Cast: 5m., 4w. (playing multiple roles. Can be expanded to a cast of 15 to 25.) Mississippi Pinocchio returns to the rich and magical original tale of Pinocchio—the tale that follows a bad good boy on a journey from wooden-headed selfishness to maturity and compassion. This Pinocchio is carved by an Italian immigrant, Gepetta, who arrives in the Mississippi River town of Natchez circa 1910 dreaming of the good life in America. With her comes her guardian angel, Speranza (which means hope in Italian). The puppet who longs to be real wrestles with a riverboat gambler of a Fox and a parasoled Cat, as well as Fire-eater, a sideshow entrepreneur. But through his many wild adventures, the rogue/hero Pinocchio must grow to understand how freedom and opportunity in this limitless new American world are leavened by compassion and responsibility. The lively score is inspired by Dixieland and Ragtime music. Commissioned and originally produced by Theater of the First Amendment, George Mason University's professional theater in Fairfax, Virginia. Area staging. Audition CD and accompaniment CD available. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.