BY KATE OVERBEY

Mariemont High School is presenting Cinderella for it’s annual musical this year. The musical takes the stage on March 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium. On opening night, the town of Mariemont will get a front row seat to Cinderella, but there is much more to its production then meets the eye.

Cinderella follows the classic fairytale of servant girl Cinderella, played by senior Chloe Shenton. Shenton will be joined on stage by senior Emelia Ranalli playing Madame, as well as senior Anna Eberlin, junior Gabby Tollefson, and junior Shannon Renner playing Marie, Gabriella, and Charlotte.

“Cinderella goes to the ball and she falls in love with the prince. That’s me,” says senior Jacob Cox who will play Prince Charming, the other lead.

The musical this year is very special in that it is partly student-led and student-run. Each section of the cast has their own distinct part.

Senior Avery Brinkman has responsibility over lights and sounds for the fourth year, and also is in charge of teaching the underclassmen all the tricks. “Everything is student-run. None of the teachers really know how to do it, so it relies on whoever is in charge to teach the knowledge to the underclassmen to carry it on over the years,” said Brinkman.

Chris Wood, a junior at MHS, is in charge of makeup this year. “I’m leading the makeup crew this year. Because it’s such a bigger show, I think it’s going to be a lot more makeup intense, opposed to last year where everyone was a normal person. This year it’s so fantasy, and fun,” says Wood. He is a tri-act as the head of makeup, the Giant, and an ensemble member.

Brinkman is similarly excited about the musical choice. “I’m really excited that we’re doing Cinderella this year. I think it gives us a huge amount of creative options for lighting and effects,” he said.

Senior Sydney Messner, a four-year member of the musical, is the leader of marketing and publicity and is in charge of getting the message of the musical into the community. She tasked with designing music outreach events and creating the marketing materials for Cinderella.

“I’m excited to be large and in charge,” said Messner.

“The message of the show is to be kind. We are trying to get that message across, and inspire the audience to be kind as well,” said Messner. “I also want people to know that it’s happening so they come and see it to support their friends and classmates in the musical.”

Each section of the cast has a unique responsibility. While Messner brings others into the show, Brinkman is busy with perfecting the perception of the show.

“There’s also a lot that goes into [controlling the lights]. We not only decide what it will look like, but we have to program it into our control board and move lights around,” says Brinkman. “It’s a unique job and if it’s done well, you’ll barely notice it. If anything about it is wrong, it can ruin everything.”

Similarly, senior Molly Sharp is on the other side of the curtain, handling the ins-and-outs of cast placement. “Not only do I help direct the stage crew members, but I have to make sure members of the cast are in their correct spots with the correct props from the moment they step off stage to when they reenter,” said Sharp.

In order to practice what they preach, the cast of Cinderella is organizing an outreach event at Mariemont Public Library to help spread kindness. The cast is going to host one of the reading events, where teens and adults read books to children to help inspire curiosity and love of fiction in them. The outreach event will be on Saturday, March 9th. The time is TBD.

“The library event is part of our marketing and publicity campaign. We thought it would be a good idea to do the library event because we can pour into kids in the Mariemont community, and they can get a small preview of the show. Hopefully, they will go home feeling fulfilled and excited about the show, and then go see it,” says Messner.

This year the message of the musical is also tied into the culture of the cast. “I also excited for the cast this year. There’s a ton of new people and people from the play which I think will give it exciting new energy,” says Brinkman.

The yearly rotation of the cast gives a new perspective, according to Messner.  “Since its a different cast every year, the dynamics of every cast change so much. The lasting friendships of people who are already there merge with the new friendships. It’s really cool to see those new relationships grow too.”

Click here to watch the trailer