A Cinderella Celebration: Mary Hamilton Brings you Around the World with Cinderella

You’ve heard of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, but what about the magic fish, the magic doll, or the grandfather frog that help the Cinderellas in other cultures? You’ll hear about all these, plus a Cinderella who needs no assistance from anyone in Around the World with Cinderella at the Indy Fringe Festival.

Yes, a Cinderella celebration is part of this year’s Indy Fringe, featuring a multicultural mashup of eleven traditional Cinderella tales from Chile, Russia, France, China, Republic of Georgia, Germany, Nigeria, Ireland, and three North American cultures – New World Spanish, Native American MicMac, and Appalachian, presented by award-winning storyteller Mary Hamilton.

The idea for the multicultural Cinderella mashup portion of the Around the World with Cinderella show - a story titled “Eleven Cinderellas” - developed when Hamilton answered a storytelling colleague’s listserve inquiry asking for suggestions for a story she could tell at her church’s mingling of the waters ceremony. In the ceremony members of the storyteller’s church mixed vials of water collected during  their travels apart to celebrate their coming together again to begin a new church year. Hamilton suggested the storyteller might want to retell one common fairy tale using variants from several different cultures.  Hamilton says, “I have no idea what the teller did for her church ceremony, but as I sat at my keyboard typing my reply to her, I talked myself into trying it with Cinderella.”

Months and months of research, reading and studying many versions of hundreds of traditional Cinderella tales followed. “Like most people I was familiar with the French version because that’s the source both Walt Disney and Rodgers & Hammerstein most relied on for their animated film and Broadway musical versions of the tale,” Hamilton said, “It would have been easy to create an all-European version of the story, but I wanted more variety, so I searched out versions from lots of different cultures.”

Hamilton also studied multiple versions from the same culture to better ascertain the details that really were traditional. Hamilton explained, “Each reteller of a folktale – whether in an anthology or a single story edition or on a website – often incorporates his or her own unique rewording of the tale in the retelling. That wording belongs to that reteller. By looking at multiple retellings of the same story, I could determine what they have in common. For example, the Chinese Cinderella wears a cloak of feathers – different retellers have specified different types of feathers, but all agree the cloak is made of feathers.” Why does this matter? “I don’t even want to guess the additional time, energy and possible dollars I would have spent securing publisher permissions if I had relied on single editions of any cultural versions.  As a result of her extensive research, only one segment, from “Ashpet” the Appalachian Cinderella required permission – kindly granted by Houghton Mifflin, publisher of Grandfather Tales, a collection by Richard Chase.

The result? “‘Eleven Cinderellas’ is a storytelling tour de force,” said Ted Parkhurst, President of Parkhurst Brothers Publishing, Inc. who heard Mary’s “Eleven Cinderellas” debut at the Azalea Storytelling Festival in LaGrange, Georgia.   “Eleven Cinderellas” is also one of three stories Hamilton recorded on her CD Sisters All . . . and One Troll featuring stories of active heroines. Yes, Active heroines! Cinderella is not passively dressed by birds and mice in traditional versions! The CD received both a Storytelling World Winner Award in the Storytelling Recordings category and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award.  About “Eleven Cinderellas” Parents’ Choice reviewer Flora Joy wrote: “Brilliantly crafted, the segments work like blocks of a quilt: individual works of art that make up a whole. Here, Hamilton chooses to place her stories emphasis not on the stereotypical 'wicked stepmother' but rather on the inner character of the struggling stepdaughter as she encountered difficulties during her journey."

But the multicultural Cinderella mashup is only one part of Around the World with Cinderella. Hamilton also relies on memories of “Cinderella, dressed in yella” a jump rope rhyme from her childhood with both school yard sanctioned and school yard banned versions. Yes, she includes both.

Guys won’t feel left out of in this show either because a Cinderlad – Boots, the put-down youngest brother hero from Norwegian folklore -- also receives star status in a tale that includes a rather determined and lusty princess.

Wordplay takes the stage too when Hamilton spoonerizes Cinderella into “Rindercella”. Hamilton readily admits “Rindercella” is not her unique creation, “I’ve heard lots of versions – all including Rindercella, the Pransome Hince, and a slopped dripper.”  That’s Cinderella, the Handsome Prince and a dropped slipper, for those unfamiliar with spoonerisms -- wordplay based on swapping initial sounds named after Reverend William Spooner who is said to have created them unintentionally.  Hamilton reports, “I had fun creating my own spoonerisms and deciding which ones to use. “

So, will the Gairy Fodmother turn a cat into a roach driver? Or, will the Pransome Hince vow to find his true love or trie dying?  Find out when you and Cinderella go on the road together at Around the World with Cinderella at the Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre in The Phoenix, 749 N Park Avenue, Indianapolis, 46202 at the Indy Fringe Festival.

Who Is Mary Hamilton?

A professional storyteller since 1983, Mary’s childhood storytelling adventures led to a note on her report card and frequent trips to her church confessional. After growing up on a Kentucky farm where storytelling was considered more of a moral failing than a career choice, Mary now has multiple awards for her storytelling recordings to her credit and has been honored by the National Storytelling Network with  a Circle of Excellence Oracle Award “presented to artists who are recognized by their peers to be master storytellers who set the standards for excellence and have demonstrated, over a significant period of time, a commitment and dedication to the art of storytelling."

She has told stories to listeners from Florida to Alaska, including performances for Storytelling Arts of Indiana.  This is her first ever Fringe Festival adventure.

For years Mary confessed her storytelling sins and struggled to overcome her talent. Fortunately, she failed.  Find out more at her website www.maryhamilton.info from  http://www.storynet.org/oracle/index.html  website of the National Storytelling Network.

Performance Details for this show: 
Phoenix Theatre 
Saturday, August 20, 1:30; 
Sunday, August 21, 10:30
; Monday, August 22, 7:30; 
Thursday, August 26, 6:00
; Sunday, August 28, 7:30 
Box office: 317-721-9458 
Tickets also available at www.indyfringe.org