We’ve all grown up with Cinderella - we know the story of her evil stepmother, bothersome stepsisters and her glass slipper. As children, we pretended to be her at the ball, and demanded that the Disney classic be on constant rerun on the VCR. Familiar as I was with Cinderella, I don’t believe I have ever fully recognized the full nature of her character until seeing Kidding Around’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Kat Solko found every nuance of what makes us love Cinderella and brought her to life in this brilliant production, which took a slight turn on what we expect from a fairy tale with a predominantly barefoot cast clad in clothes from Forever 21 set in the warm orange glow of a bohemian kingdom.​
 

In the opening sequence, we met Cinderella and her step-family in the bustling marketplace, and Cinderella met the disguised Prince, Ethan Weiser, in a beautifully realized moment after the two sang "The Sweetest Sounds". The energetic production continued on telling the traditional story of Cinderella, fueled by exciting characterization that brought the old story to life. Solko found the charm, dreaminess, sadness and some sass in Cinderella. The Stepsisters, played by Dani Berkowitz and Tara Feeley, brought seemingly ceaseless humor to the show through their strong devotion to their characters. They brilliantly never seemed to view their characters as evil, which heightened the characters' jokes. To go along with the nasty, devoted stepsisters, Emilie Mirvis, as the stepmother. perfectly completed the makeshift family as she slunk across stage making demands and sneakily inserting herself and her opinions into where they didn’t belong.
 

The musical numbers created delight, pushing the show along with simple songs and dances. The four dancers all brought magic to the stage as they waltzed around before becoming horses for Cinderella’s carriage; never before had I seen such beautiful, graceful horses. Overall, the magical world of Cinderella was stunning, full of love and hope, and it was a pleasure to spend time in the modernized kingdom.

 

Cinderella ran from February 25-26th in the Greene Theater.