The Gleaner

Al-star cast brings Cinderella to life at CVR

le mercredi 07 février 2018
Modifié à 9 h 52 min le 07 février 2018
Par Mario Pitre

mpitre@gravitemedia.com

It took a lot more than the flick of a wand to transform CVR into an enchanted kingdom for this year’s performance of Cinderella – it took hours of dedicated hard work, some serious pipes and acting chops, commitment, resilience and that touch of magic that has allowed the Performing Arts Department to bring exceptional musicals to life year after year. “I wanted it to be fantastical,” said Music Teacher Lynn Harper of this year’s production, which she co-directed with Joyce Rudisel (Dance) and Nena Tremblay (drama). And with an extremely musical group, this year’s performance was magical. It was fine-tuned and polished, with dazzling costumes, daring choreography and just enough of a twist to give the classic rags to riches tale a modern spin. In this contemporary adaptation, Cinderella’s (Samantha Brisebois) dreams of a better life with her prince (Jeremy L’Heureux), despite her step-mother (Jasmine Thibert-Rocheleau) and step-sisters Gabrielle (Jacynthe Poupart) and Charlotte (Katie MacDonald), are brought to life with the help of her fairy godmother (Sara Bohemen) and a passionate revolutionary (Chad Leduc). “I don’t think the characters could have been cast any better,” said Jacynthe Poupart, who suggests the characteristics of the lead roles were all reflective of their own personalities. “It is an experience we are never going to forget,” she added, of being onstage together and feeding off the incredible energy of the audience during all four performances. “It’s so hard but it is so worth it,” notes Sara Bohemen, of balancing schoolwork, sports, and extracurricular commitments, as well as the play. With just days to go before the end of term, the cast was also dealing with the stress of exams and a looming deadline for CEGEP applications. “They are a super good group,” said Harper, noting not only how cohesive they were but how committed they were to getting even the finest detail just right. “We worked to flesh out the roles,” she noted, adding that they were able to improvise with the students as rehearsals went along. “Even the backstage crew have taken ownership of the process,” she said, which proved to be a good thing as with a slightly smaller group than in years past, several members of the cast played multiple roles and depended heavily on those behind the scenes as well as the technical crew. For dance teacher Joyce Rudisel, who admits after teaching for 17 years that this was the biggest production she has been involved with, she was taken aback by the level of community involvement in the show. “I had an amazing group to work with,” she says of both the grade 10 and 11 dance troupes, who performed a combination of styles with advanced choreography. And while the performance was entirely driven by the senior classes, the Performing Arts Department was able to count on a number of students, teachers, parents and volunteers to ensure everything came together seamlessly, from costuming, set construction, hair and makeup, to the front of house. “This is the best way we could have ended our year at CVR,” noted Poupart, to resounding nods of agreement from the rest of the main cast, who all noted how surreal it would be to return to school the following week with the play now behind them.