Review: CINDERELLA at PCPA's Marian Theater

The holidays certainly call for a trip to the theater and PCPA's production of Cinderella meets that call. Audiences will enjoy the familiar, and cozy story of the neglected, kind, hard-working girl who transcends her oppressive surroundings. The sweetly tuneful music of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein waltz us into the holiday spirit with songs such as "Ten Minutes Ago," "Impossible," and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"

One of the innovations of this revision of Cinderella is a new subplot-- "something's rotten in the state of the realm." The Prince, Topher (Samuel Lariviere), has been away, slaying dragons and completing his college degree. Topher's parents, the king and queen, have both passed away. In everyone's absence the prince's regent, Sebastian (Andrew Philpot), has been oppressing the population and feathering his own nest. Throwing a ball so that Topher can meet all the unmarried women in the kingdom is Sebastian's idea: he believes that a love affair will distract the prince from matters of state.

Ella (a.k.a. Cinderella) (played by Faith Lennon Richter) faces subjugation on the home front as she is used as a slave by her wicked stepmother, Madame (Kitty Balay), and wicked stepsister, Charlotte (Audrey Cirzan). In this version her other stepsister, Gabrielle (Christen Celaya) has a good heart, tossing a rope to save Cinderella whenever she can under the punishing gaze of Madame.

Audiences expect a magical feat when the fairy godmother steps in to help Ella get to the ball and out of the drudgery. The pumpkin needs to become a carriage; the fox and raccoon need to be a coachman and a footman. And Cinderella's rags must change into a ball gown. In this scene, when Ella and her godmother (Elizabeth Martinié) sing about making the "impossible" possible, the audience needs the lyrics to be enacted in front of its eyes. The director, Erik Stein, with the copious help of the designers and craftspeople, ensured that the transformation fulfilled this dramatic contract. It was magical. The design of the horse-drawn carriage was impressive, even riveting: its horses ran at a canter with articulated joints down to the hoofs and with mechanical gears operated by characters on stage. Kudos to the properties team for that coup de theater.

The story has received an update since Rodgers and Hammerstein originally crafted their musical adaptation in 1957 (it was originally written for a TV broadcast with Julie Andrews as Ella). Cinderella's return trip to the palace has the goal of restoring peace and prosperity to the kingdom, as well as kindness as an esteemed virtue.

If you are looking for a family-friendly, celebratory, holiday activity, you'll certainly find it at the Marian Theater with this production of Cinderella.