In their own little corner, on their own little stage, they can produce whatever they want to show.
And with their own type of magic, they invite you to enjoy, Cinderella, a sweet fairytale that you love and know. Why, bippity-boppity-boo! It’s Street Lamp Community Theatre’s production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. (The original as it stands, not the more recently ‘updated’ version.) Sweet and charming and simplistically joyful, this cheery little fairytale— directed by K.C. Testerman & Stephanie Judge with musical direction by LaShelle Bray and choreography by Stephanie Peterson— will have your heart smiling well before midnight!
It never ceases to amaze this reviewer at just how versatile the intimate (and deceptively restrictive-looking) black-box corner space of Street Lamp Community Theatre can be. Scenic Artists K.C. Testerman, Mia Testerman, and Renee Duzan splash the walls in shades of mystic midnight and luminescent blue, weaving the fabric of fairytale backdrop right onto the bricks. It’s simplistic yet tasteful, and rings true to the notion of a storybook seeping out of its pages and onto the walls— complete with castle, clock, and even twinkling stars for wish making! Ste Builder Kevin Woods sures up the platform tiers so that Cinderella can make her grand entrance down the stairs at the ball and there’s even a window in the Step-Family cottage (that just won’t stay closed so poor Cinderella has to keep closing it!) Of course this window is really a magical portal for the Fairy Godmother, but all that comes later.
Costume Designer Andrea Gerwig succeeds in casting a magic spell over the show’s sartorial selection, giving everyone a series of proper peasant clothes, and of course, radiant ball gowns for that infamous ballroom scene. (I mean, as Phil Hansel’s Herald decries in a booming, clear, and well-toned voice, “The Prince is Giving a Ball!”) Gerwig’s most noteworthy pieces are of course the shimmering wonder that is the Fairy Godmother’s ensemble— a midnight blue affair dotted with twinkling, shimmering, wonderous, glimmering star-sparkles that just squeal magic. And the very Disneyesque Cinderella magic ballgown in that stunning shade of ice blue for when Cinderella does finally make her entrance to the ball. (That golden glimmering pumpkin carriage— which actually moves!— is something too!) Gerwig does an equally fine job across the board, getting the various ensemble members bedecked for the ball— if there’s one complaint to be had it’s that Gerwig does too good a job of making the Stepsister’s (Joy and Portia) look beautiful. Their dresses are flattering, elegant, and regal (rather than disastrous and hideodeous as the trope is so often played out), but Gerwig does rectify this by giving all three Step-Family characters an enormous, color saturated plume of feathers for their hair.
Musical Director LaShelle Bray does an extraordinary job of coaxing fully blended and well-harmonized sounds out of the 20-person company and does an equally impressive job with balancing the canned music against the live singers. In the unique space that is Streetlamp’s black box, sound balancing is certainly a challenge but in this instance it is one that Bray rises to and soars over. The classic Rogers & Hammerstein sound is also not something that’s being readily rehearsed or even practiced in today’s more modern ‘musical theatre world’ and Bray does a great job of coaching this sound into the musical numbers. The pacing is swift, lines are delivered with articulation when sung, and ultimately the show sounds whimsical, just like one might expect Cinderella to sound. Similar praises are owed to Stephanie Peterson for her choreography in this production. Again, the uniquely intimate and cozy spacing of the stage does not readily lend itself to ballroom dancing and waltzing but Peterson doesn’t let the spatial strictures of the stage diminish her efforts. “Waltz For a Ball” features lots of lovely twirls and spinning without looking like a jumbled mess of bodies all smushed together in a tiny space. Peterson even infuses some flash-freeze style choreography into “The Prince Is Giving a Ball” (also including the classic community theatre box-step-with-windows into the routine) and it’s lovely just to watch the ensemble move about as if the stage were actually larger than it is.
Community theatre is never going to have the billion dollar special effects that so often accompany Broadway shows or touring company productions but Directors K.C. Testerman and Stephanie Judge don’t let that factor stop them from bringing delightful little sprinkles of magic to the performance for the audience. So the Fairy Godmother can’t make a tea-service poof into existence on top of the lit fireplace. But her magic mice (Logan Greineder, Tilda Zimmerman, Fiona Miller, and Lorelei Paisley) can! And it’s adorable, as these little magic mice scurry around when the Fairy Godmother is making magic. And while you won’t get an insane on-stage transformation from fireplace-rags to beautiful ballgown (and let’s be honest, half the time when that costume trick is executed it hiccups or fails entirely) but you do it a stunning 97 second whisk-away transformation where Cinderella reappears in all of her awestriking beauty and glory when the Fairy Godmother gets her ready for the ball and the effect of sheer stunning delight is the same. Testerman and Judge keep the show galloping along faster than four white horses and they make excellent use of the platform riser— particularly all throughout the scenes at the ball, which elevates the Prince & Cinderella as well as the stepsisters for various musical, magical moments.
