Cast members rehearse the wedding scene during a rehearsal for Cinderella last week. Photo by Donna MacKenzie
The musical Cinderella that the students at Honeoye Falls-Lima will be performing March 19-21 is not your grandparents or even your parents’ fairy tale.
Nathaniel Niemi, who is the new artistic director for the musical at HF-L this year, is excited to be working with the students on bringing the musical to the stage.
“I’m new this year and I have been impressed with this group of students,” Niemi said during an interview prior to a rehearsal last week. “It has been a joy working with them.”
Cinderella is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical written for television. The two Broadway legends already had collaborated on four of their most popular shows (Oklahoma in 1943, Carousel in 1945, South Pacific in 1949 and The King and I in 1951) by the time they wrote Cinderella which was originally broadcast by CBS on March 31, 1957, as a vehicle for Julie Andrews, who played the title role. People of a certain vintage might remember that show or the 1965 television remake starring Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon. It was also remade for television in 1997 with Brandy in the title role and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother. Other people may think of the Disney versions of Cinderella.
The version being presented by the HF-L students is the 2013 adaptation for Broadway with a new book by Douglas Carter Beane.
“In this new version, Cinderella is more active in changing her destiny,” Niemi stated. “She also helps change the kingdom to have more of a focus on kindness and providing for the poor. Topher, the prince, is being deceived by some of the leadership at the castle about the state of affairs in the kingdom. Cinderella and a new character, Jean-Michel, open the Prince’s eyes to that. This version does not lose any of the magic or beauty of the fairy godmother or the humor of the stepmother and stepsisters.”
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved songs, such as In My Own Little Corner, Impossible/It’s Possible, Ten Minutes Ago, Stepsisters Lament and Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful, are still a part of the show.
“We picked it because we think it really serves this group of students and their voices,” Niemi said. “I sat down with the Drama Club kids shortly after I was hired and asked what they were looking for in a musical this year. One of the things they talked about some beautiful choral singing.”
Niemi earned an undergraduate degree in theatre and worked as an actor in Chicago before going to grad school in Hawaii and earning his master’s degree in directing theatre for young audiences. He worked with high school groups in Hawaii and was in the education department at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, working in youth summer camps. He also was a resident director of a group in Florida. He currently teaches at SUNY Brockport and at Rochester Institute of Technology and has also directed for Blackfriars Theatre group in Rochester.
Cast members are Claire Connors as Ella, Mikey Ruff as Prince Topher, Maeve Connors as Fairy Godmother Marie, Lita Brady as Madame (Cinderella’s stepmother), Ava Youngblut as Charlotte and Raegan Banker as Gabrielle (the stepsisters), Grace Francis as Sebastian, Peterah Deisenroth as Pinkleton, Max Jacopille-Bornheimer as Jean-Michel, Abram Courtney (Duke of Cavendish/Ensemble), Alannah Orr (Older Woman/Ensemble), Alia Holzman (A Duchess/Ensemble), Andy Fosler (Sam/Ensemble), Anneleise Corey (Ensemble), Austin Jones (Ensemble), Ben McMinn (Ensemble), Bri Rowles (Yvonne with baby/Ensemble), Clara Boldt (A Guest/Ensemble), Dari Osso-Gomez (Shoe Lady/Ensemble), Dylan Berkeley (Shoe Lady/Ensemble), Easton Curcio (Ensemble), Elias Courtney (Duke of Cheshire/Ensemble), Emily Repass (Shoe Lady/Ensemble), Emma Kingsley (Shoe Lady/Ensemble), Evie Emerick (A Duchess/Ensemble), Fiona Gelb (Small Woman/Ensemble), Fred Kirkwood (Ensemble), Jack Somers (Footman 2/Ensemble), Jacob Moscicki (A Lord/Ensemble), Josh Lurvey (Ensemble), Kai Ferraro (Ensemble/Town Juggler), Kayla Donner (A Guest/Ensemble), Mairen Butler (Shy Woman/The Fox/Ensemble/Footman), Mal Chase (Ensemble), Max Roberts (Ensemble), Maylee Cross (Ensemble), Megan Merrill (Younger Woman/Ensemble), Nora Beckett (Tall Woman/Ensemble), Olivia Kingsmore (Shoe Lady/Ensemble), Samantha Rovik (Ensemble), Simon Guckenbiehl (A Dignitary/Ensemble), Siobhan Neenan (The Raccoon/Ensemble/Coachman), Teagan O’Connor (Strong Woman/Ensemble), Will Fowler (Footman 1/Ensemble) and Will Gabrielsen (Claud/Ensemble).
Student members of the crew are Megan Parrish, Casey Briggs and Skye Herbert (student directors), Madison Spaulding, Finley Neenan, Jenna Lawrence, Leah Rodgers, Eliana Davis, Cadence Fisher, Samantha Lloyd, Hazel Jokl and Olivia Dack (costume crew), Brooklyn Santiago, Naomi Stanley, Donald Cooper, Eise Klein, Keith King, Mason Litteer and Kevin Nguyen (stage/props crew), Bridgit Atkinson, Linus Burke and Thomas Cushman (lighting crew), Juliette Shaffer, Jasper Atkinson and Owain Curcio (sound crew), Abagail Flagg and Horia Shaheed (ushers), Evelyn Thering (makeup/hair) and Caleb Fuest, Ryleigh Abell, Kellen Adams, Heather Parham, Wilson Bond, Ashley Parrish, Smith Schaefer, Quinn Brooks, Abby Lange and Sarah McLaughlin (pit orchestra). Kai Ferraro was the puppet designer/coordinator.
The show will be March 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and March 21 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the District Auditorium at HF-L Middle School, 619 Quaker Meeting House Road. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased at seatyourself.biz/hflcsd or by emailing hflboxoffice@gmail.com
Next week, the Sentinel talks with some students in the cast and crew of the show.
