For those of us who grew up watching Leslie Ann Warren portray Cinderella in the Rogers and Hammerstein production–televised for years, this rendition at Civic Theatre was a magical fairy wonderland of memories.
Many young girls, and girls at heart, arrived with bright smiles on their faces of long awaited joy. Several young girls were dressed as little Cinderellas and nearly all the girls had a tiara or wand or both. The Theatre was filled with magic.
The production left me feeling that my expectations were more than met and surpassed due to the wonderful voices and dancing on stage. The set was well done and took you from scene to scene flawlessly. The voice of Cinderella, played by Sarah Vincent, was very similar to the voice I remembered as a child –sweet and full of feeling. Prince Charming, portrayed by Victor Souffrant, was impressive both in voice and acting.
What made this production even more special were the “evil stepsisters” portrayed by ….men. Jeremy Williams who played Portia and Ryan Shaw who played Joy had the audience alive with laughter on several occasions. Though they were almost believable as women at times, their intentional and sudden change of tone to a deeper voice was hilarious as were their mannerisms and facial expressions.
The children who played several parts–flowers, horses, rats etc–were well choreographed by Nici Reese as were the other dancers.
All in all, with beautiful costumes, live music from the pit, and excellent sets–this was a treat that we will remember for a long time. Our daughter has already asked if she can go again. Well done to all who brought this to our own Civic Theatre.
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