“The fields are aglow in autumn yellow, and the sky is a robin’s egg blue. It makes you wish when you fall asleep, you will dream about the view; Bizarre and improbable and pretty, as a page from the fairy-tale books. It makes you wish that the world could be as lovely as it looks…”

  So the other-worldly prologue—sung by an off-stage choir, sets the fairy-tale feeling of the romantic parable about to unfurl before us; one we’re all very familiar with, one about a beautiful but humble girl, a glass slipper, a Royal Ball, a Fairy God Mother and a Handsome Prince. All these will manifest before us in that magical era set ‘once upon a time”, in a truly sumptuous musical by the legendary team of Richard Rodgers who created the music and Oscar Hammerstein II who contributed the lyrics and the original book, with a new book (based upon that original) by Douglas Carter Beane. Now, One More Productions, the resident musical theater company housed in the century-old landmark Gem Theater in Garden Grove  California, is lighting-up the holiday season this year, with this magnificent stage-adaptation of what many feel just may be Rogers and Hammerstein’s finest work, directed by OMP Co-Founder Damien Lorton, who also serves as Musical Director, with Choreography by Angela Mattern, they all come together to introduce their audiences to  this remarkable, determined young lady and her name is “Cinderella”! 

You don’t need a fairy godmother to tell you: This show all adds up to be amongst the very best productions ever produced by One More Productions and its suitable for ALL audiences! Boasting a categorically knock-out R&H score that is beyond compare, featuring such show-stopping standards as “In My Own Little Corner”, “Ten Minutes Ago”, “Step Sister’s Lament”, “A Lovely Night”, “Impossible/It’s Possible”  and “The Music Is In You”, this 2013 Broadway Stage Adaptation is based on three previous television versions starting with the original in 1957 that starred a young Julie Andrews in the title role, followed by a 1967 remake with Leslie Anne Warren stepping into those glass slippers, then more recently a Disney TV re-creation that starred singer Brandy Norwood as  our heroine along with Whitney Houston as her magical fairy godmother. Although the 1957 edition had long ago been adapted into a three-act stage version, it had never made it to Broadway, so in 2013, wunderkind Librettist Douglas Carter Beane was chosen to adapt (and slightly update) this familiar tale utilizing the original score to create a fresh-but-familiar new retelling of this beloved tale and reignite the magic in the process. Beane’s script is overflowing with sly but buoyant humor that’s even a bit subversive, which all blissfully hearkens back to that carefree time when we all really did believe that “four white mice are easily turned to horses!” This version definitely strays away from Hammerstein’s libretto and opens it up a bit with a few more contemporary issues (albeit very subtle ones) while paying homage to the long history of the whole “Cinderella” phenomenon; For instance, this retelling is set in a small French Kingdom in direct reference to “Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre” the version of the story by Charles Perrault.

Under the direction of Damien Lorton this new staging at The Gem” is, frankly put, a piece of great charm and infectious ebullience. This updated score adds several other songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog, including “Me, Who Am I?” (cut from “Me & Juliet”), “Now Is the Time” and “Loneliness of Evening” (cut from South Pacific but later used in the 1967 TV remake of “Cinderella), “The Pursuit”, ‘He Was Tall” (cut from “The King and I”), and “There’s Music in You” (written for the film “Main Street to Broadway,” but later inserted into the 1997’s Disney remake of “Cinderella”, given to  Whitney Huston as “The Fairy God Mother”.)  Similarly, Angela Mattern’s Choreography is both engaging and downright wonderful! Her mirthful waltzes and bits of gavottes and other baroque country dances here and there are bound to remind those familiar with them of such short waltzing interludes from a Schubert opera—short, but stately, in the background sure, but still noticeable enough to enhance the overall mood and attitude of what’s happening at the forefront of the stage. To be able to pull this off just right is a genuine talent and Ms. Mattern and her dancing Corps, here surely do have it!  

