Cinderella Around the World
by Jenny Kidd

In this original musical for young children, Cinderella travels to all seven continents trying to leave her problems behind her.  The story line has been adapted from folk tales from each continent, and the original lyrics are to be sung to songs in the public domain.  Please feel free to use this in your school or classroom, but please remember to give proper credit to the author.  Enjoy!

 

Characters and Setting for Each Scene:

Scene 1 - Europe
In a forest with trees
Narrator, Deer 1, Deer 2, Deer 3, Cinderella, Raccoon 1, Raccoon 2, Squirrel

Scene 2 - North America
in Canada with the Sioux tribe, teepee
Narrator, Squirrel, Cinderella, Stepsister 1, Stepsister 2

Scene 3 - South America
in Brazil in the rain forest
Narrator, Mayan brave 1, Mayan brave 2, Mayan brave 3, Mayan brave 3, Cinderella, Hummingbird

Scene 4 - Asia
in China in a home with a paper screen and mat on the floor
Narrator, Stepmother, Stepsister 1, Stepsister 2, Cinderella, Fish bones

Scene 5 - Antarctica
at a Penguin ball - decorations of glittery snowflakes
Narrator, Penguin 1, Penguin 2, Cinderella, Penguin Prince

Scene 6 - Africa
in Uganda in a jungle outside a grass hut
Narrator, Native 1, Native 2, Native 3, Native 4, Cinderella, Prince

Scene 7 - Australia
in the outback with Ayers Rock in the background
Narrator, Prince/Chief, Cinderella, Kangaroo, preacher, Assorted Australian animals (kangaroo, wombat, emu, frilled lizard, platypus, koala)

Scene 1 - Europe in French woods

(Cinderella, 3 Deer, 2 Raccoons are on stage in the woods)

Narrator: Once upon a time there lived a girl named Cinderella. She lived in France, which is a country in Europe. One day she was in the forest talking to her animal friends.

Cinderella: Oh, dear animal friends, I am so sad!

Deer 1 : Why are you so sad?

Cinderella : I am thinking of my mother and how much I miss her.

Song “How Sad I Am” (to the tune of “How Dry I Am”)

(Cinderella solo) How sad I am, How sad I’ll stay.
I miss my Mommy, every day.

If she were here, She’d hug me tight,
And tell me everything’s alright.

(Chorus) How sad she is, How sad she’ll stay.
If she stays sad, Most every day.

She’ll have to learn, That problems come,
When we face them, We make gloom run!

Raccoon 1 : Well, you have a stepmother and two stepsisters now.

Cinderella : I know, but they don’t love me like my mother did. I wish I could have something of mother’s to keep!

Squirrel: (coming on stage holding a necklace with a tag attached to it)
Cinderella, I was burying some nuts in a corner of your house and found this. What is it?

Cinderella: It’s a beautiful necklace!

Deer 2 : There’s a tag on it. What does it say?

Cinderella: (looking at the tag and reading it ) It says, “To Cinderella. Since I won’t be with you I am leaving this magic necklace to help you learn to solve your problems. All my love, Mother”

Raccoon 2: How can a necklace teach you anything?

Squirrel: That must be the magic part.

Deer 3: Put it on, Cinderella! (She puts the necklace on.)

Cinderella: It looks lovely, but it didn’t solve my problem!

Scene 2 - North American Sioux tribe

(Players leave the stage as the scene changes to a Sioux tribe with a teepee and a campfire. Cinderella and Squirrel enter while the narrator is introducing the scene.   Cinderella is dressed as a ragged Sioux maid and Raccoon is still in normal costume. She walks up to the campfire with Squirrel and sits down in front of the fire. She looks around and scratches her head before speaking.)

Narrator: Cinderella didn’t know it, but the necklace had special powers. Every time the person wearing the necklace said the word “problem” the necklace would take them to another continent. When she said that word, “problem”, the magic necklace took Cinderella and Squirrel to a new place. Now she is a Sioux maiden living in North America.

