As a child, one of my favorite musicals was 1997's Cinderella. Starring Brandy Norwood and the late great Whitney Houston, the movie musical not only made me fall in love with musicals, but was one of the first pieces of media that made me feel magical as a Black person. Now, as an adult, I've discovered Cinderella's magic anew with Starkid Productions' original musical Cinderella's Castle.
Founded in 2009 by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Nick Lang, and Matt Lang, Team Starkid — a.k.a. Starkid Productions — is a musical theatre company that rose to fame after the success of A Very Potter Musical, a musical parody of the Harry Potter series. Since then, Team Starkid has gone on to create sixteen stage musicals, including other musical parodies such as 2014's Ani: A Parody (inspired by Star Wars) and original stage musicals such as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Cinderella's Castle.
One notable aspect of Cinderella's Castle is that it is a darker take on Cinderella's story. It tells the story of Ella Ashmore (played brilliantly by Bryce Charles), whose once noble house has fallen into ruin. Now, Ella Ashmore is a prisoner in her own home, at the mercy of her wicked stepmother (played boldly by Angela Giarratana) and stepsisters Putrice Ashmore (Mariah Rose Faith Casillas) and Rancilda Ashmore (Lauren Lopez). Unbeknownst to everyone but Ella, the stepmother and stepsisters are trolls wearing suits of human skin, plotting a scheme to cast the world of humans into eternal darkness. It takes tragedy and fury to awaken a magical being that will grant Ella's wish of vengeance.
Originally, Cinderella's Castle was performed last summer and filmed live onstage at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles. Following this, the musical was released as a digital download on March 21, 2025 and later made available to watch on YouTube. The cast recording was also made available to purchase on March 3, 2025. Given how expensive theatre tickets are, making Cinderella's Castle available to stream and digitally own DRM-free enables it to be accessible to those unable to attend the live performances.
Moreover, watching the musical performed live allows you to appreciate the different components of musical theatre. In the case of Cinderella Castle, there are not only the performers and the musical numbers, but also costumes and puppetry. For me personally, Bryce Charles was the standout performer. She added depth to Cinderella's character with her soulful vocals and her righteous fury. Both of these traits coalesce brilliantly in one of Bryce Charles' solo songs, "Step On Your Grave," a bluesy number that sees Cinderella expressing her desire to see her troll of a stepmother dead. "Cause I wish you nothin' but defeat and I want nothin' for you but the least" she sings.
All too often, Black women are expected to stifle their anger to be palatable, especially when when their anger is justified. To see a Black Cinderella spare a frog's life and then express her anger towards her Stepmother through song showed me that it is possible to be kind while also feeling angry and resentful. Sometimes, I am angry because because I have spent my 20s and almost half of my 30s being a caregiver to a parent that I have a complicated relationship with. Yet I still remain kind and dutiful to honor not only my late father's memory, but also for the sake of the good memories I've managed to have with my mother in between bad ones. Cinderella's personal trauma and pain resonated with my own, albeit in a different way. Instead of the grave of a person, the "grave" I want to step on are those of my personal demons — especially ones created by the "curse" of mental illness.
In fact, this desire is not only embodied in "Step On Your Grave," but also Cinderella's other songs "Cursed Crazy" and "Ever After." While the former has Cinderella lamenting her circumstances while wishing someone would help her, the latter has her wondering if she can be happy as she starts to realize her own power, using blessings from the Fairy Queen (played by the awe-inspiring Kim Whalen). Together, these songs create a powerful character arc that has Cinderella reclaiming the joy that she is entitled to.
Not only does Bryce Charles' Cinderella have some of the best songs, but she also has some of the best costumes in the show. Her most standout costume is the gown she wears to the ball, a green dress made of stars that glows in the dark. To me, this gown embodies Cinderella's resilient spirit — a spirit that remains steadfast despite relentless suffering. Other notable costumes are that of The Stepmother and her daughters Putrice and Rancilda, whose looks remind me of the witches in Hocus Pocus.
As the stepmother and evil stepsisters, the wicked performances of Giarratana, Casillas, and Lopez stand in sharp contrast to Charles' Cinderella. They embody evil, braggadocio, and sexiness in a way that's very cunty. This is displayed especially well in the song "Facade," where they brazenly proclaim, "I look good in this, my facade won't let me down." In addition, Casillas and Lopez's performances as the stepsisters are distinct from their secondary roles as Cinderella's kindhearted childhood friends, Justine and Lucy. Although Justine and Lucy only appear briefly, their heartwarming musical number with Cinderella, "Last Forever," gives the audience further reason to emotionally invest in Cinderella's plight.
Supplementing the human cast is puppetry reminiscent of something from a Jim Henson movie. In particular, the puppet for the frog knight Sir-Hop-A-Lot (Jon Matteson) and his mouse squire Crumb (Joey Richter) is strongly reminiscent of Labyrinth's charming fox-terrier knight Sir Didymus and his sheep steed Ambrosius. Another fun use of puppetry is through the character Ragweed Rockhammer, a dwarven friend of The Narrator (Jeff Blim) who will occasionally provide amusing commentary on the events.
With a stellar cast of characters, magical costumes, and delightful puppetry, Cinderella's Castle is a stage musical with few flaws. I did take some issue with how The Prince's character was handled. Played fantastically by James Tolbert, he is a misogynistic and vulgar twist on Cinderella's traditional Prince Charming love interest. While this isn't a bad thing, his character might disappoint some viewers who go into the musical with romantic expectations.
Ultimately, Cinderella's Castle is what my adult self needs right now. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but sometimes you also get angry and vengeful. Cinderella's Castle, especially Bryce Charles' Cinderella, burns with passion and righteous fury that's beautiful like starlight.
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