 In the title role of our commoner-soon-to-be-Princess, Cinderella, Erika Baldwin (another established talent on the Gem Stage) claims another victory and we all benefit by it. Baldwin’s supreme talent and charisma actually transforms the playing space she’s occupying here making it brighter, or at times more intense, more intriguing, more stately—whatever the plot requires at that moment. It’s a subtle but substantial talent and she’s in fine possession of it—to say nothing of putting it to excellent use in the service of this particular story. Then there’s her voice. Remember, this is a Rodgers and Hammerstein score and as she’s proved before, she’s also got a knack for the works of these now-classic composers. (Keep in mind too, these songs were originally written for the likes of Julie Andrews who originated the role, so they each possess a lilting kind of pitch which will inevitably lead to some element of a grand crescendo before they’re done.) Surprisingly though, Cinderella only really has three actual solos: “In My Own Little Corner” early on, then in Act Two there’s “He Was Tall” and the rousing “A Lovely Night”. In between there’s many shared songs she takes the lead in—and Baldwin is magnificent in them all: “When You’re Driving Through The Moonlight” (opposite her ‘Step Sisters and Step mother)  “Impossible/It’s Possible” alongside her “Fairy Godmother” and the more thrilling and romantic chansons, “Ten Minutes Ago” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful” paired beside her soon to be paramour, “Prince Topher” played by Bryan Fraser. Fraser too is in fine voice here and can boast his own share of charisma and acting chops and brings to this role both a fine sense of splendor that is just enough to cover up (when necessary) the inner insecurity our boy “Topher” is dealing with. In this version, they’ve dispensed with the King and Queen meaning Topher was raised as an orphan by a corrupt grasping Lord Chancellor Sebastian (portrayed here with just the right touch of avarice by James Scognamillo.) This insecurity makes “Prince Topher” a far more interesting character though—he’s not looking for a “Royal Princess”, he’s looking for a kindhearted girl who can love and understand him (and Cinderella fits the bill perfectly.) Fraser also has the strong, reverberant voice to make each of his numbers shine, such as “Me, Who Am I?, his part in “Your Majesty” and the duet upon meeting “Cinderella,” “Ten Minutes Ago”; while after intermission there’s: “Call to Arms”, “Loneliness Of Evening”, “The Proposal” and the sumptuous dual triumph, “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful”.

Another aspect that makes this retelling such a winner is the thoroughly delightful character parts incorporated, and One More Production’s staging even improves on that! Adriana Sanchez—another dyed-in-the-wool talent before the Gem Stage footlights really does make magic as “Crazy Marie”—at first seen as a hapless old beggar woman clad largely in black rags. She may look impoverished—and at first may even sound insane…but never judge a book by its worn-out cover. In time she reveals her true identity and its magic. Re-envisioning, Marie, we learn she isn’t only Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother—she’s EVERYONE’S fairy Godmother! Also, for a supposedly ‘Crazy’ woman, she soon reveals that she’s the wisest, calmest and most insightful character in the piece. This too, is one of Ms. Sanchez’s most layered, and intricate (including deeply empathetic) characters and Sanchez plays each element to absolute perfection! As for her songs, anyone who knows anything about this score knows she gets the really neat numbers and here too, together, Ms. Baldwin and Ms. Sanchez make each one glimmer with fun and excitement. These include “Impossible/It’s Possible”, “Fol-Der-Rol & Fiddle-Dee-Dee” and in Act Two, a dynamite addition taken from the 1997 version with Whitney Houston called “There’s Music In You”.

Each prove Sanchez and this role couldn’t be a more perfect fit! The second BRILLIANT character role is Cinderella’s “Wicked Stepmother” known only as “Madame” (so we already know we’re off to a bad start.) For this interpretation the creators stayed true to the source material—she is WICKED and then some! Played with delicious, seething malevolence and outright malice by Peter Crisafulli, you can tell just by ‘her’ overdone hairstyle this is a person you better watch out for. Indeed, they ought to have awards just for actors who play the Baddies (and in this case Peter would handily win) Think of this portrayal as like finger-nails on a blackboard (—only with a gorgeous set of Anne Klein Slink Pumps thrown in for good measure.) That’s what makes “Madame” so darn effective: “she” knows she’s rubbing audiences the wrong way, but who cares? (Oh yeah, did we mention that “Madame” also gets all the best “punch lines” too?) Vocally Mr. Crisafulli also has a real show-stopper worthy voice in his own right, but in this part “Madame” is kind of relegated to smaller group endeavors like ‘Off To The Ball”, “When You’re Driving Through The Moonlight”, and the reprise of “The Prince Is Giving A Ball” but it’s the performance as a whole that’s so much fun to watch and in this respect, he doesn’t miss a step or skip a beat!    

Moreover, one of the more intriguing elements of this retelling (and many would say delightful) is how the traditional “Ugly Stepsisters) here are definitely NOT! The two here are Stepsister “Gabrielle”, played by Kari Wilhelm and Stepsister “Charlotte” assayed by Abigail Matossian. Neither are unattractive—and “Gabrielle” is actually considered one of the Kingdoms’ most beautiful girls—a fact her mother tries to take advantage of possibly even making an underhanded deal that will have Royal repercussions. The trouble is “Gabrielle” has her own heart set on Jean-Michel, a somewhat awkward social activist that her mother “Madame” would never approve of. Unlike in previous adaptations, “Gabrielle” and “Cinderella” actually become friends and then allies to help “Gabrielle” win the heart of her man and maybe even help him in his task to make the kingdom a better place. Along the way, the Stepsisters shine in several musical interludes, most in Act Two after the Ball, but they’re definitely worth waiting for—including “When You’re Driving Through The Moonlight”, and a reprise of “A Lovely Night” with Cinderella”. In addition, what the creators have done in this retelling, they’ve taken the classic “Stepsister’s Lament”—initially an intimate duet twixt the two stepsisters, and ‘opened it up’ to see “Charlotte” leading all the other wallflowers at the ball, in bitterly bemoaning: ‘Why would a fellow want a girl like her?! So obviously unusual!

