When Jade Lim looks out into the audience next month as Cinderella, she dreams of a sea of boys and girls.
And maybe even a few in costumes.
The Grade 11 student is cast in the lead role of Ella in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, a production by Heritage Woods secondary that opens next Friday at the Port Moody high school.
A total of 48 musical theatre students are in the show that’s based on the original French tale, which the American duo turned into a TV platform for Julie Andrews in 1957 and, in 2013, became a Broadway hit.
It’s not the lovey-dovey Disney version they’re interpreting, Lim insists.
Rather, “it’s an important story for boys and girls to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams,” she said last week during a rehearsal.
Her Prince Topher, portrayed by Grade 12 student Marcus Jung, is not her “Charming” but her equal.
Jung said he auditioned for the role last fall because “I liked that it’s a meeting of the minds between Topher and Ella. I really thought he’s an interesting character. Topher wants to make a difference in the world around him and he wants Ella by his side.”
Directed by Shanda Walters and Zelda Coertze — with choreography by Coertze and Keely Callander McLennan — Cinderella follows the story of the two orphans from distinct backgrounds.
The prince is advised by Lord Chancellor Sebastian, played by Michaela Susin (in a regal costume stitched by her mother, Sabrina Susin) while Ella is advised by her revolutionary friend Jean-Michel (Ricardo Gutierrez).
But Ella’s plans are often interrupted by her step-mother (Kendra Cordick) and step-sisters, Gabriella (Kate Wilson) and Charlotte (Mazzy Johnson).
Meanwhile, at the palace, Sebastian and his henchman, Lord Pinkleton (Aden Auyeung), plan for a ball to find Topher a bride; Ella appears incognito but loses her glass slipper as she rushes away at midnight.
A search party ensues to find the girl in the white gown who won the prince’s heart.
Lim, who played Sherrie Christian in last year’s Rock of Ages at Heritage Woods and was in the ensemble for All Shook Up, said she studied the Broadway show and attended the Theatre Under the Stars presentation last summer.
Getting to play Ella as a positive role model for boys and girls “is quite overwhelming,” said Lim, who is in the school’s vocal jazz ensemble and concert choir. “But the whole thing has been just magical. It teaches you that when you have a challenge, you have to pick yourself up, be patient and move on.”
“It’s just a beautiful story,” Walters said. “It’s about insecurities and having to overcome them.”
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella runs May 3, 4, 10 and 11 at Heritage Woods secondary (1300 David Ave., Port Moody). Tickets are $12/$10 at the door on show nights or by calling 604-461-8679.
