Old Log Theatre's holiday production of "Cinderella" may lack spectacular production values, but as a piece of storytelling designed for young children, it's first-rate. The familiar story is told in a straightforward and guileless manner, but with great good humor.
From the very beginning, when the Fairy Godmother came out to warm up the audience, the elementary-school children, at the student matinee I attended, were captivated. In a clever bit of audience participation, she enlisted suggestions from them, which when incorporated into the show, elicited great delight.
Tim Stolz's script is sweet and lightly sentimental, but leavened by the kind of antic silliness that the young audience ate up. There were moments of seriousness that raised the play above the level of a simple fairy tale, as when the Fairy Godmother told Cinderella that her stepsisters were jealous of her because they saw that she had "the beauty of a kind heart."
Taylor Bolstad makes a charming and gracious Cinderella, and Adam Gauger is a dashing Prince. Together, they're a lovely, romantic couple that had the audience cheering for their happy ending.
But much of the emphasis is on broad comedy, with Stolz showing that he's a master of slapstick comic business. Veteran Nancy Marvy's ranting, croaking, bellowing, fawning Stepmother is delicious in her outrageousness. In the English pantomime tradition, the two stepsisters are played by men in drag, and Tom Stolz and Wayne A. Evenson are wonderfully over-the-top in their portrayals of comic nastiness. Even Judith Heneghan's daffy Fairy Godmother is a madcap comic creation. But Stolz is adept at not overwhelming the tender story.
It seems that every Old Log children's show must include actors running through the audience. This time, the two stepsisters' taking off after the Prince is hilarious.
The storybook set by Jon C. Stolz and Sara Wilcox's costumes evoke the fairy tale kingdom. There is little actual stage magic, though the way the production covered Cinderella's transformation is quite clever.
The musical score, made up of charming ditties, is well sung by the cast (especially Heneghan). Jim Anderson, at the keyboard, kept the audience engaged.
