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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Derby Dinner
Children's Theatre: Reviewed by Todd Zeigler Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Todd Zeigler. All rights reserved.
This is not your parents' Cinderella. Nor is it Broadway's...nor Disney's...nor Sondheim's...nor any other you might be familiar with. Derby Dinner's production of the classic fairy tale is more of a mash-up of Saturday Night Live and Saturday morning cartoons. It's quick, painless, and actually quite delightful. The playhouse across the river presents a new interpretation of Cinderella that is absolutely perfect for a modern children's audience. It comes in right around an hour, breezes through the story, and has plenty of moments for the virtuous characters to egg on cheers of encouragement from their enrapt 10-and-under audience. Every character is given a heaping dash of playful. At the mention of the ball, the charming (if a bit daft) prince channels this faraway kingdom's Beyonce with a chorus of "All the Single Maidens." Cinderella's stepfamily struts more through the realm of obnoxious than wicked. And the playwrights take every opportunity to throw in even more familiar references, from reality TV to the Fairy Godmother's laptop. And Cinderella is of course a radiant vision of virtue and beauty — someone every little girl stage right and left wants to be. The show is good, clean fun for the kids — or any among us older, jaded sorts who want to tap into our inner child for a little while. I just hope you don't mind the birthday balloons and laser light show, produced courtesy of all the toys available in the Derby Dinner gift shop. It's delightful that this "Happy Ever After" leaves you enough time to plan your Saturday night.
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