04/07/2026
As sure as a pumpkin can become a golden carriage, audiences can expect something magical with SUNY Cortland’s upcoming production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”
All performances are in the Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre from Friday, April 10, until Sunday, April 19.
- Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m.
- Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m.
Tickets are on sale at SUNY Cortland’s online Box Office.
With direction by Shirley Serotsky, choreography by Andrea Dotto and music direction by Ben Kapilow, the script and score come from a Tony Award-winning 2013 Broadway production.
It’s the most recent version of the romantic Rodgers and Hammerstein fairy tale classic that first debuted as a live-in-color TV special in 1957, starring Julie Andrews.
“To get to take on this character that so many know and love from our childhoods, and bringing my own to it, is just so special,” said senior musical theatre major Vivien Reed, who plays Cinderella.
As part of the role, Reed said she tried think of the titular character as every other person that goes through similar experiences — just not with all the enchanting twists of the beloved story.
“Going on a first date and meeting the love of your life for the first time,” she described. “Bringing those experiences into it and bringing also a fun, quirky side as well.”
Benjamin Wells, production manager and publicity coordinator for the Performing Arts Department, described the current update as developing the characters more, including “a new strength, confidence and independence to Cinderella.”
Songs like “In My Own Little Corner” and “Impossible” have earned their place as industry standards, with the Cortland cast looking forward to adding to the long history of the show.
Senior musical theatre major Heather Hayes, who plays the Fairy Godmother, credits the Performing Arts Department for running bigger musicals along with smaller productions. She’s previously portrayed Reno Sweeney in “Anything Goes” and Shelby Holcomb in “John Proctor is the Villain.”
“Each (role) has taught me different skills, for example in a performance at a smaller theater you’re acting can be more nuanced because the audience is so close to you,” she said. “They are able to read every little facial expression.
“In a bigger theater everything has to be bigger, your gestures, your movements, even your makeup and hair.”
With singing, dancing and on-stage effects that let Hayes perform the fanastical on the way to a happily ever after, “Cinderella” requires many of Cortland’s musical theatre majors to be involved, including a cast of 20 and 22 crew members.
“Cinderella has been so much fun to work on because it being a fairytale story already lends itself to be extravagant,” Hayes added. “And now, we’re performing it on the main stage, so we get to have so much fun making those big choices.”