The ensemble (Phil Hansel, Ryan Kaczmarczyk, Lex Costa, Renee Duzan, Alexandria Stevenson, Benjamin Marsh, Cheyenne Harris, Rusty Judge, Logan Greineder, Tilda Zimmerman, Fiona Miller, Lorelei Paisley) are a delight as they flit about in the bigger group scenes, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off of the littlest— Miss Tilda Zimmerman— who tries to get Cinderella’s shoe to fit her not once but twice! Little Miss Zimmerman is precocious, adorable, and just ends up stealing the scene whenever she’s featured in an ensemble number (especially with her little line of “…in second grade…” during “The Prince Is Giving a Ball.”) The group works together as one unit to bring strong swells of sound to numbers like “Finale: The Wedding” and of course, the aforementioned “The Prince is Giving a Ball.” Watch the various facial expressions every time we go over one of the royal highnesses never-ending list of names!
The King (Dave Klingensmith Jr.) and The Queen (Liz Zimmerman), who actually make the cut in this original version of the show, are quirky and delightful additions, respectively, to this performance. While Klingensmith Jr. has all the oddball little antics of a slightly flabbergasted comic sidekick— like when waiting for little Miss Zimmerman to deliver him the wine of his country during “Your Majesties” (it’s a stein. With imaginary beer!) or when he’s faffing about trying to put on pants that are clearly too big for him— Liz Zimmerman delivers the iconic ‘Rogers & Hammerstein’ style sound, both winsome and wise when she sings “Boys and Girls Like You and Me”, a duet where Klingensmith adds a nice vocal harmony to the experience. Lady Zimmerman (not to be confused with little Miss Zimmerman) has another moment of vocal prestige during “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful? (Reprise)” where not only do you get to hear her lovely voice but you get to see how regal her sparkly makeup matches the gold and garnet gown they’ve given her character.
Fol-de-rol and fiddle-dee-dee, and fiddle-dee-faddle-dee-fabulous! Those are the words one can use to describe Megan Smith as the Fairy Godmother. With a lilting, bouncing voice, Smith bubbles her way through “Impossible”, with her lyrical sound twittering through the song just like the twinkling flecks of glitter that shimmer and wink from the flowing landscape of her dress. With an effervescent personality, Smith fits the Fairy Godmother role just like Cinderella’s glass slipper.
Mirror, mirror on the wall— who’s the most obnoxious of them all? Is it loud and alarming Portia (Kalea Bray) or her sister, crude, butt-scratching Joy (Natalie Giovan)? Or worst of all the wicked, obstreperous, eyebrows-that-shoot-up-into-her-hairline-in-exasperation Stepmother (Jennifer McDonald)? It’s all three! Bray, Giovan, and McDonald are indeed a trifecta force to be reckoned with when it comes to playing these comic, off-beat antagonists. McDonald is practically shouting the house down, barking commands left, right, and center at poor Cinderella (though she does get one lovely moment to showcase her vocal talents in the second act) while Bray and Giovan are constantly in a battle of one-uppmanship with one another. Bray and Giovan chew scenery divinely, physically and consistently trying to upstage one another, particularly during their knockout number, “Stepsisters’ Lament”, which is brilliantly staged up on the raiser tier to more prominently display their shenanigans. This trio of terrible (but truly terrific) ladies add a great deal of merriment, of the wicked variety, and mirth to the production.
Are they wonderful because we love them? Or do we love them, because they’re wonderful? The Prince (Eric Bray Jr.) you know, the one with too many names? The one that’s giving the ball? And the titular character of Cinderella (Jess Simonson) are a match made in fairytale splendor. Simonson’s voice is the adaptive sound that rolls from wispy, meager, and meek at the beginning of “In My Own Little Corner” to something filled with much heavier doses of felicity and determination by the time she’s singing through “Impossible” with the Fairy Godmother. Carefully curating the classic ingenue character, Simonson lets her winsome voice spill mellifluously into each of her moments in song, while building out the character with just enough depth to keep us interested. When she’s prancing about in her little fantasy recollection, “When You’re Driving Through the Moonlight” and “A Lovely Night” it’s such a lovely moment.
Simonson spends a great many moments in sheer, twitterpated bliss when it comes to encountering Prince Christopher (Bray Jr.) and they make for such an authentically charming couple. Bray Jr., as the one-too-many-names Prince, is both ever so slightly cheeky and truly charming. (He’s giving a ball, says the gingerbread man!) The facial expressions that Bray Jr. delivers, particularly in conversational moments with his father the king and mother the queen, are second only to perhaps the most animated insanity that Jennifer McDonald provides as the outrageous Stepmother. His voice is sublime and perfectly situated for singing “Ten Minutes Ago” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” (And when he takes the top option for that reprise, it’s truly striking!) The chemistry that burbles naturally between Bray Jr. and Simonson is the stuff of honest fairytale, storybook magic. You’ll be cheering for them both in spades the show progresses.
So don’t wait until midnight! Don’t even wait another second! If you wish to attend the ball— you know, the one that his Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert… son of his Majesties… blah, blah, blah… is throwing? If you wish to see Cinderella make her debut at that ball? Get your tickets to Street Lamp Community Theatre’s Cinderella before the POOF and turn back into pumpkin seeds!
Running Time: Approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes with one intermission
Cinderella plays through November 20, 2022 Street Lamp Community Theatre at Street Lamp Productions— 5 Valley View Drive in Rising Sun, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 658-5088 or purchase them online.
