Cinderella

Cinderella
Baron Hardup's household as tradition tells it - with immortal lines

To order scripts ISBN 1-873855-14-1 – Cast List – Scenes – Extract – Notes – Production photos

Introduction

A pantomime written in a traditional style, but at the same time refreshingly different, Cinderella treats your cast to some well made characters and dialogue, and conspires to involve your audience to the maximum.

There are many opportunities for song and dance, including 23 suggested titles, and plenty of scope for including an undefined number of senior and junior chorus members in the show.

Principals: Male 6, Female 6, Indeterminate 2

Cast List . . .

The Immortals:

Gladys, the Fairy Godmother
Gloria, her sister – a bad, but incompetent Fairy
Puck, a peripatetic Pixie
Elves, Imps, Fairies, etc. (junior chorus)

The Mortals:

The Baron Hardup
Cinderella, his daughter by his first wife (principal girl)
Petunia & Nasturtium (Petty & Nasty), Ugly Sisters, imported daughters of his second wife
Griselda, their mother and the Baron's second wife
Buttons, the Baron's handyman
The Squire Welwyn
Baldock, the Squire's bailiff
The Prince Charming, heir to the throne of Concordia (principal boy)
Dandini, Aide to the Prince
Coachman
Villagers, etc. (senior chorus)

List of Scenes . . .

Act I

The Prologue - Puck's Piece (Front of Tabs)
Scene 1 - A Street in the Town (Full Set)
Scene 2a - Gloria's grotto (Half Set)
Scene 2b - A Room in the Palace (Front of Tabs)
Scene 3 - In Baron Hardup's Kitchen (Full Set)
Scene 4a - In the Fairy Glen (Half Set)
Scene 4b - Another Street in the Town (Front of Tabs)
Scene 5 - Back in Baron Hardup's Kitchen (Full Set)

**** INTERVAL ****
Act II
The Interlogue - Gloria's grotto (Half Set)
Scene 1 - At the Ball in the Palace (Full Set)
Scene 2a - The Rumour Scene (Front of Tabs)
Scene 2b - In the Fairy Glen Again (Half Set)
Scene 3 - Again in Baron Hardup's Kitchen (Full Set)
Scene 4 - Community Song (Front of Tabs)
Scene 5 - In the Palace again (Full Set)

Extract from Act I Scene 3

Squire What have we come for Baldock?
Baldock Two asses, Squire.
Squire Two asses? What are you talking about?
Baldock That's what it says here - you wrote it, look - "Two asses".
Squire Give me that, let's have a look! "To assess", you ass, "To assess"! Two asses indeed! We know where one of them is, don't we!
Baldock It's your writing, Squire.
Squire It's your education you mean. You're incompetent Baldock, what are you?
Baldock Income bent, Squire.
Squire Bent! Yes, you're probably that too. (To Buttons and Cinders) We're here to assess the assets, calculate the cash, work out the wealth, list the lot and tot up the total.
Cinders Well, of all the cheek!
Buttons There's not a lot to tot!
Squire We'll see.
Song - Squire & Baldock
Squire (To Baldock) You start upstairs, Baldock, and I'll start down-stairs.
Baldock Upstairs. Righto, Squire. (Baldock exits upstage left)
Buttons You'd better start through here, (guides Squire upstage right), but I'm afraid it won't take you long. (Squire exits upstage right)
Buttons (To Cinders) Now, where were we?
Cinders About to make supper.
Buttons Right, well let's get on with it before the Squire ... (he is interrupted by shrieks and horrendous screams from upstairs). Oh my goodness, what's happened now?
Cinders I think Baldock's just found Daddy's hidden assets!
(The Ugly Sisters rush on from upstage left)
Nasty There's a man in my room!
Petty And mine!
Cinders He can't be in both at the same time.
Nasty There I was embroiled in my boudoir, when this fearsome face leered round the door at me.
Buttons Poor fellow!
Petty And I was in the middle of my make-up when the monster appeared in my mirror!
Buttons I wonder he survived!
Nasty What's he up to, that's what I'd like to know.
Petty Up to no good, I'll be bound.
Nasty Fancy, just barging in on us like that - two defenceless females. I mean, anything might have happened.
Buttons Unlikely, I would say.

Producer's Notes

This pantomime uses three different full set scenes, separated by half set or front of curtain scenes to allow for backstage activity.

Directions given are those used in the original production, but use your imagination according to the facilities available to you. (In the event, we didn't fly Puck out of the Prologue!).

A list of songs used in the original production is included for your guidance. Where special words were written (eg. for the inevitable "Sisters"), these are also included. But again, use your imagination and feel free to use whatever seems to fit, or whatever your pianist and performers can handle! We were lucky in both.

In our shows we like to get in among the audience as much as possible. We had a number of cast entrances coming through the auditorium, and of course the Rumour Scene gives a further opportunity for mayhem!

I used the general convention that immortals speak in rhyme and mortals in prose; "In Pantomimes that's how it goes", says Gloria. Of course this leads to interesting problems if mortals and immortals speak to each other, as when Cinders meets the Fairy Godmother in disguise. I hope I have resolved this reasonably successfully. You will also see Griselda slipping from mortality to immortality as Gloria's potion starts to work!

I also put the transformation scene just before the interval, not only to leave the audience in a state of wonder while they drink insipid coffee, but also to allow us to clear the smoke from the stage! (If you can arrange to do the transformations without generating smoke, fine!).

So good luck with your show. Put in local variations as you wish, and if you think you can improve on the verse then do that too! Have fun - otherwise, why do it?

P.S. Of course if you're not doing Robin Hood next year, you may want to change Gladys's last lines!

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