Tale Of Cinderella, A
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Music By Will Severin & George David Weiss
Lyrics By George David Weiss
Book/Libretto by: W. A. Frankonis
Opened: 1994
Synopsis
In the time of fairy tales and magic, in the Italian city
of Venice, A Tale of Cinderella begins with the Venetians greeting a new day
(Buon Giorno). A costumed and masked stranger, who is the Prince in
disguise, hears a sad tale of long ago from a Gondolier and the Venetians
about a local family (The Tale of Cinderella). He learns about Paolo,
Giametta, and their child, Angelina, who is raised by her father after her
mother dies (Hear Us). Angelina still lives in Venice, only now she has a
stepmother and stepsisters.
As the Prince departs, a grown-up Angelina, busily cleans the hearth
(Cinderella) while her new stepsisters mockingly dub her la cenerčntola -
the Cinderella. Paolo returns from a merchant voyage to reveal he has lost
two ships and as a result, nearly all their money. The stepsisters, Seppia
and Moltovoce, and the stepmother, Pulchitruda, selfishly lament the
prospect of poverty (Poor, Poor, Poor).
Cinderella reassures her father that they will be happy again despite his
losses (In the Air). He wonders why she is doing all the housework, as if
she were a servant, and confronts his new wife, telling her that she and her
daughters should help out (These Graceful Hands / Stepmother Casts a Spell).
Pulchitruda complains about Cinderella, and to keep Paolo from interfering,
she abuses the power of a magic amulet - which is intended to help people
find love - by enchanting him with it.
The Stepsisters, meanwhile, mock Cinderella as she plays with the children
(Showoff), and ruin her whole day's work by upsetting the laundry she has
just cleaned, leaving her sad and dispirited in the town square. Her Godmama,
La Stella, arrives, first only as a voice in the air and then in her magic
gondola, and encourages Cinderella not to lose hope (Have Faith).
Hearing sounds in the night, La Stella hides Cinderella in the shadows and
magically makes herself look like a wall. The Prince, on his way to a
masquerade party, arrives with his boastful godfather, Il Compari, who also
urges the Prince to hide in the shadows when La Stella challenges them. The
two godparents then confront each other.
The Prince, meanwhile, discovers Cinderella and befriends her by helping to
collect the scattered and now-dirty laundry. When she leaves, the Prince
admits to Il Compari that he is in love with the laundress and urges his
godfather to help him win her (Make Magic). Il Compari discovers his sword
may be magic because when he waves it, they hear Cinderella singing in the
distance. The Prince cleverly plans a great ball for all the unmarried women
of Venice, at which each must sing for him so he can identify the beautiful
laundress and make her his wife.
After they leave the square, Cinderella dreamily returns, herself in love
with the masked stranger. To the night, she bids him happy dreams and falls
asleep. But her own dreams become a frightening nightmare (Demons and Devils
and Witches) filled with threatening figures and the menacing presence of
her stepmother and stepsisters.
She is wakened by the arrival of the king's messenger who announces the
Grand Venetian Wife-Hunt Ball (Peliculo) for the following night. Paolo
promises to buy Cinderella a gown so she can go to the ball, and as the act
ends, excited Venetians begin frenzied preparations for the grand
festivities (Unmarried Women).
Act II opens with the new day dawning (Out of the Ashes) and Cinderella
preparing breakfast, which the Stepsisters haughtily demand (Bring My
Porridge). Pulchitruda insults Cinderella's mother, and when Paolo warns her
to say nothing about his first wife, she tries to enchant him again. But in
a flash, Cinderella deliberately spills porridge on her, steals the amulet,
drives the Stepsisters from the kitchen, then fantasizes about turning the
tables on her tormenters (Some Sweet Day).
As the Venetians continue preparations for the ball (Can You Believe It?),
Cinderella reveals to her father that she may be in love with a masked
stranger she met in the square (Love, Love, Love, Love). Paolo prepares to
depart for Padua where he hopes to salvage some of his fortune. The
Stepsisters renew their taunting (Showoff (Reprise)), leaving Cinderella in
despair, but this time, Paolo witnesses the torment, and separately, he and
Cinderella lament what has happened to their lives (Bells / Mi Dispiace).
