‘Cinderella’ musical opens next week at Oshwal Centre

If there is one Western fairy tale that’s better known than all the rest, it’s probably the one about the little orphan girl who is mistreated by her stepmother.

But the girl dreams of finding her Prince Charming, escaping her misery and living happily ever after with her prince. ‘Cinderella’ is the name of that fantasy.

It’s also the name of the musical production being staged by Aperture Africa from October 26-28, 2018 at the Oshwal Centre Auditorium.

Amar and Jinita Desai created Aperture Africa Productions 10 years ago, but they only started producing spectacular musicals like The Jungle Book and Robin Hood a few years back.

But as soon as they opened with The Jungle Book, we could see Aperture was something special and unique on the Nairobi theatre scene.

Amar Desai, who has professional training and experience in theatre, also takes care of the costumes, make-up, choreography and special effects.

This is what we expect to see next Friday night when Cinderella opens on the Manu Chandaria stage starring Stephaniah Lago as Cinderella and Tirath Padam as the Prince.

Cinderella’s saving grace is her fairy godmother played by Libby Ndambo.

MUSIC AND ROMANCE

But the character who usually adds heightened interest to any fairy tale is the villain.

In Cinderella’s case, there are actually three baddies: her stepmother played by Elsie Oluoch and her nasty stepsisters, played by Tuja May and Maya Spybey.

Having started rehearsals for the productions several months ago, one feels confident that there will be no slip-ups on opening night.

But as fine as the acting is likely to be, what will also be essential to the show’s success is the music itself.

Here again, we can be assured the 13-piece live orchestra, assembled by Amar together with the group’s conductor Caleb Wachira, are bound to be very good. What’s more, the music is not from the 1950 Disney animation when less known composers produced the music for that version of the fantasy.

Aperture’s music is from the original Broadway production by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, which they wrote in 1957 originally for television. Only after the show’s television success did it go to New York City, where it was a smash hit.

The combination of fantasy, magic, music, romance and a touch of comedy makes Cinderella a production that should entertain both adults and children alike.

One of the highpoints of the show is bound to be the beautifully choreographed scene at the Ball. That is where choreographers Karan Dedhia and Vruti Gosrani have their moments of glory as the ball is a climactic moment when the crux of the Cinderella story unfolds. It’s a moment one won’t want to miss.