Roger & Hammerstein become genuinely CMTS in the company’s exciting new take on the nostalgic musical “Cinderella.” Alex Aaronson and Leigh Gerber have burst the 1957 classic out of the closet and now present it to us as a portrait of the fifties—complete with girls in puffy skirts and a fairy godmother that might have been a smoky night-club queen in the Village before retiring to his or her cloud-top Jacuzzi. Expect to see Cinderella (Gloria Makino) in a gorgeous handmade gown with the prince (Zach Lundin) in sexy period grease.

“I’m so excited!” exclaims cast member Cristina Ramos, giving voice to the general buzz of anticipation shared by the entire cast and crew of over fifty. First time producer Alex Aaronson said she had never been among such a committed and enthusiastic team—within twenty four hours of the event appearing on facebook, the cast had already invited 1,500 of their friends and family.

But the path to staging this musical was not easy. Aaronson had a hard time securing funding in this tiresome economic climate—not to mention she had to deal with the characteristically unmoved administration of Columbia’s properties. The cast and crew will get Roone Auditorium for only 12 hours, during which they will organize lighting, staging and cues and then put the show on twice in a row. Aaronson calls it “Extreme Theater,” and takes it in stride.

Gerber and Aaronson made better than the best out of the situation—exciting sets by Erin Kennedy—and costumes, many of which were made from scratch by Sarah Karinja and Zoe Stanstead—will grace the actors’ performances, including that of a certain Fordham student playing the Dame Edna-esque godmother in drag.

Zach Aaronson, Alex’s brother, didn’t have the opportunity to live out his passion—musical theater—at Fordham so he came to Morningside Heights and got the part, thanks to the all-inclusive policies of CMTS. He knows no one could play the fairy godmother like him, and no one really has. It was a bold casting move—the creative team even thought of making the king and queen a same-sex couple at some point—but it highlights the knowing quality of Gerber’s vision.

Leigh Gerber is not the 1950s musical type. She’s spunky and direct, and she brought her personality to the production, cutting the tedious, dated stuff while retaining the timeless hope that Cinderella represents. “We’re so excited to give a traditional musical a big kick in the pants,” says Gerber.

Catch CMTS’ production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella in Roone Arledge at 8:00 pm and 11pm this Saturday.