Cinderella Della Circus': Big-top puppet fairy tale

Arts and Culture

Center for Puppetry Arts' new show based on Cinderella, only this one is set under the big top.

THE NEW PUPPET SHOW "Cinderella Della Circus" at the Center for Puppetry Arts is about a lovely and kind young woman from a poor background who marries the prince of her dreams. But that's about all this new story has in common with one of the world's oldest and most frequently adapted fairy tales.

THIS CINDERELLA has big feet instead of tiny ones. And instead of just waiting around for her prince, she walks a tightrope and speaks in poetry. She's headstrong, sweet and a bit loony.

THE SHOW features about 20 string puppets, or marionettes. It's the first time since 1996 that the Center's main stage has had a show with puppets controlled by strings, as opposed to hands or rods. "We're going back to our roots," says artistic director Jon Ludwig (lower left).

FOUR PUPPETEERS work the marionettes, which have 11 to 12 strings each. Balancing the Cinderella marionette on an 8-foot tightrope is especially precise for puppeteers such as (clockwise from top left corner) Julie Scarborough, Amy Strickland, Reay Kaplan and Michael Heverty.

THE PUPPETS are all new and were designed for this show by the center's Jason von Hinezmeyer. They were carved in the center's shop from balsa wood, which is light and relatively strong. This one is "Pierrot."

LUDWIG DISCUSSES the new show with "Oliver," a misfit circus elephant who stutters and is very smart.

THE SHOW is designed to appeal to boys as well as girls. It has trick marionettes, circus animals like the "Fiji Mermaid" (part monkey, part mermaid) and even a rocket ship and a moon monster.

"MADAME BULLIE" is the scheming partner of legendary circus showman P.T. Barnum (who moonlights as a "fairy godmother" in the show). She acts like an evil stepmother to poor Cinderella.

"CORNELIA ZEBRACORN" (right) is a horse painted to look like a zebra. She's accompanied by "Petite Bullie."

LUDWIG WROTE AND DIRECTED "Cinderella Della Circus," which runs April 10-June 22 at the Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. Tickets: 404-873-3391.

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THE NEW PUPPET SHOW "Cinderella Della Circus" at the Center for Puppetry Arts is about a lovely and kind young woman from a poor background who marries the prince of her dreams. But that's about all this new story has in common with one of the world's oldest and most frequently adapted fairy tales.

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