Photo courtesy of Bryan Buttler Media Relations, LLC.
Families looking for a special event this holiday season should travel to Baltimore Center Stage as they present ArtsCentric’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella from November 25-December 23. It is the 3rd collaboration between the two organizations and is inspired by the 1997 movie version that featured Brandy as the future princess and Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother.
This adaptation takes the original story and sets it in Africa, and is filled with vibrant color, fabrics, patterns, and imagery. Familiar songs like “In My Own Little Corner” and “Impossible” are also sung and danced with an African flare.
This all fits in with ArtsCentric’s mission: they were founded to create more performance opportunities for young African American artists, and mounted their first shows in 2004 for Baltimore audiences. Deana Cruz-Conner attended an ArtsCentric show in 2013 and was impressed by what she saw and taken with their mission; she immediately offered her help, and in the 10 years since, she has worked both backstage as a costume designer, as well as onstage as a cast member, as she is in Cinderella. Cruz-Conner says that the show allows people who might not usually have that opportunity “to dream of themselves as royalty.”
This was definitely the case at the preview performance that my son and I attended. It was packed with kids of all ages and ethnicities, including several little girls in sparkly dresses, older ladies in groups with friends, and enthusiastic young adults who clapped and cheered and gasped in parts, as if they didn’t know how the story would end! It was a truly diverse group of happy theatergoers, who were really engaged in the action (which often comes off of the stage and into the audience).
One of my favorite points was when the Prince and his steward go looking for Cinderella, abandoned glass slipper in hand. They asked a few audience members if they were the ones who left the shoe, and a little girl in our audience yelled out, “It’s you, Mommy!”
ArtsCentric’s Cinderella is a fun and energetic experience that will have you laughing, dancing, and possibly tearing up as you celebrate a show that feels familiar and new at the same time.
Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Baltimore Center Stage
November 25-December 23, 2023
-Special performances available for Audio Description/Touch Tour (Dec. 10), ASL Interpreted (Dec. 15), Youth & Family Night (Dec. 16), Holiday Celebration Night (Dec. 21)
https://www.centerstage.org/events/cinderella/
Click here to purchase tickets.
Taking Charge at Dinnertime