New York City Children’s Theater’s
Interstellar
Cinderella
Review by Waverly W., 9, and Alexa P., 7 
Music and Lyrics by Laurie Berkner | Book by Barbara Zinn Krieger | Directed by Marty Johnson | Based on the book by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Meg West
Starring Meadow Tien Nguy, Sam McLellan, Cynthia Nesbit, Joyah Love Spangler, and Angela Travino (They were all amazing!!)

The mom here!  We all know (and love) the story of Cinderella.  How she spends her days sweeping cinders from the fireplace and being mistreated by her Stepmother and Stepsisters. How she magically transforms into a beautiful princess and gets to marry the prince…but these days, we’re realizing that marrying the prince isn’t always the Grand Prize.  Sometimes, a girl just wants to go check out the Interstellar Space Parade and … well, you’ll have to see for yourself! I can tell you that THIS Cinderella is a super cool modern girl who is DEFINITELY worth getting to know – no matter if you’re a boy or a girl, young or “not so young.”  So fasten your (rocket) seatbelts and get ready for a very adventurous fairy tale!

Waverly here! We had so much fun at Interstellar Cinderella even before the show started.  In the lobby, we got to decorate our own rockets and color our own constellations.  Then we listened to a reading of the book, “Interstellar Cinderella.”  It is a really great story that makes kids know that dreams do come true and also makes you realize that fairy tales don’t always have to be told the same way.  Before we saw the show, we met Deborah Underwood, the author of the book, Barbara Zinn Krieger, who turned the book into the musical’s “book,” and is also the Founder and Artistic Director of New York City Children’s Theater (they always put on great kids’ shows!) and Laurie Berkner, who wrote the music and lyrics of the show.  We had a few minutes so we asked them some questions.

We asked Deborah how she got the idea to write the book. She said she was always interested in astronomy and stars, and one day she thought up the title and loved it.  She thought there must be a book with that name already, but there wasn’t! So she wrote it! (Mom here – that’s pretty much what happened with Kids’ News!) Then we asked Barbara how she chooses what shows to put on for NYCCT.  She said she looks for strong stories that are about empowering kids, and this story had it all…plus it was in outer space! We asked Laurie how she wrote the songs and lyrics for the show.  She said it took about a year and a half and that Barbara would explain to her the things that had to happen in the songs, and then she would write them based on that.  (Mom again! It was so awesome to see how these three amazing women created such an inspiring, entertaining, and original story and show and even more awesome to have my daughter meet them and learn about their creative processes!)
Finally, it was showtime!  Alexa was excited to see which character would have pink hair and I wanted to see how they were going to use the set – I saw a bookcase, a toolbox, and some interesting black shapes with green and blue stripes on them – you can see it below – we got to go up there for a picture!

Suddenly I heard horns playing and the show opened with a really great song about how it was the year 3017 and there was peace on earth.  People could travel anywhere throughout the galaxy Cinderella was dressed like a mechanic and there was a Robot Mouse named Murgatroyd (at least that’s how I think it is spelled!). There are two stepsisters and an evil stepmom but they are funny and when they all sing together it is amazing!  Right from the first song I loved this show and knew it was going to be really fun, interesting and a brand new way to watch one of my favorite fairy tales.

Photo credit: Carol Rosegg

In this show, there’s going to be an Interstellar Space Parade, with a prize for the Most Original Rocket. After that, there’s going to be a Gravity Free Ball!  Of course, Cinderella wants to go but the stepmom wants her to stay away.  With a little magic and some “luck good” (you’ll understand that when you see the show yourself!), Cinderella gets there and I promise you will be surprised and love how the story turns out! You will also love the singing and the songs – when the characters sing alone it’s really nice, but when they all sing together it’s magic – so I think you get double the magic from this show! Literally EVERY song is great. Sometimes the songs are slow and pretty, like “Interstellar Cinderella” and sometimes they are fast and fun, like “Gravity Free Ball.”  This show has everything – a great story, a great lesson, excellent acting, singing and dancing…you really need to go see it.  I loved the book, too! My advice is to read the book first and then see the show and compare it for yourself.  You will definitely love it because Interstellar Cinderella is out of this world!

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

Alexa here! I thought the setting was cool, like how they reused everything.  I loved the singing and dancing! I also enjoyed the song they sang with the audience at the end: 5-4-3-2-1 BLASTOFF! Another rocket ship run!  This was a really fun show and all of us loved it.
Back to Mom! Waverly’s right – this show really is out of this world and truly has everything…I see a lot of shows and I was really surprised and impressed by how all the actors work and sing together so beautifully! The songs and the play are fantastic. Broadway quality – without the Broadway price tag.  Thanks, as always, to New York City Children’s Theater, Deborah Underwood, Laurie Berkner and all the actors for a great show that’s both kid AND adult friendly – one that teaches us all that we can make our own magic, and that not all fairy tales have to end with marrying the prince!

Now get on that rocket ship and blast off to see it!

Now through- December 18, 2017 | Sat. & Sun. @ 11am & 2pm  | Day After Thanksgiving performances: Fri., Nov. 24 @ 11am & 2pm| Sensory Friendly: Sat, Nov 9 @ 11am

The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row | 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036

This cast is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!