THEATER REVIEW: Cindy Bella (or The Glass Slipper)

By Irina Brook and Anna Brownsted

Directed by Irina Brook

(Founders’ Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, Mass., $34)

A Shakespeare & Company production of a play with music in two acts

 

Angelina (Cindy)      Heather Fisch

Clorinda                    Dana Harrison

Dandini                     David Joseph

Don Magnifico         Benjamin Luxon

Tisbe                         Caley Milliken

Don Ramiro              Scott Renzoni

Alidora                       Renee Margaret Speltz

 

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

 

 

Cindy Bella (or The Glass Slipper), a world premier at Shakespeare & Company, directed by Irina Brook, gives us a contemporary, comic version of the centuries-old classic tale, Cinderella, in a kind of mash-up with the story of Rossini’s opera, La Cenerentola.

 

Angelina, called Cindy by her unkind stepsisters, does all the work at the Bar Magnifico, a run-down establishment owned by her stepfather, Don Magnifico; her stolen moments of pleasure are those when she plays her accordion, crooning arias. Tisbe and Clorinda, her selfish, demanding, and fashion-challenged stepsisters, order her around and make fun of her music.

 

Cindy/Angelina is played with enormous charm by Heather Fisch, whose lovely singing voice is perfect for the quiet, compelling rendition of the Puccini tune—and the restrained accordion accompaniment is a perfect fit for the aria as well.

 

Dana Harrison as Clorinda and Caley Milliken as Tisbe are completely over-the-top and hilarious as the two crazy sisters, prancing about in animal-print polyester, faux fur, and sequins. It’s not that they’re wicked; they are just completely self-absorbed. Ben Luxon of the superb voice is Don Magnifico, delivering comic schtick with the best of them. The three put across a pretty funny rendition of “Putting On the Ritz” when they hear that the prince will hold a ball, part of his search for a bride.

 

Don Ramiro, the prince, needs a wife, so he disguises himself as his chauffeur; Dandini, the chauffeur, dresses up as the prince, and out into the kingdom they go, looking for love. When they arrive at the Bar Magnifico, Dandini (David Joseph in a terrific, larger-than-life rock-star performance), wearing a huge purple plush crown and snug leopard-skin pants, instantly attracts the attentions of the two sisters by leaping onto the furniture and belting out “Now or Never.” Don Ramiro, played by Scott Renzoni, is funny, too, and very charming, but in a sweetly gentle way. And watching over all of these proceedings is the enigmatic Alidora, (Renee Margaret Speltz) who is a sort of global fairy godmother.

 

The production is never slick or polished; indeed, theatergoers may be treated to a bit of improvisation from this engaging cast or perhaps a moment of audience participation. The age-old story is so familiar that a bit of license is welcome.

The familiar events unfold, with shopping for the ball, Cindy getting her party dress with Alidora’s help, losing her shoe at the ball … everyone knows how it turns out.

It would be nice to see even more of the delightful Heather Fisch and Scott Renzoni as Angelina and her prince, but with eclectic musical numbers from the William Tell Overture to a torch song to a rap number, and a very spirited cast, it’s an enjoyable evening of silliness and schtick, complete with a magical, fairy-tale happy ending. [DECEMBER 2009]

  

Stage manager, Molly Hennighausen; set and props design, Ralph T. Randle; lighting design, John Elder; sound design, Michael Pfeiffer

(Through December 20, running time just under two hours, including one fifteen-minute intermission)