Rude exit fails to faze unstoppable cast

Last week I attended a preview of Capitol Theatre’s Cinderella: A Classic Christmas Pantomine and witnessed something quite disconcerting.

During a mid point in the second act, three-quarters of the audience picked up their coats and emptied the building. Most of the remaining theatregoers had a stunned look on their face. What was going on?

Everything was going smoothly. There was lots of audience participation. The traditional boos, hisses, cheers and catcalls flew thick and fast, and there was an amusing chemistry flowing between audience and actors.

Pantos have a large improvisational element, but this was completely unexpected. It turns out yellow school buses arrived to pick up students creating a mass exodus.

The actors were momentarily dumbfounded. But within seconds of the instantaneous migration, they picked up the momentum and appeared to work even harder at giving their audience the best show possible.

In the end, a panto is about engaging with the audience and this cast did it spectacularly well and saved the production from turning into a fiasco.

St. Albert’s Madelaine Knight as Cinderella has a tailor-made role as the sweet, people-pleaser. She’s bubbly and kind and always puts her best foot forward to help others.

In a less experienced actor, Cinderella could come across as a saccharine concoction. Knight instead gives her a gentle humanity that keeps you rooting for her.

Cinderella’s best friend is Buttons, a Marcel Marceau figure, complete with white face and snappy outfit. Jason Hardwick, one of Edmonton’s chameleon-like actors, dons his triple hat acting, singing, dancing and narrating to the audience. Not only is his footwork nimble, but also his improvisations are shrewd and agile.

Davina Stewart as Madame de Pancake, the evil stepmother is a joy to watch especially with her insane cackle and total inability to empathize with anyone except herself.

Tom Edwards and Colin Matty as the boob-a-licious stepsisters provided the audience with a lot of laughs. Dressed in psychedelic, mismatched outfits, this vain and spiteful duo have created a balance of meanness and stupidity that make brilliant villains.

Byron Martin is the stuttering Prince Gretzky, a royal who is afraid to talk to women. That’s a serious problem since Dad wants him to pick a bride right away.

But as the Prince’s journey of self-discovery deepens, Martin fashions a man that enjoys taking on new adventures.

One of my favourites is the cross-dressing role of Adrianne Salmon’s Selkirk, the Prince’s bodyguard and confidante. Selkirk twirls his moustache, struts across the stage and is constantly trying to keep the Prince out of trouble.

Jocelyn Ahlf in her double role as the Bunny Godmother and playwright deserves special kudos. As the playwright, Ahlf created a loosely based Cinderella on the traditional and localized it with mentions of Oilers, the Henday, Millwoods and Kingway Mall to name a few.

Normally theatre etiquette requires audiences to be silent during a performance. A panto turns rules on its head. Be as raucous as possible and have fun.