Synopsis
Act 1
Buttons welcomes the audience to the show, and introduces them to Cinderella. He tells of Cinderella's sad life, and how awful her Wicked Stepmother and stepsisters, Lucretia and Griselda, are to her, demonstrated when the Wicked Stepmother appears to give Cinderella a list of chores to do. Cinderella dreams of meeting a man who will love her, never realizing that her best friend, Buttons, is already in love with her. He almost manages to tell her, but is interrupted by the Ugly Stepsisters yelling for Cinderella, who quickly leaves on the pretext of gathering wood for the fire.
Lucretia and Griselda discuss their purchases in town, and introduce themselves to the audience. While this is going on, Dandini - Prince Charming's valet - arrives to invite all the ladies of the house to a ball the Prince is holding that night. Despite the Wicked Stepmother's best efforts, Buttons manages to get an invitation for Cinderella, as well.
Cut to the woods, where the Good Fairy appears to explain their purpose when it comes to the actual plot before promptly disappearing again. Cinderella is all alone in the woods, which keep changing every time she turns around, when she meets an old lady having difficulty gathering her own wood. Cinderella gives her some of her own kindling, and slips away before the old woman reveals that she is, in fact, the Good Fairy! Cinderella's kind act proves that she is a good person, and therefore the Good Fairy resolves to help her.
Elsewhere in the woods, Dandini is trying to buoy up Prince Charming's spirits with a little exercise, but the Prince is bored of life in general. Dandini suggests they switch clothes for the afternoon, so the Prince can find out what it's like being a commoner. While "in disguise", the Prince meets Cinderella, and they fall in love at first sight, their first kiss only interrupted when Buttons arrives to fetch Cinderella back to the house to help her stepsisters get ready for the ball.
Back at the house, Lucretia and Griselda are in their underwear, preparing themselves to dazzle the Prince. Cinderella enters in her best dress, and endures their spite, until Buttons arrives to tell them that the carriage is ready. The Wicked Stepmother is not prepared to let Cinderella show them up at the ball, and tears Cinders' best dress so she can't go at all.
When Buttons gets back from taking the Wicked Stepmother and her daughters to the ball, he finds Cinderella upset and unhappy, and tries to cheer her up without much success. He even tries to tell her he loves her, but that doesn't exactly go to plan. Left alone, Cinderella is in tears, but the Good Fairy appears to tell her that she shall go to the ball. A bit of magic and a posh frock later, the only thing missing is a horse to go with the carriage. Buttons is talked into being a horse for the night and is transformed - just as well, really, since the carriage the Good Fairy created is too big to go through the door, and Cinderella will have to ride.
With a warning that the spell will only last until the last stroke of midnight, when her clothes will turn to rags, the Good Fairy sends Cinderella off to the ball.
Act 2
The M.C. welcomes the audience to the ball, introducing each person as they arrive, including the Wicked Stepmother, Lucretia, and Griselda; an elderly man with a stick; the Swiss Family Robinson; and the Duke and Duchess of Rhy'Din. Lucretia and Griselda do their best to entice the Prince without much success, but the Wicked Stepmother seems to think they're doing very well indeed. Until Cinderella arrives, and the Prince only has eyes for her. They dance together, and share a kiss, but the clock strikes for midnight, and Cinderella must flee, leaving behind her only a single glass slipper.
Back at the house, presumably while still drunk from the ball, Lucretia and Griselda decide their home needs to be redecorated, resulting in a very messy little fight that might well spatter the front row!
Next morning, Buttons is back, feeling very strange having been a horse the night before. The Ugly Stepsisters are dreadfully hungover, but what is really bothering the Wicked Stepmother is the identity of the mysterious beauty the Prince kissed at the Ball last night. She confronts Cinderella, who is incapable of telling a decent lie, and discovers it was her. As Dandini and the Prince arrive, seeking the woman whose foot will fit the slipper left behind at the ball, the Wicked Stepmother imprisons Cinderella in a cupboard.
Lucretia and Griselda do everything they can to insist that the shoe fits them, but nothing works. The Prince and Dandini can hear Cinderella calling for help, and despite the Wicked Stepmother's attempts to distract them, Buttons rescues Cinderella. The Wicked Stepmother smashes the slipper in spite, but Cinderella has the other one. She tries it on, and it fits! And even Lucretia and Griselda have had enough of their mother by now - as the Wicked Stepmother tries to prevent a marriage between the Prince and Cinderella, they push her into the cupboard.
The Good Fairy appears to congratulate Cinderella on her rise in station, and the cast celebrates with a song.
((And now I know why I usually rip synopses from Wiki! That was harder than it looked! The link to the Youtube playlist that shows the panto this one is based firmly on can be found here. The audience is welcome to participate, but try not to trash my theater. :grin: Have fun with it, folks!))