Cinderella

 

Theater people aren’t daunted by a little thing like an international pandemic.  Theaters all over the world have shut down in the wake of COVID-19, even the big shows on Broadway.

The last show I reviewed for The Enterprise was Davis Musical Theater Company’s (DMTC) production of “Camelot” in March of 2020.  Now DMTC is presenting its virtual production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” through March 21.  While it is not the same as seeing it live in a theater, it’s surprisingly good.

If there is any “star” of this production, it’s director Steve Isaacson, who describes the process by which this show was created:

“The scenes are live from the actors' homes, recorded in front of a green screen, and the musical numbers are recorded, each person in front of the green screen at the theater. Then I painstakingly, and I mean painstakingly, take each of the over 200 video files and key out the green screen (which can take from a few minutes to a few hours each!) and place them on my virtual stage.”

Anyone who has ever tried to get a chorus to sing “Happy Birthday” to a friend on a Zoom call should realize the problems of getting all the voices together and matching them not only note for note, but also the acoustical differences in the places where they are recorded.  It’s a technological challenge.

Starting with the sets, since everything is done in front of a green screen so that the sets are actually projected, this is definitely the best looking show DMTC has ever done.  The interior of the castle alone looks like the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles and the town where everyone lives could be off of a postcard.

The cast is excellent, particularly Hannah Salas in the title role, Beth Ellen Ethridge as the Fairy Godmother, and Chris Cay Stewart as the Queen.

Musical direction is by Kyle Jackson and choreography is by Arianna Manabat.

The opening number is so well sung and danced that it’s difficult to believe that all those people aren’t on the stage together.

Dannette Vassar is the stepmother, while Andrea Borquin is daughter Portia and Morgan Bartoe is daughter Joy.  Discussions among the family are done with Zoom and costumer Jean Henderson has made those beautiful actresses downright ugly in their animosity toward each other and particularly toward Cinderella.  Heidi Johnson is given credit for creating the headdresses for the three women.

Duets are filmed on the stage, each actor doing his or her part alone, for Isaacson to put together later.  Some duets work better than others.  One particularly good one is between the Queen and King (Richard Spierto), who sing to each other while facing each other, holding hands.  The position of the hands of each of them is perfect and it’s difficult to realize they really aren’t holding hands.

The magic of the fairy godmother, turning a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into horses, and Cinderella into a beautifully dressed woman is impressive, though Cinderella doesn’t seem to be surprised at her new appearance.

The only disappointing scene is the ballroom scene in the palace.  There are too many people doing too many things, most of which don’t come together the way they are intended, with some people the wrong size and people walking into each other or popping from one side of the stage to the other.  This may be partly because of three different PCs crashing on Friday.  Sadly, the crashes prevented Cinderella from descending the stairs on her departure from the castle, a beautiful scene in the promo for the show..

Still the prince (Hugo Figueroa) finds his Cinderella and the glass slipper fits and everyone lives happily ever after.

This is not a perfect production, but it’s an amazing undertaking and well worth seeing, especially if you’ve been missing theater for the past year – and you don’t need to wear a mask.

Cinderella

Sacramento Theatre Company is bringing back its wildly popular “Cinderella” as a Christmas gift to audiences. Based on the British pantomime format, combining music, slapstick, cross-dressing and buffoonery, this version is written by Kate Hawley with music by local composer Gregg Coffin and direction by Michael Laun.

This particular production includes three students from Davis High School. In the title role is Emily O’Flaherty, who shares the role with Madeline Perez. Both are products of STC’s Young People’s program. O’Flaherty is lovely and everyone’s mental image of a Cinderella. Her transformation from scullery maid to princess is magical.

Another Davis High student is 10th-grader Jimin Moon, playing Knickers, best friend to Cinderella (with a big crush on her). Moon alternates in the role with Luke Crabbe.

Rounding out the DHS presence is James Hayakawa, a member of the show’s ensemble.

The cast is headed by the wonderful Michael RJ Campbell as the formidable stepmother Mrs. Baden-Rotten. In the days when STC also filled the roles of the evil stepsisters with cross-dressers,
Campbell was the whiny, pouty zaftig sister Goneril. He now fills his mother’s big shoes and is even more fearsome — the character you love to boo.

As Baden-Rotten’s daughters, Emily Serdahl as Goneril and Brandi Lacy as Regan are ugly, spiteful and utterly hilarious, especially the contortions they go through to try to convince the prince that theirs is the foot to fit that famous glass slipper.

Making his STC debut, Sam C. Jones is positively charming as the prince who would rather hunt than think about girls. He and O’Flaherty have a nice chemistry together, even if he can’t recognize her when she’s all dressed up at the ball.

His best friend is Brian Bohlender as Dandini, who enjoys a few hours wearing the princely crown so Charming can be just one of the guys.

