The 16th annual production of Wolfville’s Fezziwig Society will present a hilarious Britishstyle pantomine for family audiences from Nov. 18-20. Halifax actor and producer Jeremy Webb was commissioned to craft a brand new take on the familiar fairy tale story and producer Pat Salmon says he has delivered a very entertaining script.
Well-known local performers Ray Baltzer and Sherry Bishop have taken on the roles of Cinderella’s father and the delightful fairy godmother. Both will be familiar to Fezziwig audiences. David Simpson plays Prince Charming, while Acadia University theatre graduate Alan Slipp acts as his sidekick. Over 25 children and youth from the area support the adult cast. Cinderella, herself, is double cast with Nikki Lannan and Sonya Marinkovic sharing the central role. Wolfville residents, Tim McFarland and Mike Butler are both over the top as Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters.’
The production will include songs in a variety of pop styles. New Minas music teacher Shannon Young is the music director. A pantomime (informally a panto), refers to a musicalcomedy production traditionally found in the United Kingdom and its former colonies during the pre-Christmas and New Year season. These shows are firmly in an old English tradition, incorporating many of the style’s elements including broad comedy, winking asides that break the ‘fourth wall’, audience participation and men in dresses. Christmas pantomimes have been performed in Canada for many years.
Show time for Cinderella in the Festival Theatre will be 7 p.m., with a matinee Nov. 20th at 2pm Tickets are $10 for students /seniors and $12 for adult seats, available at Box of Delights
