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Ordway Blog: Stay connected here with what is happening at Ordway and take a look at what is going on behind the scenes.

Cinderella's Castle Goes to the Ronald McDonald House

Mon, Dec 12, 2011 4:58 PM by Marinda Bland

During yesterday’s Ordway Circle of Stars gala, the 150-square-foot Cinderella’s castle playhouse, the largest auction item in the history of the annual event, went to the winning bid of a consortium that generously gifted the playhouse to the Ronald McDonald House (Oak Street location).  The blue and pink castle will be the newest feature in its playroom, the best possible place for the castle’s new home.

“The Ronald McDonald House is the perfect place for Cinderella’s castle to end up, as it will be a gift that keeps on giving to children,” says Patricia A. Mitchell, Ordway president and CEO. “The consortium’s winning bid will go toward supporting the Ordway’s education programming by helping offer school children low-cost tickets and bus subsidies, and the gifting of the castle to the Ronald McDonald House will provide visiting families many hours of imaginative fun for years to come.”

Cinderella’s castle stands 16-feet tall and 11-feet wide. It boasts four towers complete with turrets, two stories, a play fireplace, and a royal balcony perfect for playing princess. Other features include a spiral staircase, a chandelier, a castle clock, a Dutch door on the main entrance and benches.  The castle is built to withstand hundreds of stampeding kids for years and years – watch them put it together in this timelapse video.

Come see the castle in person before we disassemble it on January 3 and bring it over to the Ronald McDonald House playroom! It’ll be available for viewing during open ticket office hours and during performance of Cinderella!

Posted in Cinderella, Giving, Gala, News, Announcements

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Operation Glass Slipper: Where Happy Endings Begin

Mon, Dec 12, 2011 2:31 PM by Marinda Bland

 

 

Clean out your closet for a good cause! Donate your dresses and accessories to girls who otherwise might not be able to attend prom.  Items can include prom and bridesmaid dresses, wedding gowns, wedding veils, flower girl dresses, crinolines, dressy shoes, jewelry, clutch bags, wraps, and gloves.

For six years Operation Glass Slipper Inc., has been providing the opportunity for Twins Cities area high school girls to attend prom. On average, the nonprofit has outfitted more than 1,000 girls per year. The nonprofit is dedicated to providing complimentary prom gowns and accessories to high schools girls in difficult family or financial circumstances in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Operation Glass Slipper strives to unlock the beauty and confidence within girls of every shape, size, background and walks of life by enabling them to feel good about themselves. They hope to help break the cycle of hardship by instilling a sense of opportunity and possibility for them to change their lives.

  

Interested? Here’s how it works: Twin Cities high school girls can be referred by third parties, which include social workers, guidance counselors, teachers or clergy that have direct knowledge of the girls’ family and financial situation. High school girls who cannot afford a prom dress can speak with these types of individuals in order to get in contact with Glass Slipper.

Each girl is given a Fairy Godmother, who provides one-on-one support. In addition, Fairy Godmothers help girls pick out dresses and accessories at the annual Princess Event in the Mall of America in March. Operation Glass Slipper hosts the event and around 225 schools participate.

Monetary donations are also welcome. Operation Glass Slipper is looking for volunteers as well. Volunteers help with the collection of gowns and accessories, accept new donations, and clean and repair donated items as needed. Dresses and accessories can be dropped off at the ticket office at the Ordway during all Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella performances.

 For more information, visit www.operationglassslipper.org or email info@operationglassslipper.org.

Posted in Cinderella, Giving, Announcements

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Cinderella's Playhouse Comes to Life

Fri, Dec 9, 2011 2:10 PM by Marinda Bland

Watch on YouTube.com >>

Cinderella's castle playhouse was inspired by the Ordway's holiday production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and will be auctioned off live at The Glass Slipper Ball on Sunday, December 11. 

