Cinderella Ice Cream Seller at the Story Museum’s Woodshed Theatre 21 – 31 December By Jon Lewis A Sweet Confection Cinderella Ice Cream Seller, David Gibb’s modernised version of the Cinderella story, takes place, not surprisingly, in an ice cream parlour. The business is managed by the officious, decent, rule-following Caldwell (Gibb) and his long-suffering, more inspirational assistant Talvi (Lauren Harthorpe) who dreams of adding her own recipes to the menu board. Caldwell wants the menus to be faithful to Cinderella’s original recipes.
This Little Seeds Music musical, ably directed by Tristan Jackson-Pate, follows the pattern of the company’s previous show for children, Luna Loves Library Day, with short scenes intercut with well-crafted, hummable songs. The stand-out number, Something That’s Bigger Than Me, would not be out of place in a Disney movie. Catchy and immensely tuneful, it’s a song that is almost bigger than the show, suggesting that Gibbs has the talent for his work to be heard by a wider audience.
Harthorpe has a fine bluesy voice and performs the early songs as if Talvi’s dreaming of New Orleans instead of a suburban café selling ice creams. The counter hides a piano, and later in the show, a banjo and a guitar become part of these actor-musicians’ toolkit. There’s plenty of interaction with the audience.
One scene requires a child from the audience to hang up some colourful bunting flags but the hooks are too high up to be reached. T.
