Review: NOT YOUR MAMA'S CINDERELLA STORY at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

Despite the weather, there was definitely magic in Morsani Hall on Thursday night.

From the little girls wobbling on plastic dress-up heels and Cinderella costumes outside taking photos with the fairytale princess to youngsters in the audience dressed in their Sunday best, waiting eagerly for the story to begin, Cinderella was a special event for children and adults, alike.

The gorgeous, detailed backdrop on stage made you feel like you stepped into the storybook. Seamlessly changing sets from one scene to another to the stunning voices that echoed through the auditorium to exacted choreography created a sense of awe that night.

And you can't speak of awe without discussing the fairy godmother and Cinderella's metamorphosis. They were on stage the entire time, never darting behind a tree or a house, and the costumes transformed right before your eyes. The unexpected fairy godmother and Cinderella went from rags to ball gown in literally a blink of an eye. It was truly a magical, unexplainable moment.

At its core, Cinderella described how women relied on men to determine their place in the world. Ella, the daughter of a rich man, had great prospects for marriage because of her family's status. When her father remarried and died, Ella lost her status and became the family's scullery maid, a slave to her stepmother and two stepsisters. At night, the beautiful young girl sat by the fire getting soot and cinder on her clothing, coined Cinderella by her stepmother. Despite her position in the family, Cinderella never lost her kindness or ability to believe in magic.

The modern-day musical version reimagined by Douglas Carter Beane, with lyrics and music by Rogers and Hammerstein debuted in 2013.

Performed at the Straz Center through Sunday, July 8, in the musical Cinderella, the prince Topher was being manipulated by Lord Pinkleton to ignore the indignities happening in his kingdom. The ball to find an eligible young woman to marry was simply the lord's way to distract the prince from the serious issues. The stepmother was still evil, always pointing out the difference between Cinderella and her "real" daughters. The sisters were reimagined. One was big and boisterous, comic relief with some of the best one liners, while the other was secretly in love with Jean-Michel, a young man, an activist below her station. Cinderella, herself, had the recognized story; however, this young woman at the heart of the tale was strong and intelligent. She had met the future king before, so she knew she was interested in him, not just his title. The manipulating lord was new to the story and eventually got his comeuppance. The fairy godmother took on a completely different and unexpected character. Puppets completed the perfect story.

Cinderella met the prince more than once in her disguise and warned him of the injustice happening under his leadership, undetected. After she transformed from maid to royalty, my favorite scene was where Cinderella interjected kindness and compassion into a palace game called ridicule. When the clock struck twelve, she ran away and lost the slipper.... but went back to get it. I think everyone who was not familiar with this telling of the story wondered if it was a mistake.

Douglas added an additional return to the castle with a missing shoe to the storyline. There was also a rally at the castle and a prime minister election between the lord and Jean-Michel. It was Cinderella who helped Topher understand that to be a good king, he had to listen to his people.

This was a phenomenal show with superb vocals of Tatyana Lubuv and Louis Griffin, complimented by the rest of the incredible cast. My favorite performance was Topher and Ella singing "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful." The voices combined literally caused goosebumps.

I honestly couldn't imagine how an adult would be kept interested in a child's fairytale set to music. The grown-up humor that the little ones wouldn't get like "that man could never be a world leader; he appears to have a heart, mind and soul" and "pay attention to what other people tell you to ignore" combined with the brilliant modern dialogue in this revised storyline, with almost a feminist feel, made my misplaced concern nil.

Cinderella should be a must-see on anyone's musical theatre wish list.

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