Celebrate The Holidays With CINDERELLA: A Fairytale At Town Hall Theatre

Town Hall Theatre celebrates the holidays with a delightfully original take on the classic Brothers Grimm story, CINDERELLA: A Fairytale, as part of our 75TH "TRANSFORMATIONS" Season. CINDERELLA: A Fairytale will have 12 performances, including two previews, December 5 through December 21, 2019, at Town Hall Theatre Company, 3535 School Street, in Lafayette, CA. Tickets are $18 - $30, and are available through the Box Office at (925) 283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

THT will host three Special Events for CINDERELLA: A FAIRYTALE: an Opening Night gala on Saturday, December 7, 2019; LIT UP at Town Hall, a literary salon on the theme "Outcast/Cast Out" on Monday, December 9, 2019; and Theatre Club, our post-show talk-back with complimentary wine, on Friday, December 13, 2019. We welcome audiences to enjoy THT's full bar and entertainment in our lobby one hour before performances. Town Hall is thrilled to welcome the John Muir Land Trust as a new community partner with this production. JMLT manages a stunning landscape of 16 properties, including Carr Ranch, a pristine 604-acres adjacent to Lamorinda exemplifying the cultural legacy of California cattle ranches.

Featuring original music, filled with humor, dance and a genuine love story, CINDERELLA: A Fairytale will appeal to audiences young and old. As we meet little Ella, her father is teaching his daughter the names and calls of all the forest birds. They enjoy a happy life together ... until he remarries and her life is upended. Surrounded by cruel relations, Ella's only allies are a flock of very clever and magical birds. This imaginative new version of the classic folktale includes many fanciful twists: the actor playing the Father transforms into the scheming Stepmother (in a nod to British panto tradition), the Prince is a geeky, asthmatic bird-watcher, and the slipper is a Doc Marten-type boot that shimmers!

Playwright/Director Sally Cookson says she chose the fairytale of Cinderella because it's such an old story, around long before the Grimm Brothers and before Perrault (whose version is used by Walt Disney in his 1950s film). Grimm's adaptation appealed to her because it is less "syrupy", embracing the darker elements but also packed with humor. Why is Cinderella so enduring? " ... I think it's partly to do with the fact that it's a story about family and growing up, and these are things we all share," Cookson declares. " ... what appears to be a very simple tale actually addresses fundamental questions about what it is to be human." Of course, it never hurts to throw in a bit of MAGIC!

THT's production of CINDERELLA: A Fairytale is directed by Clive Worsley, Town Hall's former Artistic Director, and features a slew of Bay Area performers of all ages: Lindsay Kathryn Ford as Ella, Dennis Markam as Father/Stepmother, Henry Halkyard as Prince, Sara-Jean Bartky as Stepsister, Marshall Scott as Stepbrother, and Mikah Kavita as the Queen. Five younger performers round out the Ensemble playing the magical forest birds and palace courtiers at the Ball: Oli Axelrod, Jason Gray, Lourdes Verde Lombardo (who also portrays Young Ella), Olivia Penney and Tatiana Torres. THT's production also features a dynamic creative team with impressive credits in the Bay Area and beyond: Anna Smith (Assistant Director/Choreographer); Martin Flynn (scenic design); Allen Willner (lighting design); Lana Palmer (composer and sound design); Denise Altaffer (costume design); and Sofia Alvarez (properties design).

CINDERELLA: A Fairytale premiered in December 2011at Tobacco Factory Theatre, devised by the Company and produced by Tobacco Factory Theatres and Travelling Light Theatre Company. The show was the third Christmas collaboration between Travelling Light, Tobacco Factory and Sally Cookson. After receiving amazing reviews and great audience reception, the show was produced in London at the St. James' Theatre where it was nominated for an Olivier Award, and then at the Unicorn Theatre, where it won an Off-West End Award. This is the first time CINDERELLA: A Fairytale has been seen by audiences in the Bay Area.

Information is also available at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

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