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Mason theater conjures ‘enchanted’ Cinderella

Apryl Pilolli Cast members rehearse Sunday, March 7, 2010, for their upcoming production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella" at the Children's Theatre of Mason. The group will perform the musical March 12 to 14 at Mason High School auditorium.

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 5:03 PM Friday, March 12, 2010

MASON— The Children’s Theatre of Mason aims to bring out the fairy godmother in everyone with its production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” opening today and playing through Sunday, March 12-14.

“It’s really uplifting,” director Dirk Doebereiner said. “We don’t all have the opportunity of a fairy godmother, but within ourselves we have the ability to reach for our dreams and achieve some of them.”

Abby Liebowitz, 17, who plays the fairy godmother, said of her character, “She’s a diva. She’s very fabulous and fancy - not like your typical old grandma.”

Liebowitz also gets to perform magic tricks, such as turning mice into horses. The transformation happens out of view, but “It’s really cool to be able to do all the magic tricks and no one knows how it’s done,” she said.

This particular production of “Cinderella” has a little extra magic in it as well. It’s known as the “Enchanted Edition” of the show, which is different from the original 1957 production, starring Julie Andrews.

“It’s slightly extended from the classic Cinderella, with a more modern-day approach,” said Doebereiner. “The characters are a little more worldly, more spelled out and more fully developed.”

Jeannette Grout, 18, who plays the title role, grew up on the 1997 television version.

“Ever since the Brandy and Whitney Houston version came out when I was 6, I dreamed of playing this,” she said.

When Cinderella falls for the prince, “She realizes she’s actually fabulous and can be an independent woman. When she realizes she’s falling in love, she likes that a lot,” Grout said.

As for the prince, he has more of an edge to him than other fairy tale princes, said Brandon Huber, 16, who plays the leading man.

“He’s a little more sarcastic than most princes would be. He’s not stuck up and likes to joke around occasionally,” Huber said.

Still, he probably has nothing on the sarcasm of Cinderella’s two stepsisters. Krista Morford, 15, plays Grace, the mean one, while Lexi Kilgore, 16, plays Joy, the dim one.

“She laughs a lot and she snorts,” Kilgore said of her character, who gets in altercations with her sister.

“We are talking to each other and we realize ‘I don’t like you, what are you doing?’ She hits me and I hit her back. It’s kind of fun,” she said.

And it’s not only the sisters’ behavior that’s flamboyant.

“We wear the most ridiculous costumes - mine are bright orange,” Morford said.

Their stepmother tops them both with anger issues, however. The actress who plays her, Alyssa Cousineau, 16, said “I try to channel all my anger and I take it all out on Cindy. It makes it a lot easier to use emotional recall to become the character. I don’t want to copy anyone in the movies. I want to make it my own,”

Showtimes are 7 p.m. today, 2 and 7 p.m. March 13 and 2 p.m. March 14 at the Mason High School auditorium. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling (513) 398-0116 or visiting www.childrenstheatreofmason.com.

Raffles will be held during the show to raise money for The Shepherd’s Crook Ministries, a nonprofit organization that partners with adoption agencies to match families with special needs orphans.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.