The wicked stepmother resembles J.
Edgar Hoover in more ways than most of us would like to admit, and the
ugly stepsisters, not counting the dresses, of course, look and talk like
bagmen for Tony Soprano.
On the other hand, the
handsome prince and his faithful manservant are tall, lovely young women.
The entire kingdom, in fact, is awash in a sort of pixilated insanity
that makes this telling of "Cinderella" much different from the
happily-ever-after Disney version.
Things do end up happily ever after, as all fairy tales should, but on
the way to sweetness and light, this gender-bending panto version of the
story incorporates everything from broad English music hall humor to a
community sing of the Monkees' hit "I'm a Believer" before the "Mamma
Mia!" style dancing-in-the-aisles conclusion.
Audiences in this area were introduced to the panto style a couple of
years ago, when Allen McKelvey and his American Citizens' Theatre staged
"Cinderella" at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut
Creek.
This year, director McKelvey teams with the San Francisco Shakespeare
Festival to spread the insanity across the Bay and present a bigger,
splashier version of the play.
Panto, or pantomime, plays are a British Christmas tradition. Usually
based on classic fairy tales, with men in women's roles and women in men's
roles, they consist of daffy comedy and song parodies. It has nothing at
all to do with the silent pantomime of '60s street-corner refugees -- in
panto, there is plenty of dialogue.
The tradition is something that really ought to be part of the American
holiday celebration (it's certainly much better than, say, fruitcake). By
no means as sugary-sweet as traditional family holiday fare, panto trades
on high-spirited goofiness to entertain audiences of all ages. The stock
characters typically include Buttons (Gunnar Madsen), a downtrodden but
well-meaning hero who more or less narrates and cheerleads the piece, and
Fetch and Carry (David Babich and Patrick Sieler), a physical comedy duo
who occasionally break into the action for a comedy sketch.
Here, "Cinderella" promises no more than a couple of hours of fun. And
it delivers, nicely, with a rough-and-tumble sort of comedy that will
never be confused with, say, "Hamlet." The show has a joyous sort of
raggedness, the sort that stems from an ad-lib-laden script, and a
comedy-at-all-costs philosophy that allows horrible puns, silly song
sendups and an entry story thread based on outrageous malapropisms.
The show runs on its enormous energy, and, fueled by high-octane
laughing gas, the piece simply flies along, thanks to a cast that is
firmly dedicated to the proposition of being goofy and letting the laughs
drop like so many cream pies from the top shelf.
Richard Ryan as the stepmother and Bob Greene and Matthew Henerson as
the two stepsisters are incredibly funny, stealing the show in roles that
were designed to be show-stealers. Jeanette Manor does a fine job as the
confused Queen Mum, but is simply outstanding as the Fairy Godmother, the
spirit of limited powers who manages to bumble Cinderella to the ball.
Essentially, if you've had your fill of "Nutcrackers" and "Christmas
Carols," this may be the perfect piece of theater for your holiday.
Pat Craig is the Times theater critic. He can be reached at
925-945-4736 or at pcraig@cctimes.com.
