Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at CPT

Last night my sister Marilyn and I took our Mom to see Cinderella at CenterPoint Theatre and we had so much fun! My Mom has late stage dementia and she also has some mobility issues but she loves the show so much and really wanted to go. Since she had a good day yesterday we called the box office and were able to get ADA accessible seats (the CPT box office is, hands down, the best in the SLC valley). It was a lot of work to get her there but she absolutely loved it so it was worth all of the effort! The Rodgers & Hammerstein version of the story is definitely not my favorite! I don't like the commentary on class structure or the fact that Cinderella is a social reformer who must rescue the prince from the advisors in his court who are deceiving him about the conditions in his kingdom. I also don't like the portrayal of the stepsisters as silly girls, rather than mean ones, who end up as Cinderella's sympathetic co-conspirators. However, I really enjoyed HCT's production a few years ago because it infused the magic back into the more contemporary story. CPT's production is just as magical! The cast is incredibly strong and I especially loved Mailee Halpin as Ella and Cynthia Klumpp as Marie/ Fairy Godmother. The songs require an impressive range and these actresses more than deliver in the songs "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "Glass Slipper/ It's Possible," and "There Is Music In You." Halpin has great chemistry with Doug Wadley, as Prince Topher, and their songs "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" are incredibly romantic. Jaycee Harris (who is my brother-in-law's niece) as the stepsister Charlotte just about steals the show in "Stepsister's Lament" and "A Lovely Night" because her facial expressions are absolutely hysterical. She received more applause and laughter than any one else for good reason. The choreography is so much fun and I really loved how "The Prince Is Giving A Ball" with all of the townspeople in the town square and "The Pursuit" after the ball are staged, especially the transformation of the Fox (Kirsi Jarvis) and the Raccoon (Caleb Hodson) after the stroke of midnight. Speaking of transformations, Cinderella's change into her sparkling ball gown and tiara is absolutely magical and her coach, including horses made of puppets, is spectacular. I loved how the lights around the proscenium blinked in coordination with the Fairy Godmother's wand. Finally the set pieces for Cinderella's cottage, the prince's castle, the woods, and the town square are some of the best I have seen from CPT. I also loved the projection showing the chiming clock at midnight because it is so dramatic! I really feel like CPT has stepped up their game this season because I was also really impressed with the set for The Play That Goes Wrong! My Mom thought the whole show was beautiful (that was what she kept saying on the drive home) and I had such a great time watching her experience it! I would highly recommend Cinderella with the proviso that it is quite different from the Disney version that young children are more familiar with (the little girls in front of me seemed really bored at times but they seemed to enjoy the spectacle). It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through April 9 (go here for tickets).