MANSFIELD – The world’s best-loved fairytale is coming to the Renaissance Performing Arts stage in Mansfield beginning this weekend.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella: The Broadway Musical,” under the direction of Michael Thomas, will be performed Nov. 13-14, Nov. 20-21 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 15 and 22 at 2:30 p.m. At-home streaming is available beginning Nov. 16, with an encore performance recently added on Dec. 5.
Caroline Grace Williams, Miss Ohio 2019, stars as Cinderella. The musical, originally written as a TV special in the mid-1950’s, starred Julie Andrews. The version being used by the Renaissance has been drastically re-written, but still retains the magic and tradition of the original script, according to Holly Williams, director of marketing for the Renaissance.
Williams said the play expands on themes of self-confidence and the power of love. “It’s a story with a strong female character who isn’t just a two-dimensional cardboard princess focused on physical beauty,” she said, “but rather a self-empowered woman whose empathy and determination are the qualities that endear her to the prince.”
The Renaissance crew is using projections and video special effects created by Ryan Shreve to help provide the magical transformations for the show, which opened on Broadway in 2013, Williams said. A pumpkin into a carriage. A fox, rat, and raccoon into footmen. And a variety of always-changing scenic backgrounds.
The magical pumpkin carriage, which was designed and built by Abe Swanger and set designer Jason Kaufman, uses an antique horse carriage as its base but comes to life for the audience with horse puppetry, Williams said, once again featuring a three-dimensional setting full of morphing colors and textures.
The show, Williams said, is also known for its lightning-fast costume changes created by costume designer Linda Turske as well as a “jaw-dropping illusion” that utilizes wires, magnets, and drawstrings to change Cinderella from rags to a fairy tale princess bound for the ball in less than three seconds.
Musical director for the production is Kelly Knowlton, with choreography by Shreve and Matti-Lynn Chrisman. Aaron Nicolas is in charge of technical direction and sound design, with assistant director Nikolas Demers and a large supporting cast from north-central Ohio.
Tickets for “Cinderella: The Broadway Musical” are available online at www.RenTickets.org or by calling the Renaissance Box Office at 419-522-2726. Ticket prices range from $15 to $37, while the streaming option is $25. The Box Office is open by appointment only.
The show is part of the Park National Bank Broadway Series, with additional sponsorships from Coffy Creations Photography and Roots.