Theater Students Wow Audience in Cinderella

By Journalism Student: Thao Phan | Image: Ameyali Calderon 

Congratulations are in order for the Lamar theater students, after a successful Cinderella Musical. 

“Getting to see the students share my love of theater was the best part of putting this show together,” theater teacher Justin Barbee says. 

The original show Cinderella was made by Rodgers and Hammerstein for television in the 1950s, making it the perfect selection for the Lamar production. Barbee, along with a dedicated crew of more than 81 people shared the Cinderella production over a three-night run last weekend.

The highly-anticipated musical ran for two hours, with one 15-minute intermission. The crew spent months preparing and the cast of 24 Lamar students worked both during school and after school almost every day since November to perfect their roles.

“When you have a lead role it can be easy to find your character’s personality, but when you are an assembly it can be challenging,” cast member Kaitlenn Le shares. “It was pretty hard to decide who my character was as a person, and how to play the role on stage to give my character depth.” Le played the role of a townsperson in Cinderella.

In addition to the major amount of time spent rehearsing, theater students also had to pivot due to an unexpected inconvenience. The show was heavily modified once the decision was made to transfer the production to Bowie High School, due to water damage in Lamar’s auditorium.

According to Barbee, Bowie turned out to be the perfect place for a musical once all the supplies arrived there.

“This event gives plenty of student’s stronger connection, and opportunities to have memorable moments with new people,” Barbee says. “I could not be more pleased with the way everything turned out. This production was amazing, and all of the challenges that we overcame made the experience very special. Lamar has so much talent!”