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Why can’t a fellow ever once prefer a usual girl like me?!” Hayden Andrew—himself no stranger to treading the boards there at “The Gem ” (recent appearances include his sensational work in the title role of “Pippin” and most recently even playing “The Grinch” in “Seussical, The Musical”) takes on the role of Jean-Michel the supremely idealistic (if to some extent clumsy) Revolutionary and Social Activist. Admittedly, this is one of the better additions to the story, as it enhances it nicely. He’s a friend of Cinderella, and secretly pines for her stepsister completely clueless that Gabrielle is pining for him too. He has a good heart though; he just needs some courage and brains to go with it (don’t forget there’s a rogue fairy godmother around though!) Those familiar with Mr. Andrew’s work know what a powerhouse voice this guy has, although in this role he really only has two far-and-away solo pieces: “Now Is The Time” and its second act reprise, but he does impress with them, but this role also puts the emphasis on his acting–his comedic skills especially, and in this regard, he dominates his scenes in all the best, most inventive and perfectly-timed ways! (Three Cheers! To them all!)

  Special kudos go out to the design team who have collaborated to create a positively beguiling (not to mention colorful) atmosphere through which our story materializes. From the minute you step into the Gem’s auditorium you can’t help but feel you’re walking into a giant story book—this is gratis the successful efforts of Scenic Designer Victor Crisafulli (who also serves as Prop Designer) and Lighting Designer Jeremy Huff. Using dark blue as his base color, Huff then employs other colors like gold, green and red very cleverly to subtly “comment” on the prevailing “emotion” emanating from the characters or situation (this too, enhances the whole “story book” spirit of the show.) More than worthy of an ovation too is Costume Designer Luis Cornejo who has emphatically out-done himself with the costumes—whether they involve rags or royalty (and sometimes both!) Back when the show debuted on Broadway in 2013, it actually invented some special innovation in the costumes, allowing quick—and astonishing–changes to appear right before the audiences’ eyes, and here is no different. Indeed, they make the most of this nifty trickery several times with both Cinderella, as she gets ready for the ball, but also with Marie (her Fairy Godmother) who, several times transforms herself from a ragged beggar woman into a rather sleek, fashionista (–oh the power of on-stage prestidigitation!) These effects are enhanced and given added polish by Make-Up Designer (& Asst. Costume Designer) Rocco Zappia’s unrestrained make-up designs (that themselves border on enthralling) and Alan Collins often over-the top wig-designs as well! Oh, and for those curious, the most intricate of all the props/effects you’ll see is when that “plain yellow pumpkin becomes a golden carriage!” (Take our word for it—you will not be disappointed!) It favors an elegant open air enclosure style the color of gold and smoothly glides across the stage. It’s both fun and impressive.    

Haven’t you heard? This Holiday season Venetian Glass Slippers are THE fashion accessory for those in the know! After “Previewing” on Thursday, November 7th and Friday November 8th,” Cinderella” officially opened on Saturday November 9th where it is slated to play through December 15^th , 2024, at “The Gem Theatre”, located at 12852 Main Street, in Garden Grove, CA. Showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 PM, with Sunday Matinees at 2:00 PM. “Student Rush” discounts are available on Thursdays and Fridays: $25 cash or $30 with a bank card. Senior discounts are also available, varying depending on the day. Likewise, One More Productions is also holding a special “Saturday Cinderella Tea Party” event—complete with a full tea service beginning at 2:00 PM. (It’s a 90-minute event) Priced at $50.00 per person which includes vocals, story time with Cinderella, arts and crafts and a photo shoot.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call One More Productions at (714) 741-9550, or visit their website at www.theGEMoc.com .

Production Photos by Ron Lyon www.ronlyonphoto.com Courtesy of “One More Productions” www.theGEMoc.com ; Special Thanks to Damien Lorton, Nicole Cassesso, Dan Baird, Angela Mattern, Victor Crisafulli, Ron Lyon, and to the cast and crew of “One More Productions” 2024 Production of “Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Cinderella” for making this story possible.

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