Squirrel: What happened, Cinderella?

Cinderella: I don’t know. I am in a different place and my clothes and home have changed!

Squirrel: Look! Here comes your stepsisters. (Hopefully) Maybe they have changed, too!
(Stepsisters walk on stage and walk up to Cinderella and the fire. They put their hands on their hips and speak hatefully to Cinderella in a scolding manner.)

Stepsister 1: Oh, you lazy sister, you have almost let the fire go out. Put more wood on that fire to keep it burning!

Stepsister 2: Look at the beautiful necklaces and moccasins father gave us . We are truly beautiful!

Song “Look At Me” (sung to the tune “Little Brown Jug”)
(Stepsister 1 ) Ho, ho, ho, Look at me.
I’m as fancy as can be.
(Stepsister 2 ) Ha, ha, ha, I am too.
Father loves us more than you!

(Chorus) They are grand, that is true,
But they are no better than you.
In your heart, you will find,
Beauty that is true and kind.

Cinderella : (sincerely) They are beautiful! (As Cinderella puts wood on the fire it cracks loudly and pops out on Cinderella’s arm. She grabs her arm .) Ouch! The fire popped and the sparks fell on me.

Squirrel: (fussing ) You shouldn’t make her tend the fire so much. Her hands and arms are scarred. Her clothes and beautiful hair is ragged and singed.

Stepsister 1: Be quiet, Squirrel! Who are you to tell us what to do?!

Stepsister 2: Right! We don’t want to be ugly like our sister the “Rough Faced Girl”.
(Sisters laugh at Cinderella and point at her arms and hair as Cinderella holds her head in her hands and cries. Then they walk off the stage.)

Cinderella: Oh, Squirrel, this place is no better than my real home. I still have a huge problem!
(Cinderella and Squirrel exit the stage and and scene changes to Brazil in the rain forest.

Scene 3 - South America in Brazil in the rain forest

(Cinderella comes out when the narrator begins dressed like a native maid and the Squirrel is a hummingbird now. They are admiring the beautiful flowers in the rain forest.)

Narrator: With the sound of the word “problem”, the magic necklace takes Cinderella to South America. She is in the country of Brazil in the rain forest.

Cinderella: (Looking at herself, the hummingbird, and rain forest) Now I am in another place dressed differently. Squirrel, you have become a hummingbird! What a lovely forest. The birds and flowers are so colorful! This must be a happier place.

Hummingbird: Wow, flying is fun! I can see four men coming our way.
(native Mayan men enter and walk over to Cinderella)

Mayan brave 1 : Greetings, maiden. We are telling all the tribes we find about the special ceremony.

Mayan brave 2: It will be on the 13th day of the month, a very lucky day.

Cinderella: Why is that lucky? I thought 13 was an unlucky number.

Mayan brave 3: Oh no. 13 reminds the Mayan people of our 13 heavens. So it is a number that brings us joy and luck.

Mayan brave 4: Come dressed in your finest clothes and jewelry to honor the new Hummingbird King!

Song “Brand New King” (to the tune “ A Hunting We Will Go”)

Braves: We have a brand new king,
Let all the great drums ring,
Hey, Ho, Come on , let’s go!
We’re going to dance and sing!

Chorus: He is so brave and strong,
And so we sing this song,
To praise the king for everything,
Oh may his rule be long!
(The braves walk on past Cinderella and Hummingbird and exit on the other side of the stage.)

Hummingbird: This sounds like a great celebration.

Cinderella: Yes, but I don’t have any fine clothes and jewelry. If I don’t go, the King might think I don’t want to honor him and he will be mad at me. Now I’ve got a new problem!
(Cinderella and Hummingbird exit. The scene changes to a Chinese home with a paper screen and a mat on the floor.)

Scene 4- Asia in the country of China in a home

(When the narrator begins, Cinderella comes on stage and sits quietly on the mat on the floor looking around in confusion again. Cinderella is dressed in a plain white or pale colored kimono or bathrobe that looks like a kimono.)

