KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 24, 2019

Cinderella gets an update at Synchronicity Theatre

Want to keep the holiday magic going after Christmas? Plan to see "Ella Enchanted" at Synchonicity Theatre and you will be spellbound. Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) Department of Theatre & Performance Studies' (TPS) students and alumni are helping to make the magic of the holiday last a little longer with their roles in "Ella Enchanted." 

Photo, above: L'Oréal Roaché as Ella and Alex Harding as Prince Char. Photo by Casey Gardner. 

TPS senior L’Oréal Roaché, who led in KSU productions over the fall semester, has now landed her first professional role as the title character of the musical “Ella Enchanted.”  TPS junior Alex Harding also takes on his first professional leading role as Prince Char. TPS alumni Amy Reynolds (Lucinda) and Meg Harkins (Hattie) also co-star in this fantastical production, while TPS faculty member Amanda Wansa Morgan leads the music direction and sound design, helping to create the magical fairytale world for the audience.

Photo, above, left to right: Alexandria Joy, Marcie Millard, and Meg Harkins; front: L'Oréal Roaché. Set Design by Derrick Vanmeter. Lighting Design by Dakota Adams. Costume Design by April Andrew. Photo by Casey Gardner.

“Ella Enchanted” is a family-oriented musical based on the Newbery Award-winning young adult novel by Gail Carson Levine and was adapted for the stage by Karen Zacarias. Filled with whimsical musical numbers, colorful characters, and a heap of humor, this retelling of the classic fairytale “Cinderella” also sets out to turn stereotypical female roles on its head by giving young girls a new kind of fairytale character to look up to: Ella, a strong, smart, and ambitious young girl who tackles her own problems and sets her own boundaries.

Photo, above, (eft to right: Alexandria Joy, Marcie Millard, and Meg Harkins; front: L'Oréal Roaché. Set Design by Derrick Vanmeter. Lighting Design by Dakota Adams. Costume Design by April Andrew. Photo by Casey Gardner.

Audience members will be entranced by the bewitching story of Ella, who was inadvertently cursed at birth by a young fairy named Lucinda and forced into a life of compelled obedience forever. Told this is a “gift,” Ella spends all her life involuntarily serving the people around her. After her mother dies, Ella breaks free and sets out on a quest for her freedom from this “gift,” certain that this curse was not the life she was meant to lead. She travels through a magical world of elves, gnomes, and giants in search of her fairy godmother, Lucinda, to reverse the curse placed on her all those years ago. She faces many challenges along the way while making new friends and finding her voice and independence.

Don’t miss “Ella Enchanted” at Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, now through January 5, 2020. Check out ArtsATL’s review of this magical production, and visit Synchronicity Theatre for tickets and additional information.

--Lauren Richmond