Cinderella Twirls her Way into IAR

This year Irving A. Robbins Middle School students performed the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella. Cinderella is about a girl who ends up living with her extremely self-centered stepmother and stepsisters and, with help from her fairy godmother, becomes a princess and finds her prince. The lead was played by Sophie Currier with Alex Cerdeira as her prince. Abrielle Belisle and Margaret Fishman played the stepsisters, and the godmother was played by Lyndsey Koster.

Eighth grader Claire Brouillard played the role of the evil stepmother. She said, “It is so much fun being evil, even though it can be embarrassing at times.” She commented that one of her favorite scenes is when the stepsisters try on the glass slipper. She may favor this scene, but Claire’s favorite part of the whole experience is socializing with new friends.

The production was directed by Mrs. Penelope Sanborn. According to the website The Complete Actor Studio, an actors’ studio in Avon, director Penelope Sanborn “graduated from Bucknell University with a double major in Theater and English and also earned her M.A. in Theater from The University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has seven years of classical vocal training and has performed in many musicals.” She has also worked as an actor and director in Simsbury and Avon.

Mrs. Karla McClain, the chorus teacher at IAR, was the musical director, working with the students on singing parts of this musical play. She went to Ohio Wesleyan University for her undergraduate work and then went to Central Connecticut State University for graduate school. She has been teaching for eighteen years. Mrs. McClain began teaching in Hilliard, Ohio, where she taught for four years, then spent twelve years teaching in West Hartford. Mrs. McClain was inspired to become a music teacher because she had great directors for both her middle school band and high school choir that inspired her. “Music is my passion, and I love being able to work with middle school kids and see them grow,” Mrs. McClain says. She has acted in many musicals on all levels, from elementary school through college, and she still performs with a theater group based in Middletown. She has also directed musicals at the middle and high school level.

Performances were held for a packed houses on Friday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Audience members stood and applauded the large cast, solo and ensemble singing, live orchestra, and marvelous transformations! It was an incredible show by the cast and crew.