YOUNGSTOWN Oakland, ballet team for musical

'Cinderalla' combines the music and lyrics of Rodgers and Hammerstein with humorous dialogue.
By LAURIE M. FISHER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Just as the handsome prince discovered that Cinderella was the perfect fit for the glass slipper, the Oakland Center for the Arts and Ballet Western Reserve have found that they, too, make a good pair.
The two local arts organizations, which have shared a home in the Morley Building in downtown Youngstown since 1998, are performing across the street at Powers Auditorium for their first collaboration. Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" will be presented May 5 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and May 6 at 2 p.m. More than 65 cast members will perform in the musical production of the well-known tale.
Co-directors Anita Lin of Ballet Western Reserve and Sandy Vansuch of the Oakland Center for the Arts attributed the ease of their collaborative efforts to their staff and cast members. Gary Kekel of Mainsail Music in Canfield is the musical director.
"Some people say, 'Co-directing? How are you doing that?' It's remarkably easy if you have the same kind of vision. If you are functioning from the same perspective, it's not hard at all," explained Vansuch.
"You don't always find collaboration to be that comfortable. We don't seem to have any huge ego problems, and that's unheard of in any kind of performance," she added.
Settled on fairy tale: Lin said the two directors had been looking for a project collaboration for several years. Although Ballet Western Reserve had performed a storybook interpretation of"Cinderella," Lin said she always loved Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical version.
Oscar Hammerstein wrote the original book in 1957, and Julie Andrews starred in a televised version of the musical that year. Many people may be familiar with the 1965 TV remake starring Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella. A modernized version with singer Brandy in the lead role and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother aired in 1997.
Following the lead of the more recent television video, Vansuch said she has updated some of the script.
Light touch: "We are trying to make it as light and humorous as possible, too, in terms of interpretation. I am playing the stepmother," she said, explaining this was a first, both acting and directing a performance. "I felt very comfortable in both roles having Anita there," she said. "I know she'll say, 'Don't do this or try that.'"
Vansuch promises that "the stepsisters, Joanne Carney Smith and Kathy Dravecky, are going to be a riot. I've been on stage for 30 years, and I cannot look at them without laughing," Vansuch said.
Dancers: The 32 dancers from BWR are fully integrated in the script. They perform classic ballet, Viennese ballroom waltz and character dance, Lin said.
One of the featured dances is the ballroom scene. Lin said that the 24 dancers have been working on the waltz sequence from the first day of rehearsal. "You think 24 people, that's not a lot on Powers' stage. But when they are moving and passing through, it's quite a feat."
"I started with the hardest piece first. It is choreography that I would give to a professional company. I approached it early enough for those without dance backgrounds to learn the steps," Lin explained.
Vansuch said the principals, including Amy Russell as Cinderella, James McClellan as the Prince and Illa Wilson as the Godmother, have extensive theater experience. Because of their proficiency, she can spend more time directing the children in the cast, who play pumpkins, mice, dog, cats, horses, wedding guests and townspeople.
"They are like little sponges. That's so much fun," Vansuch said, adding she enjoyed the change of directing children in addition to adults.