Singing & the slipper: ‘Cinderella Enchanted’ coming to TAHS stage
The “Cinderella” production you’ll be able to see in Tracy in November bares little comparison to Disney’s classic film, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be wildly entertaining.
Tracy Area High School students — 27 in all, the most ever to try out for a play or musical at the school — are currently rehearsing for the upcoming musical, which will be performed Nov. 14-16 at the high school.
“It think it was kind of a surprise when everyone came in — they were anticipating bippdi-boppidi-boo and all that, but we won’t
• ‘CINDERELLA’ •
Dates: Nov. 14-15; 2 p.m., Nov. 16, 2 p.m.
Tickets: Adults $8, children $5 do any of that,” Director Tina Guetter said. “This is the ‘Enchanted’ musical. A lot of kids were expecting certain songs; this is a little bit different.”
One of the main things that distinguishes this version from Charles Perrault’s 1950 timeless tale that turned into the Disney classic that most everyone can identify to, is that the Fairy Godmother, not Cinderella, is the featured character.
“She starts the play, and she ends the play,” Guetter said. “Not only with narrative, but she’s everywhere — she’s watching everything. She’s always there blending in with the crowd.”
Taking on that challenging role is sophomore Sophia Harsh, a stage veteran at TAHS, who is dangerously close to typecasting herself, given some of her recent roles.
“She’s a little different, she’s very sassy,” Harsh said. “We’re working out how she’s going to walk; she needs to be distinct. I need to have a special way of walking and carrying myself so people know, that’s the Fairy Godmother.”
Harsh, whose background includes her role as Nellie Oleson in the “Fragments of a Dream” pageant, has embraced her role.
“Cinderella wouldn’t have been perfect for me — she’s very quiet, and I’m … naturally not,” she said with a smile. “This is good for me, because she is loud, she is sassy and she’s got big opinions.”
The only question for Harsh is, does she have the singing chops for this musical? To nail the Fairy Godmother’s singing parts, she said, is a work in progress.
“I sing on my own a lot,” she said. “I’m learning how to sing without falsetto — I’m hitting higher notes than I’m used to without going to falsetto, because I need to project. I sound more like a kid than a fairy godmother. I sound kind of like three kids in a trench coat when I’m singing!”
Xander Brinkley, a sophomore, plays the King, host of the ball where Cinderella meets her prince. It’s a smaller role than what Brinkley is used to, but it’s something certainly within his wheelhouse, he said.
“It’s toned down a bit from what I am used to,” he said. “I’m fine with this part. With every character, I can be myself on stage, which is kind of what acting is — you be yourself as someone else.”
Brinkley welcomes the singing roles.
“It’s like acting in the sense that you have to believe what you’re singing in order to make it feel real,” he said.
Playing the role of Christopher, the prince, is sophomore Cohen Radke.
“I don’t really want to have the ball, but I meet a girl there,” he said, breaking down the role in a simplistic manner. “She runs away, I have her slipper, and I have to find her.”
Radke has done plenty of singing on stage in recent years, so he feels more than comfortable with the musicheavy production.
“We do have a bigger cast this time around, so I won’t have as many singing roles, so it should be a bit easier, but not very different from other musicals for me,” Radke said. “I like to act, but I love to sing.”
Seventh-grader MaKayah Wildey is a newcomer to the stage and plays a footman and a villager.
“A footman basically helps Cinderella … basically opens doors for her, helps her into the the carriage,” Wildey said. “I like how there are more roles and more people involved. I really like acting, I’ve liked it since I was little.”
Also new to the stage is softspoken seventh-grader Jadyn Haugen, who has assumed the roles of a girl, villager and a horse of all things.
“I have social anxiety, so it’s hard for me to interact, so my parents thought it would be good for me to try this to get more interaction with people,” Haugen said. “My favorite part is getting to know more people.”
Guetter compares this version with the 1997 musical headlined by Whitney Houston and Brandy.
“Whitney Houston played the Fairy Godmother, so you can image the beautiful songs she had,” Guetter said. “And you have Brandy who was a big pop singer at that time playing Cinderella.
Guetter said this adaptation includes a number of shorter songs, plus plenty of instrumentals and, of course, dancing.
“I told the kids they’re going to learn the Waltz,” said Guetter. “Lots of dancing. And there are a lot of fun lines; the step-family have a lot of fun lines.
Students from the elementary school will join the fun onstage by portraying animals.
“There are a couple parts where they’re singing in the background, and stepmother is wondering, ‘What’s going on?’” said Guetter. “Then she notices all these animals peaking out everywhere. I’m excited about getting them involved.”
Helping with all the singing is Tracy Area Elementary School music teacher Shannon Benson, who has been working with the students from behind her piano since rehearsals began.
CINDERELLA CAST LIST Cinderella: Hailey Vang Fairy Godmother: Sophia Harsh Christopher: Cohen Radke Step Mother: Gracelynn Struchen Grace: Miranda Larsen Joy: Alexis Dahmes King: Xander Brinkley Queen: Unisia Mona Lional: Serena Muscatello Servant 1: Kerrigan Knapper Servant 2: Kristin M Arellano Coachman/Younger sister/ Villager: Willa Fransen Footman/Villager: MaKayah Wildey Horse/A Girl/Village: Jadyn Haugen Horse/Villager: Ava Lightfoot Horse/Young Girl/Villager: Isabelle Nyquist Horse/Cheese Merchant/Villager: Mira Hanson
Cinderella’s dad/Villager: Jared Swenhaugen Butcher/Villager: Anjay Vang Another girl/Cloth Merchant/ Villager: Danica Paulsen Baker/Village: Keiana Xiong Villager: Kenzie Kurrasch Older sister/Villager: Nou Thao Villager: Jane Quist Millinery/Villager: Natalie Illg Flower Girl/Villager: Keila Rodriguez Villager: Gatlin Struchen
