Since Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” first appeared on television in 1957, the musical has captivated generations of audiences. The Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts is producing the classic for its holiday show, but with an updated script that audiences will find funnier, according to actors Jackey Good and Jeremy Seiner. Good plays Ella and Seiner plays Prince Topher. She said “Cinderella” was done on stage “a lot,” but the original Rodgers & Hammerstein musical was a telecast starring Julie Andrews. Later, there was a new telecast with Leslie Ann Warren. “Then in 2013, it actually finally made it to a Broadway stage with a brand new, revised script,” Good said. “All the same music that everyone knows and loves ... But, they completely updated the script. It’s a lot funnier than previous scripts. It’s a little zanier, and a lot more fun, I think.” Seiner agreed, saying, “It has a couple of twists and unexpected things. It’s definitely not the same ‘Cinderella’ that everyone knows.” Good likened this updated version of “Cinderella” to the recent animated movie “Tangled” about Rapunzel. “It’s a little kooky,” she said. “It’s a little kooky,” Seiner agreed. “I want to say it’s a little more modern in the sense of how the speaking dialogue is, but it’s still very much a fairy tale.” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical rendition of the classic fairy tale will be performed on weekends Dec. 4 through 20 at the Warsaw theater. Tickets are on sale at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts and online at wagonwheelcenter.org Prices range from $14 for children to $32 for adults, plus a $3 processing fee. Performances on Fridays and Saturdays start at 8 p.m., while Sunday performances start at 2 p.m. Those interested in more information may contact Wagon Wheel Theatre’s box office at 574-267-8041. Both of the actors encountered the story of Cinderella at a fairly young age, though the Wagon Wheel production is the first time for either of them being in the “Cinderella” show. Seiner originally is from Pittsburgh, Pa., but just moved to New York where he’s been for about a month. He last appeared at the Wagon Wheel two summers ago, appearing in such shows as “Catch Me If You Can.” His first time seeing the Cinderella story was with the Disney movie. “As soon as I think of Cinderella, that’s always what I think of – the classic Disney animation, the songs from that. Then I believe somewhere in high school, or before that, I saw the original stage production of ‘Cinderella’ with all the original favorite songs and things like that. So that was really the first time I encountered ‘Cinderella,’” Seiner recalled. Good is from Troy, Pa., originally. She now lives in Queens, N.Y., and has lived in New York for about 11 years. She last appeared on the Wagon Wheel stage in 2011 and 2012, appearing in the ensembles of “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Oliver.” The Rodgers & Hammerstein version of “Cinderella” is Good’s mom’s favorite musical “hands down,” she said. “The first VHS that she ever bought was the Leslie Ann Warren version of ‘Cinderella.’ Of course, it was part of my household. I was maybe 3 years old running around, singing ... So, this particular version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’ has been a part of my life. It was the first time I had ever heard of Cinderella and it’s still my favorite,” Good recalled. Asked how it feels to be in a production of “Cinderella” rather than watching it, Seiner said, “Who doesn’t want to be a prince? Let’s put it that way. I’m having a blast playing the prince. It’s so much fun. You get the girl in the end, and you get to fall in love, and you get your fairy tale.” Good said, “Yes, I think every girl wants to be a princess, specifically Cinderella. She’s so iconic. If it helps to get an idea of how I felt – I found out I was playing Cinderella, and I was like ‘cool, I’m going to be playing Cinderella. Whatever.’ Then I read the script, and I got to the part where the glass slippers are on Ella’s feet and I just burst into tears. I was like, ‘Oh my God I get to wear glass slippers!’ So, yeah, it was very exciting and I didn’t realize how much of a dream role it was until I was in it.” Along with the glass slippers, she said when people talk about Cinderella they usually think of the blonde hair and blue dress Disney version the most. “In our production, I will remain brunette. And I have one white ball gown and one gold ball gown, so both very, very beautiful and both very, very shiny. Maybe not necessarily what you would expect from Cinderella, but beautiful. All of my outfits are extremely beautiful. And if you come see the show, you may be surprised at how the transformations happen,” Good said. Seiner said based on what he had been able to try on as of Tuesday, a lot of the costumes are “pretty cool and fit pretty well.” He also had to try on his suit of armor Tuesday afternoon. “I’m very excited to try that and looking forward to playing in a suit of armor of my own,” he said. The fairy godmother is still in this production of “Cinderella,” Good said. “Lots and lots of magic has to happen,” she said, including Cinderella’s rags being turned into a beautiful dress. Seiner noted there are some fairy tale creatures in the show to look forward to. “There’s definitely a lot of special effects. It’s a very magical show,” he said. Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters also have roles to play in this production of the story. “That stepmother, she’s a character, she is. But you might be surprised at the stepsisters. There is a little subplot involving one of the stepsisters. She may not be as ugly and evil as she seems,” Good said. Seiner added, “I think one of the things the script really does is give all of the characters a chance to express themselves. Whereas previous versions of the show you might know seem to gloss over a lot of the characters you’re familiar with, this show does a good job of allowing the audience to understand them a bit more, give them more personality.” “They have a little more nuance to them. They’re not just one-dimensional villains. They have moments where their villainy cracks a little bit. Their softer side comes out,” Good said. Seiner said audiences will still be able to sing along during the show and they will know the story, but “there are a couple of twists and changes that will keep you entertained along the way.”
