Another challenge was for the student actors — who are used to an informal style of stage movement and delivery of lines from more contemporary shows like Grease and Seussical — to adapt to the more stylized, classical gestures and enunciation required for Cinderella, says Owen. “But the whole thing with acting is trying new things and having to push yourself, isn’t it?”
Jenny Rich, the junior who is playing Cinderella, says that “just waltzing” was a stretch for much of the cast. “We’ve practiced many times, and I think we’re finally getting it down.” Rich, who has been acting since she was in fourth grade and took classes last year at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, as well as voice and dance lessons, wants to pursue a career in musical theatre. “It’s my first time having to be the romantic lead,” she says. Having to get mushy with a classmate onstage is “a little awkward, but you get over it pretty quickly. You just stay in character.”
Rich calls the play “dated, but also kind of timeless. I’m trying to channel my inner princess and not be following the movie.” Several others in the cast also reference the Walt Disney animated film as the only version of Cinderella with which they had been familiar prior to signing onto the high school production, and some express relief at not having to portray singing mice. Sophomore Jeremy Brownstein — who also wants to make a career of acting after performing in plays every year at the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School and then “seven or eight Shakespeare plays” with New Genesis Productions in West Shokan — calls his character, the King, “surprising in a good way. Nancy’s letting me do a fun accent. We’re playing me as a bit of a loser king…Being a doofus onstage is something I really enjoy.”
Senior Elazia Pollard, who has already been accepted at the Crane School of Music and plans to major in Music Education, says that she also “knew the Disney version, but not the Rodgers & Hammerstein version.” She’s looking forward to playing a “powerful” Queen who is “always the one in charge” to Brownstein’s wimpier King. “I usually play meaner people, so it’s a nice change. It’s always fun to work with Jeremy; we work well together.”
Sophomore Meaghan McElroy, who was drafted to play the Fairy Godmother when another student had to drop out of the role due to a scheduling conflict, also has a long history of acting under her belt, having been involved with 90 Miles Off-Broadway since the age of nine. She’s currently a stage manager for the Rondout Repertory children’s theatre group in Rosendale. For McElroy, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella was already familiar: “My aunt is in her 60s, and every time she used to babysit for us, she used to make us watch the Lesley Ann Warren version.” She calls the show “a familiar enough story, but different enough that people will feel like they’re seeing something new.” Of her character, who gets to sing the delightful duet “Impossible” with Cinderella, she says, “It’s a light part, but it’s fun.”
Junior Matt Eriole Jr., a guitarist/singer/songwriter whose parents have long performed in community theatre troupes in the mid-Hudson, says that he has “always gravitated more toward music,” and he seems a bit nonplussed to have been cast in the key role of Prince Charming. “The biggest challenge is getting out of my comfort zone, trying to get used to the acting,” he says. “Nancy is helping me out with a lot of little tricks for getting into the character.”
Then there are the villainesses of the story, who get the funniest material. “Everybody thinks it’s ironic” that she’s getting to play the evil stepmother, because in real life, “I’m pretty sweet, I like to think,” claims senior Claire McAllister. “She yells a lot…She thinks she’s very grand, but no one likes her. She’s nasty the whole way through the play, and cries all through the wedding.” McAllister plans to apply her four years of involvement in Drama Club toward a career in education: “Having this experience in theatre is going to help me as a teacher, keeping kids engaged.”
Senior Morgan De Simone, who plays the “completely joyless” stepsister Joy, agrees that “It’s a lot of fun to be someone completely outside my element. When I tell my family and friends what role I’m playing, they’re shocked because I’m usually really shy.” Another four-year veteran of the Drama Club — and the high school choir as well — De Simone especially loves singing, competing in All-County Choir and NYSSMA vocal festivals. She’s impressed with Cinderella overall: “The music is more complex; the characters are more complex. Everything has a meaning in this show.”
Liz Corey, the president of the Drama Club, has also been active in choir and is currently earning 12 college credits in the Performing and Visual Arts curriculum of the SUNY New Visions program for high school seniors. She plans to major in Theatre Arts and will probably start at SUNY Ulster because “I’m paying for school myself.” Corey describes Portia, her character in Cinderella, as the “stupid stepsister. She’s not all there…but she’s also the more innocent stepsister. She’s not wicked like her mother. She’s a follower, not a leader.”
Calling the works of Rodgers & Hammerstein “classics,” Corey says that she would’ve been happy to play any of the characters in Cinderella. “None of the parts in the show are flat. I like the goofiness of it.” Jenny Rich terms the show “joyful and uplifting,” and Nancy Owen concurs. “I think the kids are really having a blast doing it!”
The curtain goes up on the New Paltz High School Drama Club production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 3, 4 and 5. There will also be a special children’s matinée at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. Children attending the matinée are invited to dress as their favorite fairytale characters and join a costume parade onstage during the intermission. Small prizes will be handed out to all costumed participants up to age 10. For tickets, information and reservations, call (845) 256-4111.