Narrator - She keeps using that word, “problem”! The magic necklace takes Cinderella and her friend to China in the continent of Asia. The Squirrel has now turned into fish bones.
(Stepmother and Stepsisters walk on stage to Cinderella. The Stepmother is carrying a platter with fish bones on it and wearing a sassy smile. All are dressed in beautiful kimonos and wearing sandals or socks)

Stepmother: Sun Lee, here is your precious pet fish. He made a delicious meal!
(Stepmother hands to platter to Cinderella)

Cinderella: (To the audience) My friend, the Squirrel was turned into a fish and now he is dead. (To the stepmother) You have killed my only true friend! (cries)

Stepsister 1: Don’t cry. He is much more use to us dead. Instead of wasting our food feeding him, he fed us!

Stepsister 2 : Look at our lovely kimonos. We are going to the ball to meet the Emperor and his son.

Stepmother : You stay here and clean the house. You are too dirty and messy to go.

Stepsister 1 : Have a great time, Sun Lee! Ha, ha!

Stepsister 2 : Take good care of your pet fish. Ha, ha!
(Stepmother and Stepsisters walk off stage. Cinderella picks up the platter and talks to the bones as if they were the fish.)

Cinderella: Dear friend, I am sorry you are dead. You never hurt anyone and only tried to help me.

Cinderella sings “My Dear Friend”
(to the tune of “ Baa, Baa, Black  Sheep”)
My dear friend, I’ll always love you,
Your love for me was ever true.
You thought of me when I was sad.
You were the best friend I ever had.
My dear friend, I’ll always love you,
Your love for me was ever true.

Fish bones: (spoken offstage) Cinderella, I can still talk to you. Now I am magic, too.

Fish bones and Chorus sings “My Dear Friend”
(to the tune “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”)
My dear friend I’m still around,
Look for me and I’ll be found,
Caring about you to the end,
That’s what makes me your best friend.
My dear friend I’m still around,
Look for me and I’ll be found.

Cinderella: (smiling happily) You are still alive! What magic can you do?

Fish bones: (spoken offstage) I can dress you in a lovely kimono so you can go to the ball. Go behind the screen. (Cinderella goes behind the screen and comes out in a beautiful kimono)

Cinderella: Thank you friend, I look beautiful, but I have no shoes.

Fish bones: You do now. Look beside the screen for the tiny slippers. (Cinderella looks beside the screen and finds small clear jelly style sandals to wear. She puts them on.)

Cinderella: I look great, but how do I get to the ball? That’s my only problem....
(Cinderella exits the stage as the scene changes to a Penguin ball in Antarctica. The stage is decorated with snowflakes and silver sparkling decorations that look like ice and snow. )

Scene 5 - Antarctica at the Penguin ball

(Cinderella comes on stage now a penguin in ballroom clothes and glass flippers. Penguin trumpeters announce her arrival. Her friend is nowhere in sight. She looks around at the guests for her friend, but can’t see him.)

Narrator: Once again that word “problem” takes Cinderella and her friend to a new world. This time they land in cold Antarctica.

Cinderella: Wow, what a party! I can’t find Squirrel. Look at that table of fish cakes and krill sandwiches. I’m hungry. I think I’ll have a snack!
(Cinderella goes to the side of the stage for a snack while the penguin guests come to the front of the stage to do a penguin ballroom dance to “ Gulp Go the Penguins " while Cinderella watches. The Penguin Prince noticed Cinderella when she came in and slowly makes his way over to the snack table while the Penguin dance is going on. He speaks to her when the dance is finished.)

Chorus sings “Gulp, Go the Penguins”
(to the tune “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
All around the ball room floor, the penguins like to waddle,
When the music stops the beat,
Gulp! go the Penguins.
They like to eat their krill and shrimp and jump into the water.
But when party time arrives,
Gulp! Go the Penguins.

Penguin Prince: Hi! You are the most beautiful penguin I have ever seen! Could I have this dance? (The Penguins dance to chorus dance music . After the singing, the onlooker Penguins make comments about the couple to the side.)

