When a story sticks around for 20 centuries, you know there has to be something special to it. Such is the case with Cinderella. The tale of a girl forced into familial slavery who meets a prince with the help of her fairy godmother originated way back in the first century, and it's been steadily growing from there. Today, we know it primarily as a Grimm fairy tale, a Disney movie and a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, all of which are well loved. But perhaps most endearing among them is the musical. And now, we can become transfixed all over again as Civic Theatre stages Cinderella, the musical, this month.

"The show itself is really uplifting. We had a few crew members in tears," said Addison Reid Coe, who plays the Prince. "For a fairytale, it's really moving."

Though Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote their take on the tale in 1957, this time around, the production has had some tweaks, including three new songs. It was in 1997 that these songs were added to some of the newer stagings of Cinderella. The longer show, dubbed the Enchanted Edition, is a rare treat. The role of the Prince - which usually doesn't become full-fledged until the end of the performance - was given four additional scenes, with an introduction in the first scene of the play. These scenes, according to Coe, give the entire royal family a back story and "makes it feel real."

"There's a scene where I try the shoes on all the girls," Coe said. "In past productions, you just saw the Prince put the shoes on feet, but all the girls are there."

Does it all seem too charming for you? It won't be. Rodgers and Hammerstein were all too willing to incorporate the darker elements of the story in order to stir up more drama and hook audiences. And they've done so. Though for the most part it's a lighthearted tale, the more tragic moments ring true, and the show's true emotion shines through when talented actors such as these pull at the heartstrings of their audience with wishes and dreams that couldn't possibly come true. (Naturally, they do anyway, but that's part of the fun of a modernized fairy tale.)

"I'm blessed enough to be a lead," Coe said. "But the show, as far as talent goes, is rich in talent."

Count on plenty of children running about at this one, but remember, it's not so bad to regress to that time of life every now and again. You'll ooh and ah just the same at the fairy godmother's theatrics, gaze upon Cinderella's winning smile adoringly and boo and hiss at the evil stepmother and her daughters.

Cinderella
Civic Theatre
30 N Division, Grand Rapids
Through Dec. 20
$16-30
grct.org, (616) 222-6650

Photo: Anthony Nowack