NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern Theatre and Dance will present “Cinderella,” an original contemporary ballet, on Feb. 24-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium.
Tickets are $15 and $12 for senior citizens. NSU, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts students are admitted free with a current I.D. Those attending are asked to wear a mask in keeping with School of Creative and Performing Arts protocol.
The show is directed by Brett Garfinkel and Kirstin Riehl with choreography by Garfinkel, Riehl, Michael Lomeka and Rebecca Morgan.
“Cinderella” is a folk tale of a young woman living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. This is an original contemporary ballet that combines different versions of the story presented in a one-hour show with no intermission. Garfinkel said the original classical ballet is in three acts and lasts over two hours. This production includes ballet, contemporary, modern, ballroom and tap dance. According to Garfinkel, the show includes “a lot of humor, technical virtuosity and fantastical set and costumes.”
“This show has been really fun to work on and also challenging with the size of the cast and set,” said Garfinkel. “Even with the changing landscape of restrictions and regulations we have done our best to put an amazing show together. I am grateful for the amazing talent of our faculty and students.”
The cast is Erin Fallis of Pineville and Hannah Knoff of Baton Rouge as Cinderella, John Jefferson of Shreveport as the Prince, Sarah Talbot and Abigail Miller of Baton Rouge as the stepsisters, Trevor Van Eaton of Shreveport as the stepmom and Mary Scott Pourciau of Baton Rouge as the fairy godmother.
The cast includes TLen Mason of Marshall, Texas, as a dance instructor, Joseph Gomez Martinez of Cartagena, Colombia, as a page, Makenzie Scroggs of Marksville and Jillian Duggan of Shreveport as magic and Haliegh Giorlando-Wall of New Orleans, Mary Strickland of Metairie, Cullen Barrilleaux of New Orleans, Ashanta Wilson of Leesville, and D’Sherrick Williams of Marshall. Texas, as a clock.
Ballroom dancers will be portrayed by Treyvin Aucoin of Rayne, Natalye Bradley of Lafayette, Jose Arieta Cuesta of Cartagena, Colombia, Jarius Killings of Alexandria, Kerrie Spillman of Natchitoches, Khuyen Tran of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Micah Ballard of Benton, and Carleigh Murphy of Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Court entertainment will be by Robert McCandish of Monroe, Virginia Tudor of Alexandria, Victoria Hickman of Mandeville, Duggan, Talbot, Miller and Van Eaton.
The stage manager is Roshane Brown of Kingston, Jamaica, and assistant stage managers are Logan Dupuy of Prairieville and Rochanee Myles of Monroe. The technical director is Robert Richoux and Pedro Guevara is the scenic designer. The lighting designer is Liam Gardner of Gonzales with sound design by Andy Killion. Nicole Lala of Kenner is costume designer.
