Hey kids, Cinderella needs you!

And so does her Fairy Godmother, who needs your assistance in changing mice into horses and raggedy clothes into beautiful ball gowns.

Whidbey Children’s Theater is ready for the audience to join the action when “Cinderella, Cinderella!” opens Oct. 20 at WCT in Langley.

Director Martha Murphy has adapted the famous fairy tale as a “participation play” and a “must-see” comedy for the entire family.

The play developed from a production class that Murphy offered through the program at WCT. In the course of the workshop, she used ideas generated by the students to adapt the original story of Cinderella.

“I want the audience to have a great theater experience,” Murphy said. “I want them to have fun with it and to be totally engaged in the theatrical experience.”

In the show, the actors invite audience members to join them on the stage as “helpers” in the telling of the familiar fairy tale.

During the workshop phase of finding their characters, Murphy encouraged the actors to ad lib, improvise and play with the character’s lines and behaviors.

This, she explained, allows the students to put more of their own personalities into their characters. And that will make them feel more comfortable on stage and act more naturally in their parts.

“Sometimes, I just added a line for an actor on the spur of the moment because it felt like something that character would say right then,” Murphy said.

“It’s really very funny; we go for laughs,” she added.

Besides being crucial in the development of the script, the cast is also involved in all aspects of the production, including help with costumes and sets. These young theater artists are introduced to the theater as the collaborative art form that it is; not just to the acting side. Murphy stressed that the emphasis of the program is on working together as an ensemble to create a piece that is fun to perform, rather than stubbornly striving to create a perfectly polished play.

Whidbey Children’s Theater has become somewhat of an institution in Langley. Founded 25 years ago by Murphy who set up shop in her barn, it was eventually turned into a non-profit company and took over the offices previously occupied by the Record on Anthes Avenue. At a recent dedication ceremony the central performance area was officially christened the Martha Murphy Mainstage in honor of its dedicated artistic director.

Murphy’s dedication to WCT is apparent in the loyalty of the children who tend to keep coming back. Some of them have grown up in this theater and many find themselves back on stage in leading roles in the same play they were in when they were 7 or so.

That’s the case for Jennifer Zisette who plays Cinderella.

Jennifer, who is 12, was a mouse in her first production of “Cinderella, Cinderella!” back in the old days of 2001. Zisette also had the starring role in WCT’s summer production of “Annie.”

Other young, up-and-comers who make up the Cinderella cast are Iona Rohan, Celine Teeter, Bayley Gochanour and Ari Rohan all playing Cinderella’s faithful mouse friends.

The Evil Stepmother is played by Caitlin Merkley, with Katie Ewing and Christy Hanzelka as the Wicked Stepsisters. Andy Walker plays the Prince while Thunder Woodworth and Madison Merkley round out the royal family as the King and Queen. The bumbling Court Servants are played by Emily Berg, Evan Teeter and Sean Leisle. Director Murphy plays the Fairy Godmother.

So, hop in the pumpkin…er… car with the kids, warm up your trill and tremolo vocal effects and have some fun at the ball with Cinderella.

Performances are at

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21, and at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 22.

Admission is $6. For advanced tickets call 221-2282 or 221-8707.

Patricia Duff can be reached at 221-5300 or pduff@southwhidbeyrecord.com.