[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: Cinderella in Canton

[Tom Wachunas via NEohioPAL]

Re-inventing a Beautiful DreamerBy Tom Wachunas   “How many times do you read about 'theCinderella story,' the story of the underdog, the story of the ordinary humanbeing, often subjected to cruelty and ignorance and neglect, who somehowtriumphs?”  - Kenneth Branagh    How many timesindeed. After only a few minutes of research, I was sufficiently reminded ofthe long history behind the tale that we in the West know as Cinderella. Ifthere are any readers out there not familiar with it, I pray for you. In anycase, the roots of this iconic narrative - which is essentially about how adowntrodden heroine triumphs over her oppressors - date as far back as a Greekstory from around 7 BCE. I think it fair to say that despite centuries ofliterary and theatrical adaptations and revisions (not to mention cinematicvariants), from across many eras and cultures, it continues to be somethingmore than an escapist fairy tale. You could call it an allegory of the humancondition, if for no other reason than it seems that we, under myriad names andcircumstances, are still defining and searching for our “happily ever after.”   So enter yetanother adaptation. This brand new one delivers a refreshingly modernized andrelevant message without succumbing to saccharine preachiness. Loosely based onThe Brothers Grimm version, it’s written by Beth Knox, Managing Director ofCanton’s Players Guild Theatre, and premiering now in the Guild’s intimatearena theater. Not surprisingly, the production features a superbly talented13-member cast, directed here by Michael Lawrence Akers and Jonathan Tisevich.      Raucous chaosensues whenever Ella’s mean-spirited stepsisters and  stepmother are present.  Kassandra Frazier, as Esmeralda, and SarahMarie Young, as Prudence, have several show-stopping scenes, none morehilarious than when they clumsily attempt to take instruction from theirflustered mother (Madame Arrington, played by Daryl Robinson) on how to waltz.Frazier’s  unruly Esmeralda often speakswhile chomping on the biscuits and rolls she routinely pulls from her bodice,making the many insults she hurls at Ella (including naming her Cinder-ella) all the more…cheeky.Young’s air-headed, whiny Prudence is something of a sonic phenomenon.Complementing her expressive if not cartoonish facial contortions is a speakingvoice shrill and piercing enough to peel wallpaper. Like, eeewwwww… Meanwhile,Daryl Robinson deftly turns the manipulative, haughty, and frenetic MadameArrington into an effectively chilling portrait of vapid pomp and stridentgreed.     Talk about passingon family values to the next generation… In that regard, Ella, played byDesirée Hargrave, is anything but self-serving or deceitful. Hargrave investsher character with palpable tenderness tempered with unflappable resolve tomake the best of the bad circumstances engineered by her feckless anddysfunctional family. It’s that disarming tenderness and determination thatgrabs both the attentions of the Fairy Godmother – a truly giddy spiritdelivered with lovable swagger by Elyse Ramirez – as well as the introspectiveheart of the prince, Alexander, played by Drake Harbert. To that role, Harbertbrings authentic warmth and gentleness. It’s a trait that seems to run in theRoyal family, as Corey Paulus, in his role of King, plays his part too withequal credibility.    Here is aCinderella with a true servant’s heart, evident in the brief but endearingscenes when she so freely shares her passion for books and the wisdom they canimpart by teaching some local children, here named Catherine and Nicholas, howto read.  In those roles, both RyleeHorning and Noah Tisevich make a delightful picture of youthful, effervescenteagerness to imagine life as a fulfilling adventure.      In the end, thisnew adaptation tweaks or deletes many of the extraneous incidentals of thefamiliar (and frankly all too sappy) Disneyesque narrative we’re accustomed to.Instead, we’re given a compelling scenario of a selfless and courageousdreamer. Not the numbed victim of life’s cruel and unexpected vicissitudes,singing a doleful someday-my-prince-will-come dirge, she pours her gifts intoothers. Walk a mile in her shoes, and the world could well live all the morehappily. 
      Players GuildTheatre presents Cinderella – A NewAdaptation, in the William G. Frye Theater, 1001 Market Avenue N., Canton,Ohio / FRIDAY at 7:00 p.m, SATURDAY and SUNDAY at 2 p.m., THROUGH FEB. 5, 2017/ TICKETS: $17 adults, $13  for ages 17and younger, available at www.playersguildtheatre.com  or call330-452-7617   For othercommentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing and visual arts in the greaterCanton area, please visit his blog, ARTWACH, at www.artwach.blogspot.com  
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