Renato Rizzuti

The curtain rises to reveal a very clean but modest living room in an Eighteen Century house in Calabria. A pretty young girl named Cinderella is sweeping the floor. She pauses for a minute, leans on her broom and sings, “Oh che vita!/Oh che vita!/La casa a desere sempre pulita/Le suoru mia fanno na bella vita/Io devu fare tutti i servici/Mi tennanu cumu na persona di servici/Che mama bruta e malandrena/Me fa lavorare senza fina/O voliu essere liberatta/Di chista mama matta!” The English translation does not have a rhyme scheme of course but it translates as, “Oh what a life!/Oh what a life!/The house always needs to be cleaned/My sisters lead a life of leisure/I have to do all the chores/They keep me like a maid/What a terrible and selfish mother/She makes me work endlessly/Oh I wish I could be freed/From this crazy mother!”

You see, Cinderella’s mother had passed away and her father had married a widow with two daughters. Her stepmother did not like Cinderella and treated her daughters much better to the point of spoiling them with dresses and shoes. Nothing was too good for her own daughters and nothing was what she gave to Cinderella.

Cinderella starts sweeping the floor again as her two Stepsisters come dancing in. As they dance, they sing, “Tutti cose sunnu per nue/Nente cosi di tue/Nui mangiamu bene e ne faccimu grassa/Tu mange nente solu le ose!” This translates as. “Everything is for us/Nothing is for you/We eat well and get fat/You eat nothing only the bones!” Then they danced off the stage leaving Cinderella crying by the fireplace.

In the next scene, Cinderella is again talking to the Cat which is what she is used to doing for many long hours. Cinderella said to the Cat, “Gatta mia, che cosi pensi da mia situazione? The translation is, “My dear Cat, what do you think of my situation?” The Cat replied, “Non ti preoccupare, tu si bella! Ma le suoru tue puru che si vestannu belle sonnu sempre brute!” This translates as, “Do not be preoccupied! Even if your sisters dress in beautiful dresses, they will always be ugly!” Cinderella smiled a weak smile. The cat proceeded to sing Cinderella a song. As the Cat sang, Cinderella broke out in a genuine smile. Some of the lyrics of the Cat’s song were, “Tu si bella comu na rosa/I sorelle sonu brute cose/A bellezza e na cosa di tantu valore/A bruttezza e na cosa che fa dolore.” The translation is, “You are beautiful like a rose/ Your sisters are ugly things/Beauty is a thing of great value/Ugliness is a thing that causes pain.”

It is morning in the next scene. A delivery type man comes dancing on to the stage carrying two dresses and singing, “U ballu, u ballu, u ballu!/Qiste sunu e belle veste/Per na bella festa!” This translates as, “The ball, the ball, the ball!/These are the beautiful dresses/For the beautiful feast!” Cinderella enters the scene and signs for the dresses. The delivery man goes dancing off. Cinderella’s Stepmother enters the scene, sees the dresses and starts singing, “Qiste sunu e veste per le mie belle figlie/Tu sta a casa ca non si la mia figlia!” This translates as, “These are the dresses for my beautiful daughters/You stay home because you are not my daughter!” You see, the King was having a ball and Cinderella’s Stepsisters were going while Cinderella had to stay home to do housework. The Stepmother leaves the stage and Cinderella starts to cry. The Cat sings to her, “Povera ragazza!/Mamate e pazza!” This translates as, “Poor girl!/Your mother is crazy!”

The next scene takes place in Cinderella’s bedroom. Cinderella is sitting on the edge of her bed crying. Suddenly, the whole stage is lit up with a brilliant white light and a Fairy Godmother appears and sings, “Bella non piangere piu!/A il ballu va anche tu!” This translates as, “My dear do not cry any more!/To the ball also you will go!” Cinderella asks how she can go to the ball dressed in rags. The Fairy Godmother waves her magic wand and suddenly Cinderella is dressed in a beautiful gown! Then the Fairy Godmother instructs Cinderella to get a large zucchini to use as a coach so she could get to the ball. Cinderella rushes off to the kitchen to get one. Then the Fairy Godmother asks the Cat to bring her seven live mice. The Cat then rushes off to get the mice. The lights then fade to black.

In this scene, Cinderella rushes in with the big zucchini and the Cat rushes in with seven live mice he caught in the cellar. The Fairy Godmother makes another spectacular entrance and waves her magic wand. Suddenly the zucchini turns into a red coach with yellow trim. Six mice turn into six white horses and the seventh mouse turns into a coachman dressed in a sharp looking uniform to drive the coach. The Fairy Godmother then warns Cinderella to come back home before midnight because by then the magic will wear off and things will be transformed back to normal. Cinderella is overcome with emotion and sings, “Che notte prodigiosou e meravigliosu!/Qista e veramente na bella cose!” This translates as, “What a stupendous and marvelous night!/This is really a beautiful thing!”

The next scene opens on the magnificent ball. It is five minutes to midnight and Cinderella is enjoying a dance with the Prince. Suddenly, Cinderella remembers what the Fairy Godmother had said about returning before midnight. Cinderella panics and abruptly leaves the Prince and goes rushing down the exit stairs. As she runs, she loses one of her slippers but does not dare to stop to pick it up. What a spectacle it would be if the stroke of midnight sounded and Cinderella was transformed back to her previous wardrobe of rags! Cinderella rushes out and the lights fade to black.

The next scene opens in the morning at the castle. The Prince is holding the slipper that Cinderella left behind. The Prince then sings to the Royal Ministers of the court, “Io sonu inamoratu di qista raggazza bella/Va videre a chi la scarpa po mettere, a quale

Calabrisella!” This translates as, “I am enamoured of this beautiful girl/Go and see which Calabrese girl fits the shoe!” The scene quickly changes and opens on a long line of young women who were at the ball that night. They are sitting end to end from one end of the stage to the other. The Royal Ministers of the court are making their way down the line singing, “Scarpa, scarpa, scarpa, a chinu le cape la scarpa?” This translates as, “Slipper, slipper, slipper, who fits the slipper?” They tried on the slipper all the way down the line until only Cinderella was left right at the end of the line. At that point, Cinderella’s Stepmother, who was watching the proceedings starts to sing, “Ma non e possibile che le cape la scarpa a qista bruta /Le figlie mie sonu piu belle che non po disputa!” This translates as, “It is not possible that the slipper will fit this ugly girl/My daughters are much more beautiful and that you cannot dispute!” So they tried the slipper on Cinderella’s foot. It fit! Everybody on stage let out a collective gasp and the lights go down.

The scene continues in a flash of light as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother comes swooping down onto the stage. Cinderella magically was transformed into a young and beautiful girl wearing a gown that was fashioned by the hottest Court Designer named Oscar De Le Genta. The Stepmother and the Stepsisters were left with their mouths hanging open! The Royal court Ministers started to sing, “Vene con noi ca ta asspetta u Principu/Quindi po continuare il romanzu!” This translates as, “Come with us because the Prince is waiting for you/Therefore you can continue your romance!”

The last scene is the grand finale. The Prince and Cinderella have gotten married and they are dancing their first dance at the wedding reception. All the guests start to sing, “E vive i sposi, e vive i sposi!/Vi auguriamu tante belle cose!” This translates as, “Hurray for the married couple, hurray for the married couple!/We wish them many wonderful things!” Everybody then joins in the dance. They are all dancing the night away as the curtain slowly closes.

The End!