The set has the appearance or feel of a 1970s game show (particularly Match Game), with shades of yellow and orange as its dominant colors, and with the shape of the entrances. Also, the pattern of the multi-colored stripes on the floor leading from the main entrance upstage center to the audience is something that will take most folks right back to the 1970s. Stage right there is a revolving platform, and downstage right and left are multicolored curtains. Theatre goers are by now used to the announcements to silence cell phones, and the announcement before this performance plays on the fact that it takes place in the 1970s: “So put away those cell phones, because they didn’t even exist.”
As the play begins, the Fairy Godmother character, here called the Soul Sister (played by Malynda Hale), sings a song about stepping back in time, further helping to take the audience back to the 1970s. In addition to being a character, she functions partially as a narrator, and also as a metatheatrical device, pulling aside the stage left curtain to reveal the band. She also directly engages the audience, even taking a Polaroid photo of folks. Photos will play a big part in the story, as Cindy (Jasiana Caraballo) is an avid photographer. Cindy is of course the Cinderella character, the step-sister to Eleanor (Abigail Kate Thomas), both students at a high school in Los Angeles, and both interested in the arts, which gives them some common ground. Rounding out the small cast are Hayden Kharrazi as Tommy, the head of the school paper, and Christopher Baker as Buddy, the school track star and boyfriend to Eleanor. There is no cruel stepmother in this telling (Eleanor’s mother is in New York), so it is just Eleanor that treats Cindy like a servant. Cindy sings a song about picturing her future, which is cute, in part because of her love of photography and in part because we in the audience are in the future. The dominance of yellow and orange extends to the costuming, as Cindy wears a yellow dress over an orange shirt.
Cindy is not a wilting wallflower in this telling, and does speak up for herself, questioning her sister, though ultimately doing what is expected of her. And though Eleanor at one point tells her, “People don’t even know you exist,” that doesn’t quite ring true, as both Buddy and Tommy are not only aware of her, but seem to very much like her. So all of the characters on stage do know her quite well. As a result, this Cinderella never quite seems alone, and maybe is not in as much need of a fairy godmother as other Cinderellas. But everyone can use a helping hand, right? Each of the characters has a strong passion, which he or she sings about, and much of the message of this play is about following one’s passion, doing one’s own thing. As mentioned, Cindy’s main interest is photography, and when Tommy receives excellent photographs from an unknown source, the audience is immediately certain that the photos are Cindy’s. When Tommy sings about his passion for journalism, some of his dance moves are adorable, particularly as he sings, “News, news, news.” But perhaps the biggest laugh of the show comes when Buddy says, “People should not take pictures of themselves,” of course referring to that current craze with cell phones. Unfortunately, that line is repeated a little later, which lessens its impact. Each of the actors is fully committed to his or her character, and a lot of the joy of this production comes from their performances and the dances. The song about following one’s dream has a deliciously funky groove.
Enjoyment for those of us in the audience who were around for at least part of the 1970s also comes from references to things from our youth, such as rotary phones and Tab. Soul Sister also quotes songs by Joni Mitchell and The Five Stairsteps (both of the songs mentioned are from 1970). There is the sense that the 1970s were an innocent time, which is interesting because Happy Days, which aired in the 1970s, looked back at the 1950s as an innocent time. So I suppose we all tend to look back fondly, forgetting some of the more troubling aspects of any given time (though I doubt anyone could do that with the 1930s and early 1940s). At any rate, in this play, Cindy has the idea to hold a citywide dance in order to support continued funding for the arts in school. She decides not to attend the dance herself, in part because she has nothing to wear. But you know Soul Sister is going to do something about that. It wouldn’t be Cinderella without some special shoes, and the shoes Cindy ends up sporting have a strong 1970s vibe. She also gets a fresh outfit and some magic film. Soul Sister warns her that the magic will wear off at midnight. But that should be no problem. What high school dance ever went that late?
Cindy & The Disco Ball: The Musical runs through October 30, 2022, with performances every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is one fifteen-minute intermission. The scenic design is by Tom Wagman, the lighting design is by Martha Carter, the sound design is by Robert Arturo Ramirez, and the costume design is by Jessica Champagne Hansen. Garry Marshall Theatre is located at 4252 West Riverside Drive in Burbank, California.
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| production photo by Matthew Gilmore |
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| production photo by Matthew Gilmore |
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