March 21, 2008

A Groovy Love Story

Silver Oak Students Get Down ‘n Funky in Cinderella

By Avery Horzewski
Special to the Times

“Believe in the magic…it will set you free,” exclaimed Director Dee McNelly. And Silver Oak Elementary School’s production of Cinderella did just that, capturing perfectly the magic and freedom that permeated 70's culture.

The cast of Cinderella at Silver Oak Elementary School. Photo courtesy of Andrea J. Gibson/Imaging-Photography

Harnessing the enthusiasm of 107 first- through third-graders is never easy, but McNelly proved once again that she was up for the task, helping each child find their inner actor and making everyone feel like a star.

“Miss Dee is a super acting teacher,” declared Trey Valiton, who played Prince Charming. “She makes it fun and has great ideas!”

Eric Taylor, who played the King’s assistant Snazzy, agrees. “Miss Dee wants you to become the character you’re playing, which is one of the things that makes being in the play so much fun!”

And according to Kelly Leonard (Lady Fretful), “Miss Dee is the best director in the WORLD—better than the directors of High School Musical, Hairspray, Grease, and other plays!”

DY-NO-MITE Performances
Instead of a standard fairy tale, sold-out audiences were treated to a totally far-out love story about a cool chick and a righteous dude, complete with a cast of characters whose enthusiasm had audiences groovin’ and laughin’ in their seats.

Rockin’ disco dancers, like Alexis Allen, grooved to the beat of You Should Be Dancing. “I loved being a disco dancer, because of all the cool moves that we did.”

Cool mice, like Vedya Konda, chilled to the lyrics of Cool, encouraging the audience to “keep it low, with the flow.” “Doing the play and singing the song with my friends is like having a playdate every day.”

Decidedly 70's bachelorettes garnered some of the biggest laughs. “I’ll always remember how we made people laugh…and the dresses, because they had a lot of style,” said Hailey Smith, a.k.a. Lady Bumpkin.

Peace-loving forest animals sang about the magic of rock 'n' roll and danced with unbridled enthusiasm. “I LOVED our dance,” stated Lindsay Marshall who played a deer appropriately named Dancer.

The totally stellar fairy godmother, played by Marissa Favet, stole the show with her hip attitude. “I loved being on stage and acting,” exclaimed Favet. “It was like being on a big team, with lots of great cast-mates. This is my favorite play so far!”

A SMASHIN’ Production…
…And a rad team of contributors. “The success of this far-out adventure is due to the many righteous parents who dedicated their time and energy to making this an awesome experience—especially Gina Elkins (choreography), Lisa Anderson (music), and Michelle Tang (costumes),” said McNelly.

“And we’d be nowhere without the support of the Silver Oak PTA and the businesses who donated resources: Medius Corp. for the CDs, Alpha Graphics for the printing, and Andrea Gibson for the photography,” continued McNelly.
The effort obviously left the budding thespians stoked.

Just ask Ashley Horzewski, a.k.a. Fawn the Fox. “It was so fun being in the play! I wish the performances could go on forever!”

Or the star of the show, Mallika Jain, who, according to Valiton, made the role of Prince Charming easy to do. “I was thrilled to be chosen as Cinderella. This has been one of the best things I’ve done thus far, and I shall remember it for a long time to come!”