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A Season for the Child (SfC), the family-oriented live theater season—presented by the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Friends of Theater and Dance (FOTAD) —will end its 24thseason with Cinderella, Or The Story Of Bigfoot at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22.
Cinderella, or the Story of Bigfoot will be staged in SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall by Curtains Up Theatre Company, based in Edwardsville and Collinsville. In addition, students from Southwestern Illinois College will interpret the play for people who are deaf or hearing impaired.
This humorous retelling of the traditional story of Cinderella is a wonderful tale of how true beauty comes from within and that it’s not just OK to be yourself, but that it’s the only way to be.
Full of unexpected twists, the story presents great characters including Ella Le Grand, an orphan living in her father’s house, which is run by her cruel and selfish stepmother. When Ella and her step-family are invited to the King’s ball, she is assisted by Dweezil Twistup, fairy and God-dude extraordinaire, and his sidekick, Junior. When Ella finally meets Prince Alfonse XIII in his leather jacket and white T-shirt, she finds that he’s “the coolest cat in the kingdom.”
A Season for the Child, which premiered in 1990, features adaptations of children’s stories using interactive techniques that not only delight children and parents, but also provide a learning experience.
Proceeds from this production will benefit FOTAD’s merit award program. FOTAD annually presents nearly $5,000 in merit scholarships to talented, current theater and dance majors at SIUE. The organization also funds scholarships for qualified new freshmen entering the theater and dance program.
Individual tickets for the March 22 performance of Cinderella, or the Story of Bigfoot, are $5 per person and are available through the SIUE Fine Arts box office, (618) 650-2774.
FOTAD also has an endowment to help fund the merit scholarship program. Those interested in donating to the endowment may contact Greg Conroy, (618) 692-0874.
