NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University Opera Theatre will perform Warren Marten’s “The True Story of Cinderella on March 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Marcy McKee is director of NSU Opera Theatre.
The March 18 performance is for NSU students and faculty only. The March 19 performance is for parents of performers and the general public. Audience size is limited to 72. Masks and social distancing are required. The performances will be livestreamed at capa.nsula.edu/livestream.
“Marten calls this a ‘Comic Oratorio’ which means the cast mostly stand and sing but they still interact with each other,” said McKee. “I chose this so that the students could be separated and still have a performance because of Covid-19. The story of the opera is an interesting version of Cinderella with some added characters that you have not previously heard about. It is a short and fun performance.”
The cast includes both students and members of the vocal and choral faculty. There will be different casts for each performance. Members of the cast for the March 18 performance are faculty member Juliana Handy as the queen, Jayvian Bush of Lafayette as the king, Beth Olin of Thibodaux as the stepmother, Kimi Murray of Chicago as the first stepsister, Kylie Dornbush of Huntington Beach, California as the second stepsister, Caleb Pearson of Pineville as the herald and faculty member Michael Rorex as the narrator. The cast also includes Brian Geraghty of Franklinton as the first hermit, Matthew Armand of Plaucheville as the second hermit, Marshall Merritt of Shreveport as the third hermit, Zachary Moreau of Marksville as the prince, Emily Adams of Raceland as Cinderella and faculty member Terrie Sanders as the fairy godmother. Faculty member Daniel Ley is the pianist for both performances.
The March 19 cast is McKee as the queen, faculty member Robert Cardwell as the king, Olin, Dara Pressely of Tioga as the first stepsister, Madison Anderson of Houma as the second stepsister, Pearson and Rorex. The cast also includes Lee Whitney of Houma as the first hermit, Jordan Williams of Baton Rouge as the second hermit, Merritt, Landry Allen of West Monroe as the prince, Adams and Emilie Comeaux of Lafayette as the fairy godmother.
