Geppetto Toys | Adelaide Fringe 2022 review

A musical which combines original songs with familiar hits also mashes children’s pantomime and adult comedy, to mixed results.

Geppetto Toys.

Geppetto Toys

Comedy

Rating: **1/2

The Arch at Holden Street Theatres

Until March 6

A musical which combines original songs with familiar hits also mashes together children’s pantomime and adult comedy, to mixed results in Geppetto Toys.

Potential victims like nerdy Jimmy Cricket are lured online to Geppetto’s shop, where they will be defeated in games, fed to the Blue Fairy, and transformed into toys that narrowly avoid copyright infringement, like Barbi (without the e) and Commander Man.

It’s difficult to decipher lyrics over the too-loud and bass-heavy backing tape, with singers who aren’t in perfect synch and often throw each other off-key.

Only when we get to playing life-size versions of Operation, with some clever props, and Battleship – where a succession of great puns actually hit their targets – does it become fun.

There are wonderful costumes and choreography from company producer Caroline Cook, who also writes, directs, composes and plays lead character Geppetto, but a tighter and funnier script is needed to hook the audience early on.