It's hard to find a show these days that an adult can enjoy just as much as a child, but Puppetmongers, the respected Toronto theatre company seems to deliver everytime.
Cinderella In Muddy York last played in 2004, and went on to receive two Dora Award nominations in the Theatre For Young People category, for Best Production and Best Performance. The revival opened on Boxing Day at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space, with a crowd of young and old who were all treated to a belated Christmas gift.
The story is one we know very well, but with a twist. The setting has changed to 1834, and takes place in the town of York as it is set to be re-named Toronto. Cinderella is a young woman trying to find happiness with her new step-mother and step-sisters, and ends up at the Ball where she meets Prince Charming. She loses her glass slipper, and Mr. Charming must find the woman he has fallen in love with. Searching low and high, he finds Cinderella, and they live happily ever after.
David and Ann Powell are the Co-Artistic Directors of Puppetmongers, and in this show, they play a vast array of characters, both human and puppet alike. The remarkable thing about the Powell's is that their work is so refined and their technique is near perfect, that you get wrapped up in the story and the characters to the point where you forget that they are puppets.
Sue Miner helmed this production, as she did for the original, and her smooth and interesting directorial style is perfect for this venue and show. Miner, along with the Powell's, have created a versatile set and use every inch of it to create the various locales for the story.
You can see Miner's hand in almost every aspect of the production, including a wonderful moment with David Powell as he uses props from a table to create a shipwreck, filled with a shout of "I'm King Of The World!" from the film Titanic. There were many of these moments when the "grown ups" in the audience laughed, while the kids were left befuddled and confused, and vice versa - that's one of the many reasons why this production of Cinderella In Muddy York works so well. It's a show that brings families together for a great day out at the theatre, and leaves everyone with smiles on their faces when they leave - isn't it nice to take in a show like that every now and then?
Cinderella In Muddy York is truly a delight for audiences young and old, and it's short running time leaves you lots of time to hit the stores for some Boxing Week shopping afterwards. When the crowds in the malls get to you (and they will), you can look back and smile, remembering a time when puppets were real, Yonge Street wasn't filled with shoppers and honking cars, and our city wasn't a city at all.
Cinderella In Muddy York
Presented by the Puppetmongers
Now Until January 1st, 2007
For ticket and show information, click here.
**** (out of five)