The very special playhouse castle was designed, constructed and decorated in a fanciful, fairytale style. It has a mixture of rustic elegance and playful details.  The exterior features decorative painting details, medieval sconces, a royal balcony, tall turrets with regal flags, arched and slotted windows. Inside, a spiral staircase leads to the ballroom and balcony.  A play fireplace and benches adorn the lower level.

The castle was designed and built by HGA Architects and Engineers, McGough, Nelson Tietz & Hoye, Schuler Shook, Akustiks, HUNT Electric, Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors, Nakasone, Custom Drywall and Metro Manufacturing.

Posted in Cinderella, Giving, Gala

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The Glass Slipper Ball: An Enchanted Evening

Thu, Dec 8, 2011 2:21 PM by Marinda Bland

The fairy tale begins on Sunday, December 11 as Ordway Circle of Stars (OCOS) presents the Glass Slipper Ball. Guests are invited to slip-on royal attire and join us for a magical evening of exquisite food, live auction bidding and an exclusive first look at the final dress rehearsal of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. There will also be a post-show dessert and dance party with the cast.

The OCOS gala benefits the Ordway and its educational programs, making it possible for students to enjoy the Ordway’s world-class performances and community engagement events. Tickets are still available, so don’t delay and visit ordway.org/gala or call 651.282.3006. Tickets start at $250.

This year’s featured auction item will be a giant children’s playhouse: Cinderella’s Castle. The biggest item in the gala’s history, this very special playhouse castle was designed, constructed and decorated in a fanciful, fairytale style. Its mixture of rustic elegance and playful details was inspired by the Ordway’s holiday production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

Cinderella’s Castle stands 16-feet tall and 11-feet wide. It boasts four towers complete with turrets, a play fireplace, 24 windows and a royal balcony. Other features include a spiral staircase, a chandelier, a castle clock, a Dutch door on the main entrance and benches. The colors of the castle include fairytale blue, pink and purple. Be sure to view our construction video to see the castle come alive.

The castle was designed and built by HGA Architects and Engineers, McGough, Nelson Tietz & Hoye, Schuler Shook, Akustiks, HUNT Electric, Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors, Nakasone, Custom Drywall and Metro Manufacturing.

For more information on the Ordway Circle of Stars, visit ordway.org/ocos. To view photos from past gala events, visit http://www.ordway.org/gala/photos/.

By Luke Anderson

Posted in Ordway, Cinderella, Giving, Education, Gala

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Cinderella Sings "In My Own Little Corner"

Wed, Dec 7, 2011 4:42 PM by Marinda Bland

Watch on YouTube.com >>

Jessica Fredrickson, star of the Ordway's production of Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, sings "In My Own Little Corner" in the first sing through with the full cast.  Keep your eyes peeled because we will be posting more exclusive clips soon!

Posted in Cinderella, Musicals

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Set Design: The Making of Cinderella

Mon, Dec 5, 2011 5:26 PM by Marinda Bland

There are many artistic ingredients that go into creating an Ordway original production.  Of course there is the cast and the orchestra, but there are also artisans and designers who contribute to making the show shine.  Cinderella’s set team were nice enough to share some set drawings and photos, and so we are able to offer a sneak peek at the making of this classic fairy tale-turned-musical.

  The set for Cinderella is being designed by Chad Van Kekrix.  Chad worked on our productions of Yankee Doodle, Blues In The Night and Love, Janis.  He is a much sought-after designer and has worked at many theaters in town. He also designed the lobby of Penumbra Theatre.

Before we hire a designer we first consider what kind of a design would be right for the production.  In other words, we come up with a suggested jumping off point for the basic concept of style and content for the show.  In the case of Cinderella we were going for a colorful, fractured fairy tale look. 

  A few years ago we produced another popular fairy tale - Beauty and the Beast  - and we had a lot of wonderful set pieces laying around in storage.  It seemed like a shame to let them go to waste, so we were hoping we could find a way to incorporate that scenery into a new design for Cinderella. After meeting with a few designers we decided to offer the opportunity to Chad. Many meetings followed about what the set might look like. We gave him pictures of the various pieces we had in storage and asked him to begin sketching some ideas.

