T H E A T R E R E V I E W TICKET
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Kingston Whig-Standard
Stepsisters are shoo-ins
to be Cinderella’s stars
Sophie Szczesniak,
Signy Lynch sparkle
as shrieking siblings
By Greg Burliuk
The story of Cinderella is so old
that a version exists that dates
back to the first century BC, in
which an eagle takes the rose-gilded
sandal of a serving girl to the
pharaoh, who makes all the women
in his kingdom try it on. Of course,
the pharaoh falls in love with the
serving girl when he finds her.
The version we are most familiar
with (glass slippers and a fairy godmother)
was written by Charles
Perrault in 1697.
Charles Robertson’s take on the
fairy tale is a fairly conventional
one. It keeps the most important elements
of the Perrault tale, drops
ones that would be difficult to stage
(like turning a pumpkin into a
coach) and adds a few jokes here
and there. Throw in some tuneful
music by Michael K. Myers, and
you’ve got a pleasant way to spend
an hour or so with your children on
a weekday.
The cast for Bottle Tree Productions’
Cinderella is largely young
and of limited experience, but they
manage to pull it off.
The actors will pull it off even better
as their confidence grows with
each performance, which will hopefully
then bring more fun to the
play.
The script is written so that, in
several cases, the audience is asked
to help the characters by telling
them where obvious things are. To
make that work, the actors have to
ask the audience enthusiastically
and not timidly; there was more of
the latter than the former.
There also needs to be actors
whom you can’t take your eyes off
of, whenever they’re on stage; in
this kind of play, it should probably
be someone who has the kind of
role that allows them to go over the
top.
Right now, there are two actors
doing a pretty good job in that position.
Signy Lynch and Sophie
Szczesniak play the wicked stepsisters
with relish: their blood-curdling
screams whenever they hear Prince
Charming’s name mentioned are
enough to shake the dust off the
rafters in the Wellington Street Theatre.
There are candidates on the horizon
as well for MWP (most watchable
player). In the dual role of Doc
Doc, the inept royal physician, and
Ed, the playboy rat coachman,
Katharine Noyes has a twinkle in
her eye; she just has to make her
stage business more over the top.
And, as the fairy godmother, Sarah
Connelly has a million-watt smile;
now she has to make her other role
as Prince Charming’s mother more
unique because right now, there’s little
difference between the two.
As for the two main characters,
Megan Ready-Walters needs to
bring more energy to the role of Cinderella.
And, as Prince Charming,
who starts out as a self-proclaimed
nerd, Tom Sinclair needs to work
more on his clumsiness, perhaps
making his movements more concise
rather than stumbling around
the stage.
Still, with a cast that appears to
be under the age of 16, director
Anne Marie Mortensen has done a
nice job of creating a show that
young audiences will like.
CINDERELLA
Signy Lynch (pictured) and Sophie Szczesniak steal the show, playing Ethel and
Gertrude respectively, Cinderella’s two wicked stepsisters. Michael Lea/The Whig-Standard
C A S T
Cinderella - Megan Ready-Walters
Prince Charming - Tom Sinclair
Ethel - Signy Lynch
Gertrude - Sophie Szczesniak
Stepmother - Hannah Smith
Servant - Peter Jansen [sic]
CINDERELLA
a play adapted by
Charles Robertson with music and
lyrics by Michael K. Myers
Director - Anne Marie Mortensen
Set design - Kyle White
Stage manager - Allie Dunlop
A Bottle Tree Productions production
now playing until July 25 at the
Wellington Street Theatre, corner of
Wellington and Johnson streets,
with performances at 2 p.m. Monday
to Friday. Tickets are $15 for
adults and $12 for seniors, students
and children. For tickets or more information,
call the Grand Theatre
box office at 613-530-2050.
RATING: 3 out of 5 stars