Hip Hop Cinderella - Book by Scott Elmegreen, music and lyrics by Rona Siddiqui. streaming on line to 31 January 2021. 4****. William Russell
Pantomime comes in many guises and this American hip hop musical, which draws its inspiration from Star Wars somewhere along the line, is one of the strangest guises ever. It is also a blast, fun, full of great rap numbers and has a talented cast who seize every chance they get with style. Cinderalla lives on Planet Centra with her stepmother, who is rather nasty and has ambitions of her own, and her two really not all that bad underneath step sisters. They get invited by the Prince, who is a bit of a loser, to the Hip Hop Masked Ball in the Empire's capital Zolla. Cinders does not get to go, step mother and sisters taking the only inter-gallactic missile. However she has a friend, Runka, a robot companion who is her Buttons and manages to get her to the ball by teleporting there - don't ask. But the system only allows them to stay until midnight. Who will win the rap competition and the prince? Conderella gets there late, but no prizes for guessing. It all ends happily ever after, speeds along briskly and has impeccable messages about getting along with other people no matter what they are like. Even stepmother Lady Zurka is not all bad, the Prince his his bride and the Galaxy a new hip hop band - I think.
Cast
Alexis Agular; Cassandra Beck Burckett; Jamiel TakoL. Burckhart; Brian Criado; Emily Lang; Lexy Piton.
Director: Christopher Scott.
Musical Director; Evan Alperone.
Video Editor: Matt Gurren.
You can see it - www.amasmusical.org or just Google Hip Hop Cinderalla.