The People’s Prince and the Pauper
Cinderella
at New Theatre Oxford
from January 14-18
Review by JON LEWIS
The People’s Prince and the Pauper
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1957 musical Cinderella, written for television, was watched by over a hundred million viewers, one of the most viewed arts broadcasts in US history.
In 2013 Cinderella was staged on Broadway, winning a Tony award, with a completely new book by Douglas Carter Beane that brought in a new social responsibility agenda to the familiar fairy tale narrative. It’s this Broadway adaptation that Oxford Operatic brought to the New Theatre.
Director Jessica Reilly, working with a very large company, draws strong performances from the leads. Benjamin Ashton as Topher, the self-critical Prince, excels with a strong voice. Topher is caught between the authoritarian ideologies of his chief minister, Sebastian (Glen Young) and the pressing needs of the poor as articulated by the country’s student agitator Jean-Michel (Chris Ventom). Bella Brown, as the cutesy Cinderella, overcame the disadvantage of a malfunctioning personal microphone during the first half to give a rousing performance as a spirited agent of change for a less top-down society.
Cinderella’s family are especially well performed. Marilyn Moore as the haughty social-climbing mother, Madame, a woman surprisingly open about marrying Cinderella’s father for his money and house, is a hoot. Josceline Edwards, as the sympathetic stepsister Gabrielle who is in love with Jean-Michel, and Rachel Garnet as deliciously wise-cracking Charlotte (Rachel Garnet) are outstanding as a double act.
There’s an impressive puppet of a giant (designer, Guy Grimsley) fighting a host of soldiers that positions Topher as a mock-heroic figure. The ambition within the company’s stagecraft is reflected by the sumptuous costumes (designer, Lisa Hankin) and the effective painted backcloths.
The songs are not as well-known as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classics. This production is for many an introduction to the musical. Numbers like ‘Impossible’ and its follow-up ‘It’s possible’, sung in a scene when Cinderella is convinced by the fairy godmother Marie (Frankie Alexandra) that she can go to the ball, are beautifully written and composed. Their seriousness is matched by tongue-in-cheek ditties such as The Prince is Giving a Ball and He Was Tall, with humour essential to the narrative structure.
An enjoyable revival.
