McCaw Hall is a space where you can hear everything. At a ballet, you can make out every distinct layer of the orchestral score, along with the thumps of dancers moving around on the stage and squeaks of friction between ballet shoes and floor. You can also hear all the incidental sounds the audience makes. For the opening night crowd, you could hear shuffling, coughing and so on, what you would expect from a room full of adults.
But there weren’t just adults there to see "Cinderella." There were around 40 children, some quite young. All quiet, and all enthralled.
OK, by the end, quite a few of them were asleep (counting the two intermissions, “Cinderella” is two hours and 38 minutes long), but the production has plenty to hold the attention of an interested kid, one inclined towards dance, classical music, or theater. A young person who can sit still and take in the spectacle will see a huge company, including children in prominent roles, working together to create gorgeous effects, backed by an excellent orchestra performing Prokofiev’s complex and emotional music.
There are some engaging characters. The main star, Noelani Pantastico, brought warmth to the character of Cinderella. Pantastico makes the precise movements of formal ballet look effortless, so she draws you into watch and follow the story. Nancy Casciano and Abby Jayne DeAngelo had a fun anarchic energy as the stepsisters, the kind of schoolyard mean girls that every kid is tempted to hang around with sometimes. (Sure, they’re selfish, but they’re so much fun!) Elle Macy was poised and commanding as the stepmother. When she jabbed her black-gloved finger and whirled her cape, there was no question of anyone defying her.
The costumes are magnificent on everyone in the show, particularly the minor characters. Cinderella and the Prince are simply dressed (though the Prince has a romantically billowing cape in the third act) but a lot of bit parts come with astonishing outfits: The livery on the servants! The enormous hat on the harpsichord player! The glittery antennae and shimmery compound eyes of the six adorable children who play bugs!
If you go, take advantage of the intermissions to explore the theater, and check out the fancy-dressed crowd. You can also walk down and look into the orchestra pit, and see all the instruments. Or maybe just find a space (a stretch of aisle, maybe) where your kids can run back and forth, getting their wiggles out, getting ready for the next wonder to unfold on stage.
"Cinderella" will continue at McCaw Hall through Feb. 9. Buy tickets here.
