Review: CINDERELLA at City Center

NY City Center Digital brings us a library of fabulous works by Matthew Bourne this spring. Now through March 28, the big idea for Matthew Bourne's Cinderella (originally filmed in 20217) brings a whole new yet historical meaning to the cinder in the Cinderella of the 20th Century. Bourne sets his tale during the London Blitz. Marred with dust and dirt, this Cinderella displays remnants of the tragic 57 nights the NAZI's conducted air warfare and dropped bombs on civilian life in London, "accidentally." Everyone in the cast felt like ghosts. Like the dancers where animated and initiated by those who trageically lost their lives in the 1940s London bombings. With score by Prokofiev's 1945 the entire mise en scene fit the bill.

With a sense of hope and escapism of the 1940s the Ballet opens at the movies, one of the best ways to escape our common-folk trials and tribulations. The characters were more fully realized with common human complexities. Character shifts included: The Pilot danced by Andrew Monaghan, instead of the Prince, and the Angel danced by Liam Mower instead of the fairy godmother. It would have been inappropriate to have a "fairy godmother" in such trying times. An Angel is much more appropriate. The Stepmother danced by Michela Meazza was not necessarily "evil," but drinks away her misunderstandings. In one subplot, she lovingly approves her son's homosexuality in a time when that was something of a secret. The Stepsisters danced by Stephanie Billers and Nicole Kabera are sexy and not ugly. This was a smart directing choice as wartime has a way of creating compassion for the characters in our lives.

In Act I, Cinderella serves her large family tea and a letter arrives. They pause at the sight of the Stepmother. The way ballet and the score animates the bodies to tell a story, they've clearly been invited to the infamous Ball. A courier delivers alcohol to the Stepmother.

Of course Cinderella has no invitation and this haunts her until the Angel appears on the fireplace mantel. An injured Pilot appears at the front door as if injured from the air attacks. With ventriloquist-like precision, the Angel guides Cinderella to take the Pilot's hand. Reminiscent of the physical comedy of the time, the opening of Act I lacks traditional ballet "dancing" but instead sticks with narrative gestures.

The set and costuming in the grays and blues express the overall sadness in the air. The Stepmother suggests playing vinyls. The youngest brother dances with his mother and five couples enjoy Charleston dance moves as they get ready for the Ball. Pressing heads to chests and attitude swings, the injured Pilot is traumatized by the younger brother's airplane toy. The Pilot leaves his hat and being the seamstress that she is, Cinderella, left alone, has a dance with the dress form. The fantasy comes to life in a pas de deux with the Pilot. Choreographically, the Pilot dances as if he is still just a dress form.

Her family soon leaves for the Ball making a mockery of Cinderella's father. Cinderella alone again finds the infamous "glass" slippers. The Angel appears, fog and all, as they leave to hit the streets of nighttime London. This is especially risky as the nighttime was when the bombs would go off.

The Angel solos are Nijinsky-esk with Afternoon of the Faun features. Liam's dancing was as seamless as you imagine an angel to dance, and presents Cinderella with an invitation to the Ball until you hear police dogs.

The choreography of men in gas masks and a run in with the law feel a little predictable with chases and parallel pas des chats. These scenes seemed underdeveloped and unnecessary.

Suddenly, bomb sirens go off frightening the citizens on the street. The combination of fantasy and escapism and the true, real life terrors of war were strongly balanced but more than anything, this is a story about faith and the relationships we have with ourselves. Cinderella and the continued pas de deuxs with her Angel were the most striking because it led the audience to believe that she is supported; she is on a journey when no one else in her life had the bandwidth for her. Liam highlights dancer Ashley Shaw who played Cinderella in her strongest dancing on stage.

The waltz of the pilots in white was reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Snowflakes from The Nutcracker. Like Maria/Clara in a sleigh, Cinderella appropriately drives off in a sidecar showing off her invitation to the Ball and her massive white grin.

The irony of celebrating a dance at Paris De Cafe while bomb sirens go off was harrowing. This is what dance and storytelling together do: it encapsulates our human experience; it is a way to bring back the dead in a remembrance of all that came before us. Kudos to Bourne for being one of the masters of this.

A trio of brave pilots enter the party to show off their strong ballet technique. The heartbreaking adagio of Cinderella and the ensemble slowly gesturing as if to wave goodbye, allows you to feel the souls that lost their lives during these London attacks.

Bourne's choreography used Cinderella's gown flawlessly in the Ball dance with the Pilot. Whimsical port des bras with ensemble sweeping swooping accents the clarinet. The effeminate brother at the ball provided for some comedic relief. The Pilot unwillingly dances with the Stepmother and Cinderella is distracted with her father. This scene felt a little long. The strongest choreography happened in a scene with Cinderella, and five eligible Pilot bachelor's which ultimately led her to her Pilot. A kiss between the Pilot and Cinderella leaves the ensemble drunk and dumbfounded.

Being a self-proclaimed Disney kid, seeing Cinderella in a bedroom scene with the Pilot was... new. In her innocent white negligee, they awaited their fate of the bombings. The Angel reminds them of the clock striking midnight. Cinderella is transported back into the scene of the bombing. The Angel dances through a rainy and destructed "Underground" subway station. The civilians gaze upward and the Pilot enters with the shoe. Cinderella wrestles with her mortality in a hospital wing.

In an effort to honor the entire score, the storytelling became too long, especially for the screen. And so Cinderella is more or less rescued out of her hospital bed from the Pilot. The dragging on of the Ballet must have been what it felt like to be waiting for the next bomb siren to go off: long and lingering on with no end in sight. This work is a reminder to us the significance of live theater. For the shared experience of being in the theater provides the space and a presence for all of the stretched emotive movement both musically and choreographically. The pilot looks at his watch, wondering too when this Ballet will end.

You can see Bourne's Ballets and more on NY City Center Digital now. I highly recommend you watch!

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