The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Dobama’s ‘Ella Enchanted’ brims with bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Cleveland Heights theater pulls magic from lackluster adaptation
There are hundreds of variations of the romantic fairy tale “Cinderella,” the story of a girl who is mistreated by her stepmother, saved by her fairy godmother and lives happily ever after with a prince.
Well, 345 variations in Europe alone and from predominantly male authors, if you trust a 19th-century anthology that traced the story’s lineage from the work of Charles Perrault in 1697 to that of the Grimm Brothers in 1812. Add to the mix the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Walt Disney and so many other modern Americans.
In 1997, the story was given a makeover aimed at pre-teenage girls by novelist Gail Carson Levine. Her “Ella Enchanted” featured an intelligent, freespirited young heroine who was given the gift of obedience by a foolish fairy unaware of the consequences, and who managed through her wit and will to free herself from its effects and her step-family’s torment.
The novel inspired a 2004 live-action film of the same name that seemed similarly inspired by “The Princess Bride,” “A Knight’s Tale” and other films taking place in a medieval time but infused with modern-day sensibilities, current references and a contemporary sense of humor.
The film, in turn, inspired Karen Zacarías and Deborah Wicks La Puma to pen a new musical version of “Ella Enchanted,” which is a very mediocre work being given an absolutely amazing staging by Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights.
The musical, like the film, offers a predictable story told through a plodding script as relayed by a slew of one-dimensional characters hamstrung by the limitations of the fairytale genre and the work’s creators. It places goofy antics over theater art, and couples them with an unmemorable and uninspiring score.
And yet this production soars due to director Nathan Motta’s fairy godmother-like conjuring of a grander artistic vision, a magical cast and a miraculous production team.
While the film’s $30 million budget offered an abundance of CGI, none of it is as enchanting as scenic designer Douglas Puskas’ construction of a charming stone bridge at center stage, whose archway doubles as Ella’s hearth; Marcus Dana’s lighting, which adds immense drama and dimension to the play’s proceedings; T. Paul Lowry’s animated images of big skies and sweeping landscapes, which are projected on a rear screen, and other imagery projected on the proscenium; and Jeremy Dobbins’ marvelous soundscape, which underscores and humorously accents the onstage activity. Every performer and stagehand is adorned in costumer Colleen Bloom’s fairy-tale fare.
Collectively, these designers transport the audience to an inviting and enchanting world set for storytelling.
In the film “Ella Enchanted,” actress Anne Hathaway, as the titular character, muddles through as best she can considering the inanity she is asked to perform by the screenwriters. Natalie Green, in the role here, is absolutely charming and breaks free of the caricature she’s been handed. While the script lacks heart and soul, Green supplies them in spades with acting marked by its authenticity and vocals that make her songs better than they are as written. The score is performed by a small but stellar corps of musicians under Jordan Cooper’s direction.
Tina Stump, as the careless fairy godmother; Amy Fritsche as the evil stepmother, Eugene Sumlin, as Ella’s weak father; Kelly Elizabeth Smith, as the mean step-sister; Neely Gevaart, as the stupid stepsister; and Joshua McElroy, as the endearing Prince, push and tug at their characters’ defining characteristic to generate humorous, engaging and rich performances. The acting is imbued with brilliant touches of innovation (look for Fritsche’s roaming beauty marks) and improvisation (listen for Gevaart’s clever asides). Ensemble members Arif Silverman and Madeline Krucek, who take on a variety of small and potentially inconsequential roles, turn everything they do into something interesting that adds a layer of pleasure to this production.
Additional characters, such as giants and other mythical beings, are created through Robin VanLear’s delightful puppetry. Motta seamlessly weaves these creations into the fabric of this production as if they were cast members.
In the cinematic Disney version of “Cinderella,” it’s possible for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage and a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage. But the true bibbidi-bobbidi-boo to be found in Dobama’s rendition is the turning of a something middling into something magical.