Some friends and I attended the Sundance Summer Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" last night. The mountain setting was delightful. There was a lot to enjoy about the production, especially the dancing, but I must confess I hardly recognized the show. The story line and songs had been completely reworked to be a rather far departure from the original. (I wonder where that renovated script and score came from? There was no mention in the program credits.)
What is always interesting to me in watching a live production of a fantasy show is how will they achieve the MAGICAL EFFECTS. It was fun to watch the Fairy Godmother's and Cinderella's dresses change from rags into beautiful glittering gowns. It was also fascinating to watch how the actors moved around the set pieces throughout show to change the scenes. That was pretty magical, as well, but watching the maneuvering made me tense and nervous.
What is always interesting to me in watching a live production of a fantasy show is how will they achieve the MAGICAL EFFECTS. It was fun to watch the Fairy Godmother's and Cinderella's dresses change from rags into beautiful glittering gowns. It was also fascinating to watch how the actors moved around the set pieces throughout show to change the scenes. That was pretty magical, as well, but watching the maneuvering made me tense and nervous.
Early in my experience doing live theatrical shows, I had an unfortunate accident involving the "movable" stairs of the set. Watching how the dramatic curved staircases were positioned last night and how the cast members moved around all over them brought back memories of my accident.
In my case, the crew had not moved the set pieces close enough together for a child to negotiate the gap between sections. One of my legs slipped through the gap and on the way down I got all scraped up. Fortunately, I caught myself so I didn't fall all the way down to the stage level. My fall was on the way out of the scene so some crew people were able to rescue me and quickly apply bandaids before I had to get into the next scene. "The show must go on" and all that, you know. But my 9-year-old self was pretty traumatized.
Watching the large staircases last night kept me in a state of apprehension. Oh, how I hoped the crew members would hit all of their marks and get the set pieces locked into place so the actors wouldn't have troubles. Fortunately, there were no accidents and I was able to finally relax at the end of the show.
(But I still wonder why they felt they had to so drastically rework the script...This new version was not the old favorite I remember.)
In my case, the crew had not moved the set pieces close enough together for a child to negotiate the gap between sections. One of my legs slipped through the gap and on the way down I got all scraped up. Fortunately, I caught myself so I didn't fall all the way down to the stage level. My fall was on the way out of the scene so some crew people were able to rescue me and quickly apply bandaids before I had to get into the next scene. "The show must go on" and all that, you know. But my 9-year-old self was pretty traumatized.
Watching the large staircases last night kept me in a state of apprehension. Oh, how I hoped the crew members would hit all of their marks and get the set pieces locked into place so the actors wouldn't have troubles. Fortunately, there were no accidents and I was able to finally relax at the end of the show.
(But I still wonder why they felt they had to so drastically rework the script...This new version was not the old favorite I remember.)
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