What with all the star power of the assembled cast - featuring such theatre luminaries as Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Fedorov - it should come as something of a surprise that showHOPE's concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was very nearly stolen out from under them by some homegrown Nashville talent. No matter how you look at it, Cinderella was a completely magical and enchanting success, but had it not been for Nashville's very own Nan Gurley, Bonnie Keen and Carolyn German as Cinderella's nefarious stepfamily, the show wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it actually was.
Produced by Steven Curtis Chapman to benefit the worldwide charity founded by him and his wife, Mary Beth, to help adoptive families overcome the many obstacles with which they are confronted, Cinderella: Enchanted Edition featured the talented musicians of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Kummer. Designed and directed by Matt Logan, one of the co-founders of Studio Tenn (a relatively new professional company on the Music City theatre scene), the opulent and sumptuous staging for Cinderella underscored the magical, mesmerizing and time-honored tale of the orphaned girl who searches for happiness, love and the realization of her lifelong dreams.
Logan's artistic vision was evident throughout the concert (which featured the cast off-book, performing the songs beautifully, with choreography, costumes and minimal scenery - augmented by some wonderfully evocative videos to set the scene) and his sheer chutzpah in bringing such a star-studded cast together to bring the musical to life is laudable and, clearly, it raises the bar higher for Nashville theatre. With such a fertile imagination and the ability to deliver the goods, as it were, Logan's future productions for Studio Tenn - which debuted with its sold-out production of Our Town last fall - will be eagerly anticipated.
By bringing together their stellar cast, Logan and Chapman deserve all the accolades that can possibly be heaped upon them, but those local cast members truly exemplify the wealth of talent to be found in Nashville. Our city is home to much creativity and tremendous talent and Cinderella showcased that to great effect.
Mauzey, perhaps best known to theatre audiences for her critically acclaimed turn in Cry-Baby on Broadway in 2008, brought her trademark verve and spark to Cinderella, giving the character a definitely more spirited reading than we've seen before. Her glorious voice was on display most vividly on "In My Own Little Corner" and in her lush duets with Anthony Fedorov's Prince Christopher on "The Sweetest Sounds," "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?", which was quite possibly the evening's musical highlight. Mauzey also showed her theatrical mettle during one slip-up by the otherwise completely appealing Fedorov, when she helped recover his dropped lines and set the stage for the always-hilarious "Stepsisters' Lament," performed with vigorous aplomb and complete assurance by Keen and German.
Although she seemed somewhat disengaged in her performance as The Fairy Godmother, Heather Headley nonetheless sang with exceptional range and fiery emotion. Headley's performance of "There's Music In You," the show's finale, was extraordinarily beautiful. Cast as Queen Constantina and King Maximillian, Jodi Benson and Bebe Winans were delightfully droll and in perfect sync with each other on "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" and their scripted moments were amusing and on-target.
Another Broadway veteran - and one of Nashville's own - Jake Speck was particularly charming as Lionel, the Prince's steward, and displayed his ample range and superb comic timing throughout the evening, particularly in his verbal sparring with Cinderella's stepmother, expertly and connivingly brought to life by the inimitable Nan Gurley.
With a sizable onstage ensemble and an offstage chorus that featured some of Nashville's most capable theatrical names (including Jeff Boyet, Mike Baum, Ashley McCarthy, Ciaran McCarthy, Will Sevier, Aleta Myles, Laurie Gregoire, Shelean Newman, Samuel Whited, Garris Wimmer and Sloan Yarbrough), Cinderella: Enchanted Edition boasted an overabundance of talents that ensured its success with audience members.
Stephen Kummer's impeccable and confident direction of the Nashville Symphony presented the lush Rodgers and Hammerstein score in a truly spectacular way that only a full symphony orchestra can achieve.
At the conclusion of the musical, after Cinderella and her prince were wed, after the rousing curtain calls and the long-lasting applause, Steven Curtis Chapman and his band, which includes two of his sons, came onstage to sing two songs, one of which is aptly entitled "Cinderella" and was inspired by his three young daughters' devotion to the Rodgers and Hammerstein version. Suffice it to say, Chapman's heartfelt performance ended the evening in a lovely and fitting way, as it paid tribute to the Chapmans' daughter, Maria Sue, who died tragically two years ago. If anything could have ended the evening more movingly, it could hardly be imagined - and seeing how moved the assembled cast was at the end of the evening, it only underscored how truly enchanting and absolutely magical the evening was.
