Published: February 18, 2009 01:30 pm      

Musical features 2 lead roles, opens Thursday

ADA — A beautiful carriage, a grand staircase and a large working clock – a clock that inches toward midnight and the end of a magical evening arranged by a fairy godmother – are all part of the fun for the whole family in “Cinderella,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opening Thursday at East Central University.

The cast and crew are assembling as much magic as they can for the performances at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Dorothy Summers Theatre, said Patrick Sweet, instructor of communication and director of ECU’s Music Theatre.

Youngsters up to age 12 who wear prince or princess costumes on Saturday, Kids’ Day, will receive souvenir crowns. They also can purchase prince and princess photographs of themselves with cast members. The photographs will begin at 12:30 p.m.

“We hope to see a lot of little princes and princesses on Saturday,” Sweet said.

He said the production is a “book musical extravaganza” with its many songs that enhance the fairy tale story, nearly 100 costumes and a cast of 38, including ECU, home school and high school students, several community members and a faculty member.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children, senior citizens and non-ECU students. They can be purchased in the Bursar’s Office in Room 108 of the Administration Building, or at the box office. Admission is free for ECU students, faculty and staff. The doors will open one hour before the curtain and there will be no reserved seating.

Brittany Trail, a junior from Ada, and Amanda Tarver, a senior from Chandler, Ariz., will play Cinderella in alternate shows. Jomain McKenzie, a junior from Clarendon, Jamaica, will portray the Prince.

“This show has more than one love story,” Sweet said. It also shows the King (Ryan Corley, Shawnee sophomore) and the Queen (Natalie May, Prague sophomore) as being very real and human. Every entity is featured. The stepsisters have their heightened moments – everyone has his ‘15 minutes of fame.’”

The stepmother will be played by Kim Wren, an Ada junior. Moore junior Casey Taylor and Kire Stenson, a senior at Ada High School, will be Cinderella’s stepsisters.

Becky Morrison, an ECU adjunct instructor in the Communication Department, will play the fairy godmother who transforms Cinderella from a servant for her ill-tempered step-family into a beautifully gowned young lady, as well as several mice and a pumpkin into footmen and a glittering carriage.

The musical is one of ECU’s Centennial events.

“The show also has developed into a tribute to the late Dorothy Summers who guided the theatre program at ECU for many years and to her predecessors and successors,” he added. “This show will honor her work and the work of her successors, including Dr. Delma Hall and those currently serving in speech and theatre at ECU.”

“Cinderella” may be the last ECU musical in the Dorothy Summers Theatre since the new Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center is nearing completion.