'Rise Up! Cinderella!': New Play Meditates On Tumultuous 2 Years In North Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There is a one-of-a-kind show coming to Minneapolis this weekend.
It's a version of "Cinderella" that is personalized to what the residents of Minneapolis have been going through the past two years.
WCCO got a first look at the play and how it is captivating grief and hope. It's called "Rise Up! Cinderella!" But it doesn't exactly depict a fairy tale.
Minnika Warden, who plays Cinderella, lives in north Minneapolis.
"It's been different, you can tell the streets feel different. Like it doesn't feel normal anymore. It just doesn't feel like a home anymore," Warden said. "It just feels super broken. But I hope eventually we can actually get it back to healing as a whole again."
Tanya Eubanks created this play, an ode to what north Minneapolis has been through, and the hope for what's ahead.
"Things that have been happening to our community, just taken up our family members, our cars, just so much loss," Eubanks said. "It's time to bring healing back to our community, make us unified again, because it's so broken right now."
They do that through story and dance. LaTanya Janteya is the choreographer.
"Putting movement and a vision together, it's like magic, and it's like you get like the best of both worlds almost," Janteya said. "Not only are you healing from like the outside world, you're being able to like tell your story in that way, too."
They address that pain head-on, discussing COVID-19, carjackings, gun violence and the murder of George Floyd.
"His death stood for so much, you know? It was a gateway for us to be heard, a community," Eubanks said. "It didn't have to happen the way that it did, but it did. And it was a gateway for our city to receive the healing that we need."
And so, together, this local cast and crew will tell the story of how Cinderella and her city will rise up.
There is a production Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at the Lundstrum Performing Arts theater. Tickets are $10.
