Review - Cinderella - Stage 62

In the heart of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Cinderella opened its first weekend at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall with Stage 62. The theater filled quickly with excited audience members. The stage design was simple yet colorful and whimsical (designer Rachel Ferrari Engel, builder Chris Ritz and painters Tracy Rudzinski, Jesse Connor, and Lynetta Miller). You can easily see the impressive 15-person orchestra nestled in the pit in front of the stage. An apron continues past the pit, ready for the actors to immerse deeper into the audience. I attended the Sunday matinee performance. 

The orchestra begins playing an impressive opening number. The ensemble of musicians, directed by Andrew Peters, meld beautifully together and create a sound worthy of a professional soundtrack recording. (Shoutout to drummer Karman Main who nailed every song with double-ended drumsticks and seemed to be passionately into the music for the whole 2+ hour long show).

Immediately we are greeted by our main character, Cinderella, who goes by "Ella" (Maggie Brashear). Maggie delicately graces the stage and soon we are introduced to her elegant and soft "princess voice" and incredible vibrato, ringing reminiscent that of a traditional and nostalgic animated film from our childhood. Maggie later displays clear comfort and professionalism within her ballroom dancing in act two as she highlights the stage with the smoothness of her performance. 

The song "Me, Who Am I?" showcases the shows male ensemble. Finding strong male singers in theater is no easy feat, and this production of Cinderella did not fall shy. The bellowing voices of tenors, baritones and basses alike made for a beautiful opening ensemble number. 

We meet our male lead in this number. Topher, portrayed by Ryan Hadbavny, arrives to the stage looking like a true clean-cut and handsome prince. Ryan's voice is clearly toned and well trained from the get-go, but it isn't until act two when we get to see his real chops. His character deepens and with that comes songs that showcase Ryan's ability to demand attention to his beautiful voice. Ryan's character seemed to come easy to him, and his lines of comedic relief landed wonderfully. 

Also in the opening number, we are introduced to Sebastian, portrayed by Brock Stanley, who- in my opinion- stole the show when on stage. Brock had the audience laughing, even at the smallest character choices. He was entertaining to watch and every move he made was calculated and filled with clear and wonderfully executed comedic timing. I was beyond impressed with Brock's acting and his comfort with the character. Each minor facial expression seemed so utterly inspired and made Brock give off maaajor villain vibes. 

Lord Pinkleton (Kevin Rabbits) is introduced as a handsome and stoic herald. Kevin leads the fun and energetic number, "The Prince is Giving A Ball", where we are shown his strong and exquisite voice as it rings through the theater. Kevin demands attention when he is on stage- without even having to try. He was a much needed and contrasted character in a bit of a ridiculous-scripted show. 

A few songs later, we meet our antagonists (or so we think). Madame, played by Jess Whittington, Charlotte, played by Kenzie Hartnett, and Gabrielle, played by Paulina Neuschwander. Madame and her two pompous and ditzy daughters are designed to add some comedic relief in the storyline and these three actresses deliver. Kenzie and Paulina have fantastic stage chemistry as they perfectly embody two sisters who bicker and are always in slight competition with each other. Jess portrays Madame as royal, yet haughty. She graced us with various well-timed ad-libs that added so much laughter to the audience. 
Paulina and Kenzie are both exceptionally animated and dynamic performers. Paulina came onto the stage with a bouncy and silly walk that was redolent of the characters from the 1950 Disney Cinderella film. Kenzie really nailed the whiny, bratty and immature sister character, and her abrasive and conniving facial expressions had everyone around me chuckling. (Loved the occasional looks to the audience of fourth wall breaks from Kenzie). It isn't until later that we learn that Gabrielle is actually a protagonist, and Paulina's shift into this kind character was seamless and convincing. Its moments like these with the contrast between Paulina and Kenzie that show how well this show was cast by director Michael Van Newkirk. Paulina later has adorable stage chemistry with Ella, (Maggie Brashear). Paulina also makes the choice to occasionally use a surprising low voice to further the silliness and awkwardness of her character, and it was absolutely a massive comedic feature of the show. 

Jean-Michelle (Eric Talotta) is silly, yet passionate. His love affair with Gabrielle is adorable and clumsy. Shout out to the flawless overly-animated kiss that had the audience roaring. Eric has great comedic timing and pacing to his lines and really embodies the characters love for his newfound lady.

Marie, otherwise best known as the "fairy godmother", portrayed by Joyce Hinnebusch, doubles as a haggard beggar woman and a beautiful fairy with impressive and adeptly toned operatic notes. Shortly before intermission, Joyce makes her transformation with a fun and shocking dress reveal, masterly completed with a dramatic spin. The audience is given a whimsical scene of metamorphosis that brings us the well-remembered carriage, horses, and assistants to Ella. Extra shoutout to the horses on their synchronized movements. 

​One thing that truly stands out about this entire production is the choreography (Cara McClaine, Nathan Hart). Namely, the choreography for "The Prince is Giving A Ball" and "Ten Minutes Ago". Extra shoutout to the women in "Ten Minutes Ago", who never broke their smile once through the elaborate choreo. 

My favorite number of the evening was the quartet of the three sisters and Madame, "A Lovely Night". If there was fun during the rehearsal process for this number, it absolutely showed on stage. It was colorful, silly, and the harmonies were to die for. 

Final Shoutouts:

The ensemble in this show is strong. They work together as a team and really do give the feeling of being townsfolk. Often times, the ensemble sang in unison instead of harmony, and the strength and clarity behind that choice did not go unnoticed. 

To the townswoman wearing the rainbow socks; brava on the hilarity behind trying on the slipper. The townswoman with the red wig absolutely stole the spotlight with some of her featured dancing, as well as the townswoman in lavender with shorter brown hair in the opening numbers. 

All in all, Cinderella at Stage 62 was a beautiful and fun performance full of talent and passion. Its clear from the casting process to the stage that there was time and thought put into every facet of this production, and I wish them a successful rest of the run. 

Cinderella has five more shows this upcoming week; Thursday and Friday, November 14-15 at 8:00pm, Saturday, November 16th at 2:00pm AND 8:00pm, and Sunday, November 17 at 2:00pm. Get your tickets to this wonderful production now, as they're going quickly!

Tickets at ---> stage62.org

**As always, feel free to add comments with thoughts, updates, or corrections. 

- Violet, 2024
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