‘The Other Cinderella’ still the hippest fairy tale in town

Jackie Taylor, founder and artistic director of the Black Ensemble Theater, launched her company in 1976 with her production of “The Other Cinderella.” Now, 40 years later, the musical (which she has continually tweaked over the years) remains what might just be the hippest, funniest version of the fairy tale you will encounter anywhere. Disney, it most definitely is not, and that alone is a good reason to cheer.

Written by Taylor, co-directed by Taylor and Reuben Echoles and featuring songs by Taylor and Michael Ward, the show is a zesty, class-conscious, pop-culture-infused, African-American take on the classic that brings “the hood,” the upwardly mobile black working class, and royalty together for the storytelling.

A cast of surefire BET veterans, backed by the usual galvanic music direction of Robert Reddrick and his onstage band, do the rest. Along the way, there is much laughter, some biting satire and even a bit of princely psychology as the actors tear up the stage with their rollicking portrayals of characters who are familiar yet freshly imagined.

The mischief starts even before the official start of the play as a trio of hipsters in dashikis and fancy sneakers call out to each other across the audience and make you wonder just what they’re up to. As it happens, they are contestants in the royal family’s lottery, and one of them (a hilarious turn by elastic-limbed comedian Kyle Smith) will win the job of Page and will go on to inject a bit of social media awareness into the kingdom.

The problem at hand is this: The Prince (a subtle and touching turn by Mark J.P. Hood) hasn’t been able to find a wife to his liking and seems skittish about marrying. Despite the patient approach of his mother, the Queen (the formidable Shari Addison), his demanding father, the King (an aptly authoritarian Dwight Neal), is determined to have him make a match. To bring together all possible contenders for wife, the King sends out a kingdom-wide invitation to a ball.

Of course, Cinderella (Jessica Seals in a winningly real and understated turn) longs to go. But this “girl from the projects,” who works tirelessly as a maid for a selfish, age-conscious Stepmother (the always enjoyable Rhonda Preston), and two mean, material-girl Stepsisters — Geneva (Melanie McCullough) and Margarite (Miciah Long) — is flatly denied the opportunity and promised just a few “souvenirs” from the event.

Yet once her vulgar “family” is on its way, help and a big dose of confidence arrive in the form of a Fairygodmama — the winningly seductive Kylah Frye as a Jamaican beauty who moves to a reggae beat and supplies glittery shoes that inspire a very funny quip about Payless Shoes.

You know the rest of the story. Suffice to say there are some surprises along the way, including a visit by that white girl, Dorothy (Paige Hauer), of Oz fame. Brandon Lavell and Henry Slater are full of energy as Smith’s pals, with Trequon Tate as an attendant.

As ever, the voices are distinctive and clarion all around. And the show’s score sends its messages — whether conjuring the mean-spirited (as in “Wash Them Walls”), the value of friendship (“The Brother from the Hood”) or the importance of being true to oneself (“Soon Enough,” “The Spirit Inside of Me,” “Who I Am”) — with heart and wit.

Michael Courier