“Cinderella” - The Review

I finally made it to Huntington High School’s presentation of “Cinderella” today, and I have to say - if you missed this show, you missed a great one! Not only was it the best high school play I can remember seeing (and I’ve seen quite a few), it was among the better community theatre shows I’ve seen.

Of course, it helps to have a great cast - and “Cinderella” had an excellent one. Brittany Hazeldine is an incredibly talented singer and actor, with a wonderful voice and amazing stage presence. She was perfect for the title role, although how in the world she was able to prepare for this show and star in “Cats” at the same time is an incredible feat all by itself.

Playing the part of the Prince was Finley Hammond, and he was born to be on stage. A terrific singer and actor, he made the Prince instantly likable and made the perfect leading man. On a personal note, I’ve been lucky enough to have Finley star in two of the shows I’ve directed, and I can tell you that he’s a great guy onstage and off, and provides the kind of leadership you need from your veteran actors. I’ve never seen him be anything less than excellent and thoroughly professional - and he was all that and more in this show.

Playing “oldsters” like the King and Queen can be a challenge for a young actor, but give a lot of credit to Dylan Clark and Caitlin Irr - they did a great job playing the loving parents of the Prince. Dylan gets my favorite line in the show - “The wine of my country... is beer!” It always makes me laugh.

The villains of the show are the nasty stepmother, played with great energy by Sable Blevins, and the stepsisters - Joy, played by Jynnea Shropshire, and Portia, played by Laura Benson. They’re all three terrific - mean and funny (sometimes at the same time), over the top (in a good way) and in general a scream to watch. Excellent work by all three in difficult parts.

Owen Reynolds is another senior who has really grown up on stage and has become an excellent performer. He provides a lot of the comic relief in this show as the Herald, and steals a few scenes along the way. Owen also managed to do this show while doing a star turn in “Cats” - where do they find the time?

Another standout performance belongs to Josefine Landgrave as the Fairy Godmother - she’s sweet and funny and an excellent singer - her “Impossible” duet with Brittany was great!

I don’t want to slight the rest of the cast, who also did a terrific job, including: Ryan Jackson as the Chef; Elliott Imlay as the Steward, Darrell Johnson, Clark Lewis and Tyler Rice as the Footmen; Max Wilson as a Guard; and Robert Kirby as the Minister. As Townspeople and Guests, we have Megan Akers, April Bennett, Rebecca Chappell, Ginny Davis, Stephanie Fischer, Jessica Nelson, Jessica Parsley, Sarah Price, Katie Rife, Hilary Roush, Tessa Wooten, Sydney Fletcher, Zoe Kauffer, Andy Ryder, Jacob Ryder and Madison Sergent.

I also have to give lots of credit to the set designers for an outstanding job creating so many different settings - the backdrops and set pieces were excellent! Heck, they even created Cinderella’s carriage, which came equipped with running lights! The costumes were also outstanding - many of them were provided by a local historic recreation group - the SCA.

So kudos to the cast and crew, and a special tip o’ the hat to the directing team, especially Director Helen Freeman, Choral Director David Chenoweth, Music Director Melissa Ash, Choreographer Melissa McGuffin and Set Designer Gary Dick - outstanding work by one and all!

As always, it takes a team effort to put on a show like this - and the team behind “Cinderella” did a fantastic job.