"Cinderella": The Delight of Magical Possibility

What could be more perfect to kick off the holiday season than the nostalgic tale of Cinderella at the Wade James Theater? The Edmonds Driftwood Players delivers a delightful performance of the Broadway version of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella, emphasizing the importance of generosity and coming together despite differences to make a better world. There’s no wrong place or time of year for these messages, but they really resonated at a little community theater around the holidays. The lobby was elaborately decorated with wintery themes, pictures of the cast, and a Cinderella photoshoot. All of the ushers, and many of the younger audience members, were wearing tiaras, showing the production team’s excitement to be putting on this musical.

This more contemporary rendering keeps the classic tale of Cinderella while introducing dragon-slaying, the creation of a representative government, the power of kindness over ridicule, and an array of energetic, catchy songs. In this version, Cinderella meets Prince Topher for the first time after he gets back from a mission to kill a dragon that has been terrorizing the kingdom. Topher, under his advisor Sebastian’s influence, decides to host a ball to find a bride. Meanwhile, a revolutionary named Jean-Michael attempts to convince the citizens that they need reform because the people’s land was unjustly taken, but his message is diminished by the announcement of the prince throwing a ball to find his new bride. Cinderella longs to go to this ball, but her stepmother refuses to let her go, similar to the classic Cinderella story. After they leave, Cinderella comes across Crazy Marie, a vagrant woman who Cinderella has always been kind to. Crazy Marie turns out to be a fairy godmother and she helps get Cinderella to the ball. Once there, in addition to falling in love with the prince, Cinderella begins to tell him about the wrongdoings occurring in the kingdom that he hadn’t noticed, leading to reform and a happy ending all around. These twists on the classic tale offer just a little more magic to make all of Cinderella’s fresh and relatable dreams come true.

Cinderella’s struggle to overcome her loneliness, speak up for others, and find her way as a unique individual among other people came across very clearly because of this intimate theater’s unique character. The physical closeness of the audience to the stage allows viewers to experience the facial expressions of the actors, giving them a feeling of connection and a whole new emotional depth to the play. While the set was minimalistic, all the set pieces were well made and repurposed in creative ways throughout the show without distracting from the main focus on character development. For example, there were two raised platforms that were moved across the stage by the ensemble to create the different effects of depth needed for different scenes in the play. The small stage made use of a screen in the back to display background images that also created the illusion of depth. As for costuming, the vibrant colors and individualized styles of the dresses gave each member of the ensemble their own personality during the numerous full-cast dance numbers. I’ll admit to being constantly impressed by the ability of choreographers, in this case Anna Doepp and Jesse Stoddard, to pull off complicated dance numbers; there were so many people on that small stage and none of them ran into each other. It was a convincing illusion of a packed ballroom. The choreography and set design made the stage seem both bigger and smaller than it actually was, fitting the contrast between Cinderella’s isolation and the vibrant world of upper class balls. Seeing Cinderella’s story in this down-to-earth space reinforced the story’s messages about the joys and challenges living in community with the people around you.

The Broadway version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella may be telling all of us just the messages we need to hear right now. It reminds us that, even in times of political division, like those experienced by the characters in the story, it is important to listen to each other, acknowledge opposing viewpoints, and show compassion to people who think and live differently than us. The only way to create a better, more inclusive world is to, like Cinderella, listen to the Jean-Michels and Crazy Maries and help bring outsider voices to the table. What could be better than telling beloved shared stories like this classic fairytale to bring people together for the holidays? Who doesn’t love a story in which all your dreams come true? 

Lead photo by Dale Sutton.

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