In a fury, Pulchitruda threatens Cinderella: find the "lost" amulet or miss
the great ball. Cinderella ponders her dilemma; she can return the amulet
and thus hurt her father, or keep it and protect him (The Amulet). Lovingly,
she chooses to help her father and hides the amulet. When the others leave
for the ball and Paolo has failed to return with a gown for her, a
disappointed Cinderella remains behind. Riding fog, La Stella arrives, and
with her magic wooden spoon, promises to give Cinderella's tormenters a
taste of their own medicine (Don't Mess With La Stella). From the basket of
dirty laundry, she conjures a beautiful ball gown, and from the fireplace,
mysterious crystal shoes which can help find love. But they can also steal
love and turn a heart to hard, unfeeling glass if the wearer has not found
her love by midnight. With a warning (Be Back by Midnight / To the Ball),
she sends Cinderella to the ball in an enchanted gondola.
At the masquerade ball, the Prince and Cinderella meet and dance, unaware
they have met before and that they actually seek one another. Il Compari and
La Stella do recognize each other, and as they dance, realize they are in
love (Compliments). Cinderella and the Prince, meanwhile, are also attracted
to each other (No One Ever Told Me), but midnight arrives, and as the great
clock tower tolls the hour, Cinderella flees, leaving behind one of the
crystal shoes.
For two days without success, the Prince and Il Compari search the city for
whoever fits the shoe. Without recognizing it, they arrive at the little
square where they first saw Cinderella. The Children playing there spot the
Prince and interrupt the search to say how much they admire him and his
life, but he cautions them about being fooled by surface appearances (The
Prince). Il Compari tries out his erratically magic sword, and again in the
distance, Cinderella is heard singing. The Children point out the source of
the voice, and the Prince hurries away to find the woman he loves.
The Stepsisters insist they both lost the shoe, but cannot squeeze into it.
As Paolo finally arrives home, Cinderella tries the shoe, and of course, it
fits, so the Prince asks her to be his bride. She seeks her father's
approval, but Paolo tells her to hear her own heart. As Cinderella realizes
the Prince and the masked stranger she loves are one and the same person,
she agrees.
Paolo gives her the gown he brought back, too late for the ball, but perhaps
it can be her wedding gown. She, in turn, retrieves the magic amulet from
its hiding place in the hearth, and gives it to her father, hoping it will
help him find love again. As Cinderella goes off to plan the wedding,
Pulchitruda decides she and her daughters cannot live without riches, so
they leave. But La Stella is not through with them. When they try to board a
gondola, she waves her magic wooden spoon, and they plunge into the canal
instead to the great delight of the Venetians.
In the air, music is heard, which Paolo tells the Children is really the
sound of happiness, and while the setting transforms, the wedding procession
begins. As the play ends, bride and groom appear and pledge themselves and
their love to each other (You Are My Love / No One Ever Told Me (Reprise)),
and the Venetians celebrate (Cinderella (Finale)).
Song List
- Buon Giorno
- The Tale Of Cinderella
- Hear Us
- Cinderella
- Poor, Poor, Poor
- In The Air
- These Graceful Hands
- Stepmother Casts A Spell
- Showoff
- Have Faith
- Make Magic
- Demons And Devils And Witches
- Peliculo
- Unmarried Women
- Out Of The Ashes
- Bring My Porridge
- Some Sweet Day
- Can You Believe It?
- Love, Love, Love, Love
- Bells
- Mi Dispiace
- The Amulet
- Don't Mess With La Stella
- Be Back By Midnight
- To The Ball
- Compliments
- No One Ever Told Me
- The Prince
- You Are My Love
Cast List
Lorraine Serabian, Gary Aldrich, Joel Aroeste, Sara Biggs, David Bunce, Michele Golden, Peter Kutchukian, John T. McGuire, Erika Johnson Newell, Margaret Robinson, John Romeo, Laura Roth, Samuel Smith, Georgina Spelvin, Michael Steese, Sean Frank Sullivan, Christianne Tisdale, Catherine Wronowski
Submitted by: admin
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Added: Mon Aug 17 2009