“Cinderella” at Century II has a very 21st-century attitude

A year ago, Kaitlyn Mayse was on the road with the touring company of “Cinderella,” as an ensemble member and as an understudy for the title role.

Now, she’s on the same tour but playing the fairy tale maid-turned-princess.

“It’s been very humbling and terrifying and gratifying and exciting,” she said from a tour stop in Sioux Falls, S.D. “It took a long time for me to adjust to making the role of my own instead of being the understudy. It took a lot of retraining of the brain to make it mine.”

The tour stops at Century II in Wichita for three performances later this month in the Broadway Theatre League series.

While she was familiar with the role – “If I counted correctly, I went on 29 times,” she says – and producers were familiar with her, they still wanted her to audition in New York.

The trouble was, she was already on the tour on the road.

“It’s different to be seen for the role instead of the understudy and ensemble,” she said. “Different skills.”

After a bit of adjustments, producers “made it happen for me in order for me to be seen.”

The glass slipper, you might say, was a fit.

Ever since she was cast in September, Mayse has been trying to bring her own talents and personality to the character.

“I try to really dig into the character of Ella and see where I can find myself and find pieces of her that are different from me,” she said. “I really strive to make her not just a princess. She’s kind, but she doesn’t let people walk all over her.

“That’s always a fine line I get to revisit every night, which is great,” she added.

The touring version of “Cinderella” that’s coming to Wichita is part classic music and part new sensibility.

Its tunes, by iconic composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, debuted in a TV version in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the title role. TV remakes in 1965 (starring Lesley Ann Warren) and 1997 (with Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother) followed.

In 2013, it made its debut on Broadway with a new book written by Douglas Carter Beane, who had adapted the films “Sister Act” and “Xanadu” from movies into stage productions.

Mayse said the updated “Cinderella” has a very 21st-century attitude.

“It has all of the nostalgic fairy tale things people are looking for, but with more fleshed-out characters,” she said. “You’re not getting the basic, archetypal fairy tale characters, especially in the women. …

“That’s important, especially for the fairy tale characters,” Mayse continued. “They’re not just the ‘damsel in distress’ or the ‘evil stepmother.’ They have reasons for why they do what they do and who they are.”

A 25-year-old St. Louis native who performed college theater at Indiana University, Mayse said her “princess” dream role was Belle in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” which she got to perform in regional theater.

Once she first auditioned for “Cinderella,” she felt she was right for the role.

“I’ve seen people doing it, and thinking ‘If they can do it, I can do it too -- right?’ But everyone has doubts they go through,” she said. “I didn’t see it as a possibility for a long time, so this is really exciting.”

‘CINDERELLA’

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Jan. 28-30

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas, Wichita

Tickets: $45.50-$80.50, from the Century II box office, wichitatix.com and at 316-303-8100 (Show is recommended for children 5 years and older)