Like slapstick comedy, children’s theater is one of the most difficult forms to do well, without descending to camp or just plain bad overacting. Also, the type of entertainment that enthralls the little tykes may often make the more jaded of teenagers and adults feel as though they’ve been sentenced to the seventh circle of Dante’s inferno.
Olney Theatre Center’s enchanting revival of Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein’s musical adaptation of “Cinderella” is very well done, but older kids whose idea of entertainment involves stuff blowing up every five minutes would do better to stay home playing video games.
The story is, of course, an adaptation of the classic fairy tale about Cinderella (Erin Driscoll), a young girl who is treated as a servant by her wicked stepmother (Karlah Hamilton) and stepsisters, Portia (Jenna Sokolowski) and Joy (Michele Tauber).
When Cinderella is forbidden to attend a royal ball thrown in honor of the Prince (Will Ray), her Fairy Godmother (Deb G. Girdler) comes to the rescue, magically providing her with a coach, horses and exquisite white gown. As usual, the catch is that all these magic goodies have a limited shelf life — good until midnight, to be exact.
The quality of the production owes much to the casting of Driscoll, one of the Washington area’s most accomplished comic actors, in the title role. Driscoll has a gorgeous singing voice and brings some much-needed starpower to the proceedings.
Most of the comedy material goes to Sokolowski and Tauber, who play the evil stepsisters as a sort of female Abbott and Costello.
Rogers and Hammerstein’s score is charming, even though this is one of their few shows that failed to produce a hit song. Mark Waldrop’s direction has some wonderfully inventive touches, such as the singing rat Muppets who are transformed into coachmen and the cartoon coach that travels up the painted backdrop to the Royal Palace.
‘Cinderella’
Olney Theatre Center’s production of “Cinderella” runs through Dec. 31.
Venue: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Tickets: $34 to $44 (children under 18 half-price)
More info: 301-924-4485 or www.olneytheatre.org
