CINDERELLA
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
15/12/2020 - 20/12/2020
Production Details
The Fairy Godmother of all Pantos
Grab your Godmother. Touch up your tiara. Cinderella is coming to town!
Magical transformations, heaps of hilarity, sparkling song and spectacular scenery is set to fill the stage of the Isaac Theatre Royal this festive season. On Tuesday, 15 December, the Fairy Godmother of all Pantos Cinderellacomes to Christchurch for a strictly limited season.
A sparkling new imagination of the enchanting rags-to-riches fairy tale is set to delight families who’ve missed out on live theatrical entertainment for much of the year.
GMG Productions, the team behind hit international productions of Disney’s The Lion King, CATS, Singin’ in the Rain and more, is assembling NZ’s top talent to stage this timeless tale.
New Zealand theatre royalty and star of the Hobbit Trilogy, Mark Hadlow (MAMIL, The Hobbit series, Meet the Feebles) will play The Baron, father to Cinderella and her supercilious step-sisters.
Channelling their inner mean girl, Broadway and West End favourite Hayden Tee (Les Misérables, Matilda), will pair up with The Voice Australia finalist Caleb Jago Ward (We Will Rock You, Jesus Christ Superstar, The 10 Tenors) as the wickedly nasty Step Sisters.
TV personality and well known What Now? host Erin Wells is preparing to slide into her glass slippers and dazzle audiences as Cinderella. But who will be her Prince Charming?
“This is where we need Christchurch’s help,” says Associate Producer Nick Purdie. “We’ll be putting out an audition call soon to find a local Prince Charming.” Whilst Purdie is all too familiar with the abundance of talent in Christchurch he adds: “We are really keen to present an opportunity to be in this exciting production and look forward to seeing the best talent NZ has to offer.”
Musical direction will be under the baton of innovative maestro Andy Manning, while the cast will be under the spell of director and ingenious improviser Gregory Cooper whose writing and directing credits include That Bloody Woman, MAMIL and Rumpelstiltskin.
Cooper promises Cinderella the Pantomime won’t just be a show for the kids. “It’s also for everyone who’s ever been a kid!” he says.
Grab your tickets early before the clock strikes midnight!
Cinderella
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Tue 15 December – Sun 20 December 2020
9 Performances Only
Tickets from $59.90*
(*plus booking fees)
BUY TICKETS
www.ticketek.co.nz
CAST
Cinderella – Erin Wells
The Baron – Mark Hadlow
Fendalton – Hayden Tee
Cashmere – Caleb Jago-Ward
Prince Charming – J.R. Ballantyne
Buttons – Rutene Spooner
Fairy Godmother – Lynda Milligan
Dandini – Trubie-Dylan Smith
Ensemble – Lucy Sutcliffe
Ensemble – Nellie Evison
Ensemble – Jack Shatford
Children Ensemble – Molly Brown, Poppy Brown, Kate Jenkins Amelia Nicholls, Holly Palmer, Isla Palmer, Eloise Parkes
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Manager: Paul O’Brien
Production Manager/ LX Op: Elliott Harris
Assistant Production Manager: Bridget Carpenter
Head Mech: Alasdair Watson
Head Audio: Bart Barkman
Follow Spot Operator: Wendy Clease
Company Stage Manager: Tim Bain
Deputy Stage Manager: Ashlyn Smith
Assistant Stage Manager: Juliet Robertson
Directors Assistant: Eva Blucher
Chaperone/ Production Assistant: Mackenzie Norton
Head of Costume: Tina Thomas
Wig Master: Danielle Rackham
Wig Supervisor: Sarah Buchanan
Dresser: Christy Lassen
Dresser: Pam Jones
GMG PRODUCTIONS
gmg-productions.com
CEO: Carlos Candal
Director: David Ian
Director: Richard Lewis
Director: Bob Sewell
Director: Len Gill
Chief Operating Officer: Paul Mansfield
Associate Producer: Samantha Sewell
Associate Producer: Nick Purdie
Senior Marketing Executive: Michelle Endaya
Digital and Social Media Associate: Allie Manalac
Multimedia Artist: Mynah Maglonzo
Multimedia Artist: Gillian Pascual
Production Coordinator: Aisa Villanueva
Production Coordinator: Tin Yang
Finance Officer: Geeanne Eder
Set & Costume Rental: Chris Moreno
Theatre , Musical , Family ,
Christchurch falls in love with the entire cast
Review by Grant Hindin Miller 16th Dec 2020
This warm balanced family extravaganza is a winner! A script crammed with wry, dry and high moments; a gorgeous, multi-talented cast; stunning backdrops and effects (it’s the best carriage I’ve seen in Cinderella); and individual performers who outdo themselves. We love it.
It’s always a comfort to be invited into a story whose rooms we have, for long years, known and loved. This fresh take, with new decor and design, works a treat: lights, impressive backdrops, pianos and tables appearing/disappearing; magical transportation from the suburban streets of Hay Hoon to the deep jungle of South Hagley Park, from a palatial ballroom to a humble dwelling.
Baron Headhigh (the diehard Mark Hadlow) has recently married, without telling his daughter Cinderella (Erin Wells) who, when she inhabits that ball-gown, glows in a golden aura. His new wife has two daughters – Cashmere (Caleb Jago-Ward) and Fendalton (Hayden Tee) – who have stepped straight out of ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, via the ‘Mike Hosking Finishing School for Young Ladies’. And they are a riot.
Prince Charming (J.R. Ballantyne), channelling Hugh Grant, is suitably debonair and charming. Dandini (Trubie-Dylan Smith), his valet (the favourite of a ten year-old girl sitting next to me), is pure Vaudeville. The Fairy Godmother (Lynda Milligan) is, as you would expect, a darling trooper – and each dancer/singer, artfully choreographed by Gemma Kearney, sparkles and flows, energising the stage with each major number.
At half time I ask people around me to tell me their favourite character. To the credit of the cast, many names are mentioned. The standout characters, though, are loveable Buttons (Rutene Spooner), the man with a golden voice who is born to woo an audience. Buttons owns the stage. As does Cashmere (Caleb Jago-Ward) whose stellar hair-raising performance is a scintillating sensation.
The show, under the musical direction of Andy Manning, is garnished with well-known songs, ably supported by a live musical ensemble (Cameron Burnett on drums, Emily Farrell on bass, and Ben Eldrige on guitar) who rock the theatre.
Pantomime, like three dimensional butterflies on 60s weatherboards, is well suited to the New Zealand psyche. Often reserved, we are offered a licence by pantomime to let our hair down. This is ‘Ten Guitars’ in drag, and trust me, “everything is ka pai”.
Local, national, even international references abound: Jacinda, Ashley Bloomfield, the Briscoe Lady, Donald Trump, Coronavirus and more – they’re all there. The audience is quick to interact. The more outrageous the performer, the more daring the response. The song to settle us after the intermission, led by Baron, Buttons, and Dandini, is such a welcome choice and is so exuberantly executed, that it becomes a show-stopper. Song choice, as you would expect, is well conceived; the one question mark is the choice for the finale. Some suggest a better known and more rousing number might have been preferred.
It’s a quibble because nothing mars this outstanding performance and show. The cast receives a spontaneous well-deserved standing ovation. No-one wants them to leave the stage. And we only hope this becomes an annual tradition – with the same performers because Christchurch has fallen in love with the entire cast. It’s the feel-good show of the season. Everyone should treat themselves to a ticket to Cinderella – ‘We’re having a Ball!’
Congratulations to everyone involved because we absolutely, unreservedly, love the show.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
Emily Eddy December 19th, 2020
Brilliant! Loved every second!!