The Prince is Giving a Ball

Imagine the cast of a large Broadway show, then double it, and you'll have some idea of the magnitude of this production. "Cinderella, The Enchanted Edition," by Rodgers & Hammerstein, will take to the stage at SOMS's Sterling Hall on March 26-28. In addition to the stage and technical crew, it will feature either 105 or 106 singing and dancing young actors and actresses. (The directors have lost count.)

In the final days before the show, there are a million details and finishing touches to perfect. Do the mice know how to transform themselves into horses? Can the horses get themselves hitched up to the pumpkin carriage? Will Cinderella be able to dance in her glass slippers?

Through it all, director Elizabeth Harris kept the rehearsals moving with a booming voice, shouting out such curiosities as, "Do we have a tree here now?" There was no tree in sight. And then the voice again, but this time making the rafters shake: "Where is my tree?" As if by magic, a tree appears.

There is a lot of magic in this show, but it is not limited to the Fairy Godmother. SOMS has traditionally put on an extremely high caliber all-school musical. Year after year, it happens with the help of an incredibly talented array of community volunteers and professionals lending their expertise to the show on music and music direction, set design, hair and makeup, and dance, with a choreographer who was previously the dance captain in the Broadway production of "Grease." And for a huge show like this, what about the enormous job of costume coordination?

During a recent rehearsal, not one but six volunteer costume coordinators were stitching and ripping hems in the entryway to Sterling Hall. Two seamstress-designers were buzzing away at sewing machines, and several more sat on the floor amid racks of fancy ballgowns and waves of tulle with their scissors in hand, adding tucks here, loosening straps there, and even creating magnificent items for the young men to wear to the ball called "jabots." (Look it up!) 

According to Co-Costume Mistress Barbara Canace, virtually every girl in the show is going to the Prince's Ball and must have a beautiful gown, and nearly every single donated ballgown had to be in some way altered or sized down to fit their young ladies. Only four of the costumes in the entire show were rented.

While we were talking, one boy came up and wondered if his pants were too short. 

"I don't know, it depends. What shoes are you wearing?" asked one of the costume helpers.

"My Dad's black dress shoes." 

"Does he know that?"

If your black dress shoes go missing, don't worry. They are probably dancing a gavotte at the Prince's Ball.

This production is being directed by Elizabeth Harris, with music direction by Don Tighe and choreography by Brian Loeffler. Show times are 7 p.m. on March 26, 7  p.m. on March 27 and 2 p.m. on March 28. All performances are at South Orange Middle School's Sterling Hall, 70 North Ridgewood Road, South Orange. General Admission tickets can be purchased in advance at Kitchen a la Mode and The Messy Artist in South Orange, and at Words and No. 165 and The Parkwood Diner in Maplewood. General Admission tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors. Reserved tickets are available for $15 and must be purchased through the school. For more information, call the SOMS main office at 973-378-2772.   

Jane Ellis is an SOMS parent.