Others in the cast are equally endearing, including Michael Coleman and Andrea St. Clair as the King and Queen, eager to find Charming a wife. St. Clair can be seen dusting the castle so well she forgets to take off her apron, and then is aghast that her guests might have seen her. Coleman is a laid-back king, with his crown sitting at a rakish angle on his head, more intent on letting Charming do his own thing.

Abigail Lambert (alternating with Jordan Taylor) was wonderful as the politically active anti-monarchy Little Bo Peep who wins the heart of Dandini. Her flock of sheep look more like Rockettes, as they sashay around the stage. They are a sight to behold, especially the black sheep, Leah Hassett.

Everyone’s favorite, though, may have been Jerald Bolden as the very-tall tap-dancing, picnic basket-stealing bear.

This show is certain to appeal to everyone. There is audience participation in the form of yelling out at certain times and waving hands in the air, and everyone loves the Prince’s search for the girl who will fit the glass slipper, as he goes through the audience trying it on several women and young girls.

With the opportunity to buy crowns in the lobby, everyone can feel part of the court, and after the show, the cast members line up for photos with people in the audience, particularly star-struck young children.

This is a fun way to share theater with children or grandchildren, with a show that has enough in-jokes and innuendo that adults enjoy it, too.

Cinderella

Kecia Lewis and Paige Faure perform in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "Cinderella,"
presented by Broadway Sacramento at the Sacramento Community Center Theater
through Sunday. Carol Rosegg/Courtesy photo

It was like going to a royal wedding at the Sacramento Community Center for the opening of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

There was a royal white Cinderella coach drawn by white horses on which you could have your picture taken, which pulled up in front of the theater. The red carpet featured a parade of pint-sized princesses with tiaras and sparkly shoes. (Left your tiara at home? No problem. You can buy one in the lobby.) In the lobby you could also pose in front of the stairway to the palace.

In the theater itself, the stage was dominated by a magnificent forest of trees which, over the course of the evening, would move in all sorts of wonderful ways to make different configurations.

In the orchestra pit there was a real live orchestra with a real live conductor (Jay Alger). So many musicals these days use synthetic music that the sound of a full orchestra of more than a dozen musicians and 20 real instruments was as refreshing as six months at the seaside.

Then there was the production, which features the most spectacular magical costume change I have ever seen — the sort that makes you want to hit “rewind” so you can see it again because you can’t believe what you just saw (kudos to William Ivey Long, costume designer). And if that wasn’t spectacular enough, or in case you missed it the first time, they’ll do a variation of it in the second act — just as spectacular.

There’s even a real fire-breathing dragon to start things off. No expense has been spared on this production!

This is not Disney’s Cinderella. Many of the traditional elements are there, but this version was written in 1957 as a TV vehicle for Julie Andrews. Then there was a 1965 version with Lesley Ann Warren and a 1997 version with Whitney Houston and Brandy.

The current book by Douglas Carter Beane, is a more politically correct version of the familiar story. Cinderella’s (Audrey Cardwell) main goal in going to the ball is to warn Prince Topher (Andy Huntington Jones) of the terrible things going on in his country.

While he has been out slaying dragons and fighting giants, he has left the running of the country to his power-mad Lord Chancellor, Sebastian (Branch Woodman), who has brought the citizenry to starvation and eviction from their homes.

Stepsister Gabrielle (Kaitlyn Davidson) is not evil at all, and really wants nothing to do with becoming queen because she is secretly in love with Jean-Michel (David Andino), the social activist who is trying to get his message to the prince. Gabrielle, in fact, helps Cinderella get to the ball so she herself can sneak off to work in a soup kitchen with Jean-Michel.

The Fairy Godmother, Marie (Kecia Lewis), is not the cuddly little grandmother from the Disney film, but an over-the-top vision in purple and sequins (her own transformation is pretty spectacular, too), there to push Ella to take charge, make her own decisions, and fight for her own destiny.

There is still an evil stepmother (Paige Williams), who does make Ella do all the dirty work, but she’s not as mean as we have come to expect.

Stepsister Charlotte, an audience favorite, who tries desperately to fit her foot into the glass slipper, is the comic figure in the show and her “Stepsisters’ Lament” tickles the funny bone.

Anna Louizos’ scenery is sumptuous and the costumes are show-stoppers, especially in the waltz scene where the lighting design of Kenneth Posner made it magical.

It was nice to hear the sound of an old-fashioned musical. Though none of the songs were familiar, they were unmistakably Rodgers and Hammerstein. In fact, one song (“Now is the Time”) sounded like it could have been lifted from “South Pacific,” and I was surprised to read later that it had, in fact, been cut from that show.

This is a production that will entertain all generations in the family, from grandma down to the toddlers.

Spoiler alert: The prince ends up with Cinderella.