Morris High School to open production of ‘Cinderella’ on April 21

MORRIS – The Morris Community High School Theatre Department will return to the stage with its rendition of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

The production opens at 7 p.m. Friday to Saturday, April 21-22 with 2 p.m. showings Saturday to Sunday, April 22-23, at the Morris High School Auditorium under the direction of Andrea Gustafson.

This is Gustafson’s first year directing a musical, she directed the fall productions for 19 years, and she said she choose “Cinderella” because she wanted to “do something that was big” and “something you could bring your family to.”

“I feel like we have done beautiful shows, but we hadn’t done just a big family-friendly show. So, I think in this version the music is really beautiful and I love the story. It was an opportunity to get a lot of kids on stage,” she said.

“Cinderella” is based on the French fairytale by Charles Perrault with an updated version by Douglas Carter Beane. Ella (Angela Georgaklis), whose father has passed, lives with her evil stepmother and step sisters. In Beane’s version of the story, Ella teaches Prince Topher (Liam Eber) about the injustice in his kingdom and the importance of kindness. Ella’s stepsister, Gabrielle, (Faith Ragan) also finds love with Jean-Michel (Chayapol Corsello). Throughout the production, Ella is able to rely on Marie (Sofia Best), her best friend to discover true happiness.

Best said when the audience first meets Marie she is seen as “a little kooky, crazy beggar woman.” But, later we learn she is actually Ella’s Fairy godmother.

“It’s quite fun to play those two different sides. And I also love how warm Marie ends up being and how almost protective I guess of Ella. I think that’s quite fun to play and also I think quite fun to watch,” she said.

Gustafson said her cast not only brings talent and beautiful voices to the stage, but they bring kindness, as well.

“There’s a whole theme to the show about being kind and Ella teaching the people of the kingdom throughout the show that they should be kinder towards each other and I feel like my cast and crew embody that message,” she said.

The over 40-person cast offers a mix of both new and old talents.

“This is a group that has done a lot of theatre and speech stuff, so they have a lot of experience. And we have a lot of freshmen too, that are doing it for the first time. So, it’s a nice blend of experience plus kids that are on stage for the first time ever- which is awesome.

The cast is hopeful the audience will leave with a new understanding that kindness matters and the “impossible is possible”.

“I want all the little girls who come and see ‘Cinderella’ to see the strong independent woman Cinderella turns out to be,” Georgaklis said. “I think that will really not just ingrain into themselves but, also help them understand the world as the come into it and grow up.”

To purchase tickets, visit https://morrishstheatre.ludus.com/index.php.

If you go:

What: “Cinderella”

When: 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, April 21-22; 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23

Where: Morris Community High School Auditorium at 1000 Union St. in Morris

Cost: $10 online or $15 at the door, purchase at morrishstheatre.ludus.com/index.php