By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@thecitizennews.com

There is a time in every girl's life, when she wishes she were a princess.

The refined aspects of a princess's life, proper manners, and the opulent life-style of wealth are appealing to girls, as are many of the fairy tales that are told.

Starting Feb. 3, the Southside Theater Guild will present “The Little Princess,” the story of a little girl who goes from riches to rags before being rescued by her friends.

The cast of this musical production is a rather large 24, 15 of which are teenage girls. The majority of the cast is made up of Fayette County residents and many of the girls have worked with Fayette Community Theater from a very young age. The play's director, Eileen Baldwin, has been working with the Southside Theater Guild for more than five years, while also serving as musical director for FCT since 1993.

Baldwin has not had any problems handling the cast size, explaining that she is used to casts of over 60 for the summer musical productions with FCT.

“The cast is very disciplined and experienced,” explains Baldwin. “I've known most of the girls since they were little. Everybody makes a good effort and the attitude is really relaxed and fun.”

The story of “A Little Princess” focuses on a young girl, Sara Crewes, who is the daughter of an English soldier and has been raised in India. Her father brings her to Miss Minchin's School for Girls in New York and Sara is a favorite at the school.

Her comfortable life-style soon changes when her father disappears and she is penniless. Rather than send Sara out in the street as an orphan, Miss Minchin relegates her to the attic to work as a servant. Here Sara and the maid, Becky, become allies.

So far the biggest challenges facing the production have been the weather and the music for the show. There are eight songs and a few dance numbers in the production. It took a lot of time to match the music with the show and now the numbers are among of the strengths of the show.

“Our biggest strength is the team work of the cast and crew,” says Baldwin. “Without each other, the show wouldn't fly. Everybody is putting in a lot of hours and 110 percent into their jobs.” Baldwin is surprised at the lack of complaints and stress. “It really renews your faith in people and makes the whole production fun.”

“A Little Princess” will be performed Feb. 3-17 with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For information and to make reservations phone Southside Theater Guild at 770-969-0956.

Their next production will be Fiddler on the Roof. Auditions will be at the theater Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. The auditions will consist of cold readings and a singing audition. Fifteen men and 15 women will be cast.

For information, phone 770-969-0956.

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