The shoe fits for Cinderella

All elements of the musical came together for a great show

PEYTON HOUSE Staff Reporter

Ritenour’s production of “Cinderella” was an overall crowd pleasing performance with different emotions ranging from love and sadness to revolution and new beginnings.

This performance was a first for many of the actors

“This is my first time being part of a musical and I’m pretty excited because I’ve always wanted to do something like this, but honestly, I’m not nervous because I know it’s going to come out the way we all want it to,” senior Ulises Hernandez said.

Many performers deal with stage fright during different parts of the production and have to deal with it to perform.

“I’m always nervous days before and right before but once I get on stage all of those feelings go away,” sophomore Audrey Buttry said.

Ritenour specifically did Cinderella’s Rogers and Hammerstein musical adaption and it was safe to say our students blew the performance out of the water. Ritenour’s Cinderella, Danielle Haynes, did a phenomenal job shifting the typical look of Cinderella as a young black women

“Most of the time when you think of Cinderella you don’t think of a black women, so being able to be a black women in Cinderella it feels like there’s a lot of pressure on the role especially with it being such a dream of mine,” Haynes said.

Adding a diversity factor to such a famous role really allowed far more connection to the audience especially in a younger crowd.

“I remember looking up to Brandy Norwood and to think that somebody in the audience could be looking up to me because I’m a Cinderella that looks just like them is really powerful and means a lot to me,” Haynes said.

There are so many parts the go into the production of a musical from the cast to the set crew to the musicians in the pit. Ritenour even decided to bring things up a level and bring in a scenic painter, Caroline Adcock.

“There are so many little and big details that go into stage set up with having to make sure props are easily movable while still being sturdy. I love painting the details on the props because while they don’t wildly stand out, they’re still a key part,” Adcock said.

The props had just the right amount of detail so the audience didn’t get lost in it, but it was far from bland. Just like the props and sets are a key part, so is the pit. Sometimes theater goers may forget it’s there, but it’s importance is just as high as the performers and the backgrounds. During the musical, the instruments were playing the feeling and emotion in each scene.

Ritenour’s musicals and plays are always a huge hit. These productions give opportunities to friends and family to watch someone they care about perform or to even just have a free fun evening out of the house without having to go far. The musical was an overall magical experience.