Chorus sings “Did You Ever See a Penguin”
(to the tune “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”)
Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin,
Did you ever see a penguin sway this way and that?
For they sway --this way and that way and this way,
Did you ever see a penguin sway this way and that?

Penguin 1 : Who is the beautiful young penguin?

Penguin 2: What a handsome couple. How well they dance together.

Cinderella: Oh, this is so much fun! I wish this night would last forever.
(Clock strikes midnight.)

Cinderella: Oh no, something seems to be changing. I don’t want another problem!
(Cinderella and the penguins exit the stage. The scene changes to an African village with a grass hut.)

Scene 6 - African village in Uganda

(Cinderella enters dressed in a lovely African dress and the Prince Penguin is now the Chief of the village. They come on stage and stand together in front of the hut.)

Narrator : There’s that word again! This time Cinderella and her friend are moved to Africa in a village in the country of Uganda.

Cinderella : Who are you ?

Prince: I am the chief of this village.

Cinderella : Where did you come from?

Prince : I have been with you all along. I have the power to be any animal anywhere.
I was the Squirrel with you in Europe and North America.

Native 1 : He was the humming bird in South America.

Native 2 : He was the magic fish bones in Asia.

Native 3 : He was the Penguin Prince in Antarctica.

Native 4 : Now he has turned back into our chief.

Cinderella : But why did you turn into all those animals and travel all over the world with me?

Prince : I was looking for a kind, wise, young lady to be my bride.

Cinderella: You think I am wise and kind?

Prince: You were always kind and caring to me even when you had so many problems in your life. To know if you are wise, I need to know what you learned from your magic necklace.

Cinderella : (taking off the necklace and looking at it while talking) I learned that you can’t solve problems by running away. Even though I went all around the world, I still had problems. I need to face my problems and solve them.

Song “Face All Your Problems”
(to the tune “Down In The Valley”)
Cinderella sings: When I was lonely and sad all the day,
Problems would scare me, I’d run away.
When I would run, the problems would stay,
So I must face them to chase them away.

Chorus sings: Don’t run from problems, answers will come,
Think your way through them, you’re not so dumb!
If you will face them, they will depart,
And you’ll be happy deep in your heart.

Prince : That is a wise answer. Did you learn anything else?

Cinderella: I learned that all people in the world may look different on the outside, but they have the same feelings and desires on the inside.

Prince: You have answered well. Not only are you beautiful, but you are kind and wise. Will you marry me?

Cinderella: (Prince and Cinderella join hands while both are holding the necklace.) Oh, yes! But where shall we get married?

Prince : That’s absolutely no problem! (The Prince makes a magical gesture with the necklace as he says the word “problem”.) (Cinderella and Prince exit and scene changes to Australian outback with Ayers Rock in the background.

Scene 7 - Australian Outback

Narrator: With that last word, the magic necklace transported the happy couple to the only continent they hadn’t visited -- Australia. They were in the outback for a wonderful wedding with the Australian animals.
(Cinderella and the Chief come out in Australian clothes like western clothes worn in the outback when the narrator begins to read. The Kangaroo hops out and takes center stage while Cinderella and the Chief face each other for their vows.)

Kangaroo : I now pronounce you man and wife!

Cinderella : I am so happy!

Chief: Let’s celebrate this happy day with a song and dance!
(Australian Animals dance while chorus sings)

Chorus sings “Celebration Song”
(to the tune “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”)
The Prince and Cindy are married, (3 times)
So we rejoice with them.

They I‘ll be happy forever, (3 times)
They are the best of friends.

Everyone sings “Cinderella Song”
(to the tune “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”)
Cinderella learned to live,
She’s so happy now.
She will never run from life,
She’s so happy now!
A magic necklace,
And a prince so good,
Here a wish, there a wish , everywhere a wish ,wish.
Cinderella found her prince,
She’s so happy now!

Narrator: And so Cinderella and the Magic Prince lived happily ever after!

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