The Dolphin Show’s “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”‘ woos the audience with charm and childhood nostalgia. It feels like you could be watching through a gaze of childlike wonder, completely enthralled in the glitz of the costumes, the visual splendor of full ensemble dance numbers and the resounding hope of Cinderella.
In a story older than the Dolphin Show itself, “Cinderella” makes it easy to get caught up in the catchiness of the 1957 twist on the classic with a charming score and a timeless love story.
The Dolphin Show’s 82nd production opened Friday and transported viewers into the fairytale world of “Cinderella,” providing the perfect form of escapism. The largest student-run musical in the country, the Dolphin Show did not disappoint in scale, production, quality or heart.
“Cinderella” follows many of the tropes and character arcs that one would expect: there is an orphan living with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, a charming prince, an enchanting fairy godmother and even a pumpkin. The stage provides the cast of 24 an opportunity to put their own spin on these beloved characters, an aspect that brought viewers to the theater instead of watching the Disney movie at home.
Ella (Communication senior Sofi Pascua) and Prince Topher (Communication junior Oliver Tam) use this gift of live theatre to turn a romance that can often seem stale or simplistic into something the audience wants to root for. The actors center the magic and romance of the show with their vocals and powerful duets.
Pascua, in particular, gracefully executes one of the more well-known songs from the show, “In My Own Little Corner,” encapsulating the hope and dreams of a girl who longs for more than working for her stepmother. Pascua manages to deliver the grace of a ballerina and the grit of a working class girl to remind the audience to never give up on their dreams.
When the music and romance pause, the show is propelled by supporting characters and their commitment to providing a one-of-a-kind “Cinderella” performance. Advisor Sebastian (Communication sophomore Jonah Mensch), stepmother Madame (Communication senior Kat Tuohy), fairy godmother Marie (Communication junior Devin Eichel) and Lord Pinkleton (Communication senior Becker Spear) bring characters to life with their larger-than-life wigs and modern jokes.
Characters who are not in the Disney tale, like Jean-Michel (Communication sophomore Patrick Howard) — a young, passionate thinker who wants something better for his town — provide a tie to the real world as he pushes the prince to see the people struggling in the streets and works to make the kingdom more fair. The commentary on inequality is poignant but sometimes feels overshadowed and rushed by the other storylines.
The set artfully transforms from the streets of the simple village to the glamorous ballroom of the palace, letting the audience see the stark difference between where Ella comes from and the home of the prince. At some points the gravitas of the fairy tale is grounded by the limitations of a student production, like when the “golden carriage” appears white.
Almost as many times as the set changes, the costumes transform as well. Ella switches from blue rags to a shimmery, pearl woven dress and the iconic glass slippers. The costumes serve to cement the fairytale fantasy with full length jewel tone gowns, stiff, structured soldier coats and seemingly magical quick changes.
In a time in which theatre is more explicitly political, much of “Cinderella” harks back to a simpler — though not necessarily better — time when shows had an overture at the beginning that inevitably leads to love at the end. Compared to other shows written today, it may seem as if “Cinderella” is simplistic or lacking a punchiness, but the punch in this version is not in political awareness. It’s instead in the Dolphin Show’s ability to take a plot that the entire audience has seen countless times and create a world and story that keeps the audience enraptured for two and a half hours.
“Cinderella” runs through Sunday, Feb. 1 at Cahn Auditorium, and audiences will surely fall in love with the childlike wonder of this twist on a beloved classic.
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