Cinderella: The Real True Story in residency at MASS MoCA

MASS MoCA hosts a residency for the creative team of Cinderella: The Real True Story from May 29 through June 6, 2015. Composer, lyricist, and book writer Holly Gewandter; director Darren Katz; choreographer Jennifer Weber; associate musical director Ian Axness; and a cast of eight performers explore the visual storytelling aspect of this gender-twisted, cross-dressed, cross-cast new musical based on the fairytale classic. The artists’ ten-day residency culminates in a presentation open to the public on Saturday, June 6.

In Gewandter’s reimagining of the quintessential romantic fable, Cinderella goes to the ball disguised as a man, and the Princess falls in love with her. This groundbreaking love story between two women who risk everything for each other ultimately delivers its timely message: “Lovers all deserve to have their Happily Ever Afters.”

“MASS MoCA’s residency program offers a unique opportunity for us to develop specific sections of the show,” said Holly Gewandter who wrote the music, lyrics, and book. “We’ll be focused on the opening, ball scenes, and ‘quest’ sequence,” explains director Darren Katz, who will be working with choreographer Jennifer Weber to devise a visual language based on movement and dance that confounds gender assumptions and expectations.

The Cinderella: The Real True Story residency at MASS MoCA is part of a unique program that supports contemporary performing artists in the creation of new work by giving them a springboard from which to create and explore developing works. Since opening in 1999, MASS MoCA has become one of the world’s premier centers for making and showing the best art of our time. Indoor performing spaces include a 10,000 sq ft black box and a 200-seat Club space. With annual attendance of 120,000, it ranks among the most visited institutions in the United States dedicated to new art. More than 80 major new works of art and more than 50 performances have been created through fabrication and rehearsal residencies in North Adams, making MASS MoCA perhaps the most fertile site in the country for new art. The museum thrives on making and presenting work that is fresh, surprising, and challenging.