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After a request for plays based on popular children's fairy tales from Jeffrey Lovett's publisher, the idea of Syntherella was born. 

Many people wonder where ideas for new plays come from.  Sometimes its an unsual word, a character in a movie or something Jeffrey reads.  In the case of this play, the idea that Cinderella was a 'synthetic' humanoid came after reading an article in Popular Science Magazine where the author predicted that in the near future, we would be able to produce robots that were so lifelike, it would be difficult to discern who was real and was a machine.

Syntherella

Syntherella is the modern day, techno tale of the classic Cinderella.  The story begins soon after the death of the noble Colonel Chattenworth,  leaving behind his widow, Margarethe, and her two self-indulgent daughters, Anastatia and Drucella.  Margarethe has been living off of the generosity of many dead and divorced husbands and is hoping to inherit a large fortune with the passing of the Colonel.  But instead of leaving her a large inheritance, the Colonel has decided to invest in something that would help keep his memory alive forever- a clone created from his DNA by a biotech firm called Synthetic Relatives, Inc.  The beautiful young woman is named Syntherella and, as specified in the Colonel’s will, is to be treated by Margarethe, Anastatia and Drucella as a part of their family.  Instead, the three women decide to turn Syntherella into a servant who is responsible for the family’s cooking and cleaning.  Syntherella is a cheerful young lady who never complains about her plight in life.  One day news arrives of a party being thrown by the richest family in town to find a mate for their son, Taylor Prince.  Syntherella wants to leave behind her work for just one night and attend the party, but her wicked step sisters insist that the invitation is only for ‘real’ girls. Syntherella, however, manages to slip out and attend the party where Taylor falls for her instantly.  As in the classic tale of Cinderella, Syntherella must leave the party by midnight or risk certain discovery, dashing out before Taylor can even discover her name.  In his search for Syntherella, the story takes a delightful twist when it is revealed that Taylor Prince is not a ‘real’ boy either, but also a creation of Synthetic Relatives, Inc.  Full of delightful and wicked characters, surprising plot twists and plenty of space for a ballroom full of extras, Syntherella is a fun take on an old familiar tale that will have audiences not only laughing, but considering what makes a person really a person.

 

Female:  6

Male: 4

Extras: 3-10

 

Read the Script Here