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State of the Arts takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Prince Charming, from a lavish production of the musical “Cinderella,” to a feminist filmmaker who has her own take on the guy on the white horse, to an exhibit that explores whether clothes really do make the man. The lure and lore of Prince Charming on this edition of State of the Arts.
cinderella
In the fall of 2005, The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey presented an updated version of the classic fairy tale in which Cinderella isn't just passively waiting for Prince Charming, and the Prince himself wants to escape from his own isolated perfection. State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards went behind the scenes of this new production of the 1957 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, to see how the magic works. Angela Gaylor stars as Cinderella, Maplewood resident Suzzanne Douglas plays the fairy godmother, and Rutgers graduate Paolo Montalban plays the prince.
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Angela Gaylor in the title role of "Cinderella"
Angela Gaylor as Cinderella and Paolo Montalban as The Prince at the Ball in "Cinderella"
The Glass Slipper Fits: Paolo Montalban as The Prince and Angela Gaylor as Cinderella
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so, where’s my prince already?
State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa presents a profile of alternative filmmaker Ardele Lister, whose 1976 film “So Where’s My Prince Already?” is a look at fairy-tale romance after the “happily ever after” wedding. As an aspiring filmmaker in 1970s Vancouver, Lister confronted two major problems: few women role models and virtually no Canadian film industry. So it's not surprising that culture and identity are major themes in the films and videos she's directed, produced, and written over the past quarter century. Now an associate professor at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, Lister is continues to explore the politics of identity through her work in “time-based media.” Her works have been shown internationally in festivals, galleries, museums, and on television, and are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Academie der Kunst (Berlin), and the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa).
 watch more of ardele lister’s films
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Film and Video Maker Ardele Lister
Film and Video Maker Ardele Lister
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royal robes
What about an African version of Prince Charming? State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards found out what he might wear--when she visited the Newark Museum's 2005-06 show "Power Dressing: Men's Fashion and Prestige in Africa." In the first exhibition of its kind in America, the Museum brought together 50 spectacular examples of male attire from across the continent, from Morocco to South Africa, representing over a century of fashion. We'll see how an African ruler identifies himself by the sheer size and visual splendor of his ceremonial ensemble, which includes not only clothes but also jewelry, headgear, footwear, hand-held and other accessories.
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Crown, 20th century
Ghana; Asante
Wood, velvet, cotton, gold leaf
Robe of the Déjì of Akure, late 19th- early 20th century
Akure, Ekiti region, Nigeria; Yoruba
Cotton, velvet, beads
Embroidered Tunic, ca. 1990s
Djenne, Mali; Bozo or Fulani
Cotton, embroidery floss
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the beast
State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz goes behind the scenes at the American Repertory Ballet’s (ARB) new production of the classic fairy tale, “Beauty and the Beast.” Choreographer and ARB Artistic Director Graham Lustig has created a major new work for children and families, “Beauty and the Beast – A Gothic Romance.” Based on Madam Le Prince De Beaumont’s story, Lustig has set the ballet in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the 1820s with the Jersey Devil is the beast. The ballet is set to the string music of Rossini, written in the 1820s when Rossini was 12 years old. Lustig says that “Beauty and the Beast” is the classic fable exploring the contrast between inner and outer beauty.
watch the pas de deux from beauty and the beast
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American Repertory Ballet’s
Beauty and the Beast
American Repertory Ballet’s
Beauty and the Beast
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