Scene breakdown

Cinderella may be over, but I’m not done writing about it yet. There were several blog entries that I wanted to write while the show was in progress, but I ran out of time. So I’m going to do it now while the experience is still fresh in my mind.
A couple of those entries will have to refer to specific scenes in the play, and those references won’t mean much to you unless you know what those scenes are and the order in which they occur. There are only fourteen of them, so I’ll just list them here:

  1. Prologue: A quartet of commedia dell’Arte players comes on stage and sings a song to the audience. The curtain behind them then rises, revealing the people of the town going about various activities as they prepare to celebrate Christmas.
  2. “Hi Diddle Dee”: The Fairy Godmother (FGM) and her two helpers sing a song that introduces them. Then they review their list of needy cases and identify Cinderella as a candidate for their next magical intervention.
  3. “What’s to Become of Me”: While FGM and her helpers watch invisibly, Cinderella sings a solo about her sad lot in life.
  4. “Get to Work”: Stepmama and the Ugly Stepsisters enter and order Cinderella around, then sing a song in which they give her lots of work to do. FGM decides she definitely has to help Cinderella. Remembering that today is Prince Charming’s 21st birthday and he has to choose a bride by midnight, she tells her helpers to disguise themselves as royal guards and observe what’s happening at the palace while she looks up some magic spells.
  5. “King Darling the Third”: In the throne room, the nearsighted king sings a song (along with his two pages and the two “guards”) that introduces him. Then Prince Charming the First enters and the king reminds him of the impending deadline. The king hits on the idea of holding a ball that evening and inviting every unmarried woman in the realm so that the Prince can choose one. He orders the “guards” to deliver the invitations.
  6. “If I Gave You a Silken Ribbon”: The Prince sings a solo about his difficult lot in life and his failure to find a bride. FGM arrives, receives an update from the helpers, and tells them to go ahead and deliver the invitations; she’s going to make sure Cinderella attends the ball.
  7. “Knock! Knock! Knock!”: The “guards” deliver a singing invitation to the Stepmama, the Stepsisters, and Cinderella. Stepmama tells Cinderella she can’t go to the ball.
  8. “At the Ball”: Stepmama and the Stepsisters sing about going to the ball, then depart, leaving Cinderella behind.
  9. “By My Fire”: Cinderella sings about her sad lot in life some more. FGM and her helpers appear and tell Cinderella that she’s going to the ball after all. They transform a pumpkin into a golden coach, six mice into horses, and Cinderella’s plain dress into a beautiful gown. FGM instructs her helpers to accompany Cinderella to the ball; she will also go, but will remain invisible.
  10. The Ball: The ball is already in progress when Cinderella arrives, astonishing everyone with her golden coach and breathtaking gown. By the end of the ball, the Prince is thoroughly smitten and asks Cinderella to marry him. She accepts, the clock strikes midnight, and she flees, leaving a glass slipper behind.
  11. Prince in the House: The heartbroken prince decides to search the entire kingdom for the woman whose foot fits the slipper. Accompanied by the king and the two “guards”, he goes out into the house and tries the slipper on various members of the audience.
  12. Slipper Scene: After visiting every other house in the kingdom, the party reaches Stepmama’s house. After trying the slipper on Stepmama and both Stepsisters, the Prince identifies Cinderella as the mystery princess from the ball and once again asks her to marry him.
  13. “Hi Diddle Dee” Reprise: Both families head back to the palace for the wedding, while FGM and her two helpers sing a reprise of “Hi Diddle Dee.”
  14. Finale/Bows: The ensemble and principals take their bows, sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to the audience, and then exit to the lobby to greet audience members and sign autographs.

The ensemble and the Mouse Ponies are involved in just four of these scenes: the Prologue, “By My Fire,” the Ball, and Finale/Bows. (The ensemble is heard but not seen in “By My Fire”; they sing offstage during the last verse of the song.)

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