Union County Theater Program students prepare “Cinderella”

Union County Theater Program students are rehearsing “Cinderella,” a modern musical comedy version of a 2,000 year-old love story. They will perform it next month on the stage of the Cine Theater in New Albany’s Magnolia Civic Center.

The earliest known version of the Cinderella story was recorded a few years before the birth of Christ. The heroine was a Greek courtesan named Rhodopis, who married the king of Egypt. The story was told in many languages over the centuries and was published by the Brothers Grimm in their 1812 book of fairly tales.

Disney Studios made the story a classic animated motion picture released in 1950.

The first musical comedy version was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for television and was performed live on CBS in 1957. It was the only musical they wrote for television and Cinderella was played by Julie Andrews.

This will be the ninth annual musical comedy performed by students in the Union County Theater Program. Students are drawn from all four campuses of the Union County Schools. The production is again under the direction of Clint Reed, who was hired by county schools Superintendent Kent Basil in 2008, and given the task of creating the only theater program of any county school system in Mississippi. It is still believed to be the only one.

The Union County Public Schools production of Cinderella will be presented at the Cine on October 20, 21 and 22, 2017.

Click here for more information about the theater program in the county schools: