SUN CITY – Forget the glass slipper, pumpkin carriage, and fairy godmother: the biggest standout of the Sun City Theater Company’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” may be below all the action.
That’s because the stage of this musical boldly goes where no Sun City production has before: in 360 degrees.
The production’s unique rotating stage allows for the back side of the stage to be set up out of the audience’s view while they watch the scene on the other side. This enables scene changes to take about 10 seconds, according to Marla Mallet, the show’s producer and N.7 resident.
Woodchucks build the revolving stage for The Theatre Company of Sun City’s upcoming Cinderella production. (Photo provided)
“Typically during a show, your curtain will close after each scene, and that takes time, and the audience can get bored if it’s a long scene change,” Mallet said.
The stage, made up of 12 interlocked segments and measuring 14′ in diameter, can be taken apart and stored as individual pieces.
Jim Rice, N.7, was the mind behind “Cinderella’s” rotating stage and set, imagining what the set should look like and drawing preliminary sketches. The Sun City Woodchucks then lent their expertise to bring Rice’s vision to life.
Woodchucks Ron Wiedenfeld (right) and Jerry Mecozzi work on the Cinderella stage. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
“In some ways it’s the simplest set we’ve done, but yet from the design and the execution standpoint, it’s one of the more difficult ones, only because of the complexity of the revolve and getting everything in the right proportions and size and everything to fit,” Rice said.
Drendel Ballroom in Prairie Lodge
April 26, 27, 28 at 7 p.m.
April 29 at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: Adults: $15, Children: $10
More information: 847-515-8545
Certain challenges and necessary tweaks arose through the construction process, like making the stage rotate as silently as possible. Yet Rice, who has a background in mechanical engineering and is a veteran stage designer of about 14 Sun City productions, has a set he and the Woodchucks are proud of.
According to Rice, actual construction of the stage took about a week, but designing the set and stage took much longer. The company is hoping the time invested pays for itself. They plan to use the set for future Sun City productions and hope to rent it out to other theatre groups.
The rest of the set design is in part influenced by the Rodgers and Hammerstein production of “Cinderella” that Sun City’s production is based on. For example, the grand staircases in the ballroom and the landing on which Cinderella appears were inspired by the 1957 version.
Not all locales feature large, ornate sets, however. Mallet said some scenery is created by skilled performances.
“The very opening scene is the town square, and you’ll see all the townspeople milling around shopping, saying hi to old friends. And you know that’s a town square, yet we don’t have to have 12 storefronts behind it for you to imagine that; it’s all done with acting,” she said.
Mallet praised the vision of Rice and director Rob Kaye in imagining the scenery before the production had begun.
“Every director as they read a script, preparing to cast a show and begin rehearsals, has a different vision of how it should be played, and we’re extremely fortunate to have two brilliant people,” she said.
