is not possible to [do this], but what you can see is very traditional, very near the 19th Century.”

Fittingly, the actor playing Geppetto actually built Pinocchio. “That is our little joke,” De Lellis said, “but it is also the way we work. We are not only actors--we build the scenery and puppets, we work in all the aspects of the performance.”

The 20-year-old theater company performs throughout Italy and in France, Switzerland and Austria. This is its first California appearance.

* “Pinocchio,” McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., $10-$20, (619) 340-ARTS, (619) 220-TIXS; UCLA, Freud Playhouse, West L.A., Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., $11.75-$23.50, (310) 825-2101.

*

A Global View: See how children from around the world interpret their daily lives, home and community in “The International Child Art Collection,” an exhibition of paintings by young artists at Woodbury University Gallery in Burbank next Tuesday-Nov. 30.

*

Video News Update: If unavailable at video retailers, William Wegman’s “Alphabet Soup” children’s video, reviewed in a recent Family column, can be ordered by calling (800) 321-9236 or (800) 3-KIDVID.