"The Ash Girl" Opens on August 11

The Caltech Players present The Ash Girl, Timberlake Wertenbaker's multicultural re-envisioning of Cinderella, for two weekends in August in the gardens of the historic Caltech Alumni House in Pasadena.

The Ash Girl is a feminist retelling of the Cinderella fable by acclaimed playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker (Our Country's Good). The play uses humor and emotion to explore dysfunctional family relationships, social pressure, and the importance of finding self-confidence. Featuring a re-imagined stepmother and stepsisters, a melancholy prince from a distant land, and animal avatars of the Seven Deadly Sins, it exuberantly blends fantasy with modern issues to create something funny, heartwarming, and truly unique.

Director Miranda Stewart, whose previous shows include a Los Angeles Times "Pick of the Week," has directed everything from classics to world premieres for a variety of venues around Los Angeles, including the Archway Theatre in Hollywood and the LOFT Ensemble in Sherman Oaks. She says she particularly likes "making the fantastical seem real," which is what first drew her to Wertenbaker's script.

The Caltech Players, whose previous summer offerings include The Merry Wives of Windsor and Much Ado about Nothing, bring together Caltech students, alumni and staff, JPL personnel, and talented members of the Pasadena community to create vibrant theatre. Like Caltech itself, these casts and crews are not only multicultural but multi-national, with many artistic traditions to draw upon.

Performance dates are August 11, 12, 13, and August 17. 18, and 19, with all performances starting at 8:00 pm. Performances are in the gardens behind Caltech's Alumni House, located at 345 S. Hill Avenue in Pasadena, between Del Mar Boulevard and California Boulevard. There is ample free parking on Hill and in the Caltech parking garage on Holliston Avenue south of Del Mar.

The show is appropriate for ages 6 and up. Tickets ($10 general admission, $5 students) can be reserved online at http://bit.ly/AshGirlTix, with payment (cash or check) made at the door.

For more information, please visit http://explicit.caltech.edu or https://www.facebook.com/events/426833204382636.

The Ash Girl is produced by special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing, Inc. of Woodstock, IL.