 

   

His “doodles” eventually became color renderings of the various set pieces.  The individual pieces were then combined to create full stage color renderings.

From there we move into the technical blue print phase with specific technical information for the builders.  A scaled model is created of the actual scenery.

 

 

And the building begins.

 

All of the scenery is being built or redone at The Penumbra Scenic Studio, which is overseen by Jason Allyn Shchwerin.  Jason has been the technical director of almost all of The Ordway’s self-produced shows, so we know we are in good hands.

The scenery was installed over two days and the cast will join in tomorrow for technical rehearsals.  Technical rehearsals or “tech” is when we put all of the show’s components together for the first time.  All of this leads up to the final dress rehearsal, previews and our exciting opening night! 

See you at the Ordway for this wonderful production of Cinderella!

Posted in Theater Season, Cinderella, Musicals, Live

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Announcing Cast and Creative Team for Our Production of "Cinderella"

Wed, Nov 9, 2011 3:43 PM by Marinda Bland

We are delighted to announce the full cast and creative team for our holiday production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” (Dec. 13 – Jan. 1) which features numerous Twin Cities theater favorites.

                                                    

Jessica Fredrickson (Cinderella)                                 

 

Our version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” will showcase local resident Jessica Fredrickson as Cinderella, along with a return engagement to the Ordway by Jeremiah James as the Prince. James was last seen playing the role of Beast in  our 2009 production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Joining this duo are distinguished actors Tonia Hughes (Fairy Godmother), Reid Harmsen (Lionel), Gary Briggle (King), Wendy Lehr (Queen), Greta Grosch (Stepmother), Colleen Somerville (Stepsister Grace) and Andrea Wollenberg (Stepsister Joy).

 

Jeremiah James (Prince Charming)

Making up the “Cinderella” ensemble: Jack Ahern, Traci Allen, Chad M. Anderson, Lisa Bartholomew-Given, Marnie Buckner, Kym Chambers, Craig Daniel, Emily Herringshaw, AJ Hughes, Jennifer James, Jake Klinkhammer, Joel Liestman, Ivory McKay, Bridget Noltimier, Andrew Rasmussen, Shane Rhoades and Linda Talcott Lee.

 Our “Cinderella” creative team is comprised of Nick DeGruccio (Director), Bob Richard (Choreographer), Alexander Farino (Stage Manager), Sharon Bach (Assistant Stage Manager), Katie Hawkinson (Assistant Stage Manager), Raymond Berg (Musical Director), Chad Van Kekrix (Set Designer), Marcus Dilliard (Lightning Designer), Lynda L. Salsbury (Costume Designer), Reid Rejsa (Sound Designer), Robert A. Dunn (Hair & Make-Up Designer), Laura Wilhelm (Puppet Designer), Rick Polenek (Props Manager), Randy Ingram (Production Designer) and Jason Allyn-Schwerin (Technical Director).

“I can’t wait to get started on this beautifully romantic show,” says DeGruccio. “The Twin Cities are full of fantastic actors and many are going to be in this show.”

For more information on the performance and for ticketing information, visit our “Cinderella” performance page.

Posted in Theater Season, Announcements, Cinderella

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This blog is a group effort by Ordway staff, actors, artists, musicians, dancers and all those involved in the creative process of performances, programs and events at the Ordway to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens onstage, backstage and in support of the work presented at the Ordway. We also hope to  discuss pertinent topics in our industry.

The purpose of this blog is to engage with you in the blogosphere. We wish to let you know that our posts do not go through any official editorial process for spelling, grammar or fact checking, therefore errors may occur – please be kind! Every blog post is open for public comment, questions or suggestions and the Ordway chooses not to pre-screen these responses. That being said, we do reserve the right to remove any offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content at the Ordway's sole discretion.

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