Children’s theater is not like grown-up theater, said the director of “Cinderella, Cinderella,” which opens tonight at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center.

It’s a lot more interactive. In this one, they even get to come on stage, said Sue Jorgensen.

Children in the audience will get to be guests at the royal ball where Cinderella meets the Handsome Prince. They get to help Cinderella sweep the floor and clean the fireplace. They will make the “gong” noise of the clock striking midnight. They get to slap their thighs to represent the sound of running horses. They even get to wish Cinderella to the ball.

Even the grown-ups get in on the fun at the end when the prince finds his princess.

“The real fun is the participation,” Jorgensen said. “The is an opportunity for children to experience live theater.”

She said though summer cartoons are big in the movie theaters, nothing replicates the interaction of a stage performance. And many children, particularly girls, know the Cinderella story from the Disney movies, she said. She encouraged parents to bring their children to the performances.

The performance is a fundraiser for the local chapter of PEO, a woman-centered philanthropic organization. The proceeds go toward scholarships.

Jorgensen said it is the second play the PEO has sponsored as a way to raise funds. The first was two years ago with the production of “Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.”

She had the scripts for both plays leftover from a series of children’s plays the Albert Lea Community Theatre did back in the 1970s. The hope is that PEO will hold a fundraiser play every other summer, she said.

“Cinderella, Cinderella” is a classic for adults, too, Jorgensen added.

 

Tickets, please

What: “Cinderella, Cinderella”

Where: Marion Ross Performing Arts Center

When: 7 p.m. tonight, 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Saturday

How much: $10 each

 

Cast and crew

Cinderella Lisa Sturtz

Stepmother Katherine Pacovsky

Stepsister Denise Roxanne Irons

Stepsister Cecily Linda Opstad

Fairy Godmother Sue Jorgensen

King Glen Parsons

Duke Ferdinand Rory Mattson

Handsome Prince Stuart Ness

Director Sue Jorgensen

Stage Manager Karen Hendrickson

Music Eileen Nelson Ness

Costumes Rosalie Truax

Lights Brian Mattson