Porterville High School Drama Department adds modern magic to classical fairy tale

Cinderella, a classic childhood fairy tale — but with a modern twist — is what the Porterville High School Drama Department is presenting during their seventh annual Fall Children’s Theater Production at the Frank “Buck” Shaffer Theatre inside the Porterville Memorial Auditorium.

The play, directed by instructor Megan Cozad and student director Cheyenne Nall, has everything, only slightly different, of what the original magical story has — a charming prince, a sweet, overworked Cinderella, two horrid and constantly-bickering cousins, an evil aunt, three adorable mice, and a precarious Fairy God Mother.

“Our mystical tale begins in a land far far away where we find Cinderella longing for a Prince Charming — and a prince longing for an adventure,” said Alexandria Aiello, the fairy god mother, during Tuesday night’s dress-rehearsal.

But people in the audience will soon find that they too are in for an adventure.

With Elizabeth Harris and Cheyenne Nall playing Cinderella, and Coy Farnsworth and Ross Bookout as the Prince, the one-hour play will keep children and adults smiling and laughing as they find modern surprise after modern surprise intermingled into the play.

“We took a generic story and gave it a little twist,” Cozad said.

The story was adapted by PHS drama students Kimberly Benson and Cheyenne Nall.

“We started working on it over the summer and had it almost ready when school started,” Nall said. “We had so much fun changing it.”

The hard part was knowing when to stop, Benson added. And when they did, the result was sweet, loving, yet funny — especially when they introduced a handful of modernizations into it.

“When we worked on [the marketplace scene] I said something like, ‘We should have a Starbucks on every corner like we do in Porterville,’” Benson said.

But there are more surprises and the magic is not limited to the stage. A handful of technicians constantly work behind the scenes, making sure that all of the props — from fog to streamers and cannons — work perfectly.

“It has been an amazing group. They are very creative. They came up with the script and added a lot,” Cozad said. “This has been one of my favorite groups. I’m really going to miss my seniors.”

The play opens today for Porterville Unified School District’s kindergarten through sixth-grade students — and to the general public on Friday. A total of 12 performances are scheduled.

Public shows are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $7.00 at the door.

For reservations, call 782-7279.

-- Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.