Review: 'Ever After' lives up to its 'happily'

Sometimes you just know you’re going to have a good time at the theater the moment you walk into the lobby. That’s how it was at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s opening of “Cinderella: After Ever After” on Wednesday evening.

The patrons, the staff, even the self-appointed doorman on Vine Street – they all seemed cheerful. Not the fake sort of cheerful you get from “greeters” at retail stores.

Everyone seemed sincerely happy.

It didn’t take long to figure out why. “Cinderella: After Ever After,” this year’s ETC holiday show, is a joy, a production as comforting as it is lovely. It’s silly. And smart. And very, very witty.

Most of all, it’s a show with a good heart.

Last year, ETC celebrated the holidays with a slightly twisted version of “Cinderella.” With a script by Joseph McDonough, music by Fitz Patton and lyrics by David Kisor, the story was familiar. But the details weren’t. The prince was more geeky than charming. Cinderella was a nerd who wore pink high-top sneakers to the ball instead of glass slippers. And the Fairy Godmother was . . . well, she was named Gwendolyn and she was delightfully odd.

This year’s show picks up where last year’s left off. Gwendolyn by rehashing what we saw last year. You know, a little like TV does with “previously on ... “

“And they all headed to the castle to live happily ever after,” Gwendolyn concludes. But then she adds, “Maybe.”

As they prepare an engagement party fit for a king – a future king, actually – Cinderella and Prince Freddy run into all the complications that we commoners might. The bride’s mother is demanding. The groom’s father is cheap. Both step-sisters think they should be the maid of honor. And every friend has advice to give.

They may be fairy tale characters, but Cinderella and her Prince are coping with the harsh realities of everyday life.

“Harsh” is probably too strong a word. “After Ever After” has lessons to teach. But designers Brian c. Mehring (sets, lights), Shannon Rae Lutz (props) and Reba Senske (costumes) wrap it up as such a delicious confection that the harshest thing we confront is the screechy voice of the bride’s mother.

In fact, every aspect of this show fits together so seamlessly, so smoothly, that it’s hard to imagine anyone breaking a sweat as they put it together. That’s not true, of course. But it feels so blissfully uncomplicated.

Some of it has to do with the cast. Most are ETC regulars, many of them skilled stage veterans. If it can be said that a camera loves certain subjects, then perhaps the stage loves certain actors, too. And “After Ever After” floods the stage with them.

There’s really not a weak link in the bunch, which includes Michael G. Bath, who is appearing in his 20th consecutive ETC holiday show, along with Kate Wilford, Darnell Pierre Benjamin and Deb G. Girdler. Torie Wiggins and Sara Mackie are Cinderella’s frantically competitive stepsisters and Brooke Steele and Patrick E. Phillips are the young lovers.

There is a trio of ETC interns in the production, too. They may be at the beginning of their careers, but these three – Maya Farhat, Samantha Russell and Griff Bludworth – hold their own as they work alongside actors who, in some cases, have decades of experience.

Kudos to director D. Lynn Meyers, choreographer Dee Anne Bryll and musical director Scot Woolley for shaping “Cinderella: After Ever After” into a well-told tale that is so pleasurable and so enjoyable that, if only for a brief moment, it feels that all is right with the world again.

“Cinderella: After Ever After” runs at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati through December 30.

Email davidlyman@gmail.com.