That Ghetto Cinderella
A Short Play by Auer Avenue CLC
ACT I
Scene 1
The Scene: It is an urban apartment. The wicked Aunties are sitting in the living room sipping tea. In the adjacent dining room the Cinderellas are scrubbing floors and cleaning tables with sad faces.
Auntie #1 “Girl, you know Jam for Peace is right around the corner. We need to take the little cousins shopping.”
Auntie#2 “Yeah! And I know just what I’m going to get Lil’ Nay Nay! I’m gonna get her a skirt and some leggings. She is going to be so cute!
Auntie # 3 “ The Lil Cousins can buy whatever they want. I gotta keep them looking tight!
CAMERA PANS TO THE CINDERALLAS CLEANING AND LOOKING SAD AND HURT
Auntie #1 They should be coming home from school any minute now! I can’t wait to tell them the news!
ENTER Wicked Lil’ Cousin #1…throwing book bag down
Cousin #1 “Man, y’all stank…did you take a bath today? Y’all smell worse than that nasty mop water. Ugh!!! (Laughs at them and runs out.)
Cousin #2 “Hi, Cinderellas. You wanna come in my room and watch TV?”
Cinderella #1 “Oh, yes!”
Cousin #2 “Not!” (laughs at them and skips out)
Cousin #3 & #4 (Both cousins touch Cinderella #2’s hair, and sing the following)
“If your hair is short and nappy
a brand new weave will make it happy.” (Laugh and exit)
Cousin #5 (enter, tell Cinderella #3 to stand up, and then knocks the mop out of her hand, hits her to start a fight.)
“Get up! What’s the matter, you such a punk you can’t hit me back?”
Cinderella #3 “I’m going to tell the Aunts on you!”
Cousin #5 “You better not, or you know what….” (runs out)
SCENE 3
(Aunts sitting in the living room; call Cousins in from pool room)
All Aunties (in unison, together) “Little Cousins, we’ve got a surprise for you!”
(Cousins run in happy; sit at Auntie’s knees)
Cousins (in unison) “What is it, what is it?”
Auntie #1 “You’ve been so good, we’re taking you to the Jam for Peace.” (Cousins cheer and jump)
Auntie #2 “Jam for Peace is tomorrow, so we’re taking y’all shopping for some new kicks and fits tonight!” (more cheering)
Cousin #2 “But wait!”
Cousin #3 “Are the Cinderellas going?”
Aunties (in unison) “Ah, no….” (cheers and jumps)
ACT II
Scene 1: (Cinderellas are cleaning and complaining in the dining room.)
Cinderella #1 “Why do we have to do all the work?”
Cinderella #2 “Why do we have to be dirty and ugly? Why can’t we go to school?”
Cinderella #3 “I’m tired of cleaning up after the wicked Cousins!”
Cinderellas (in unison) “I wish I could go to the Jam for Peace.”
(gazing above) “I wish, I wish upon a star…oh, but there’s no point in wishing.”
(enter Fairy Godmother, with a twirling motion)
Cinderellas (in unison) “Oh, she’s so beautiful!”
Fairy Godmother “My ghetto Cinderellas, why do you look so sad?”
Cinderella #1 “The wicked Cousins are so mean to us.”
Cinderella #2 “We’re dirty and ugly, so we can’t go to school.”
Cinderella #3 “We’re tired of cleaning up after the wicked Cousins.”
Cinderellas (in unison) “We wish, we wish we could go to Jam for Peace.”
Fairy Godmother “Stand up, Cinderellas! You aren’t dirty and ugly, and you can go to school. You, my ghetto Cinderellas, are beautiful! Close your eyes; look inside, and if you can see the beautiful and smart Cinderellas I see, then I’ll make your dreams come true.”
Cinderellas (hold hands and close their eyes, and smile)
(in unison) “We are beautiful!”
(open their eyes and look at each other transformed) “We are beautiful!”
Fairy Godmother “These are your new kicks and fits for the Jam for Peace.”
Cinderellas (in unison) “But, how will we get there?”
Fairy Godmother “Take your pick. Shall it be an Escalade, or a limousine?”
Cinderellas “Hummer!”
(enter chauffuer) “Your Hummer is awaiting.”
Cinderellas (take chauffeur’s arm)
Fairy Godmother “But wait, my dears. This you must remember: You must be home by midnight; be beautiful, smart, and nice, and don’t you dare fight!”
Cinderellas “Yes, Ma’am!” (exit)
ACT III
Scene 1 (A concert. Lots of dancing people. The Aunts and Cousins enter dancing and partying.)
Aunties (in unison) “This party’s hyped; you better go on. I’m about to get my groove on!”
(Cousins cheer and walk towards center of party, and stop suddenly.)
Cousin #3 “Hold up!”
Cousin #2 “No that ain’t!”
Cousins (in unison) “It’s the ghetto Cinderellas! And they’re dancing with Bow Wow and Chris Brown!”
Cousin #1 “Ah, naw. It’s goin’ down!”
(Cousins approach the dancing group, and surround them.)
Cousin #1 “What are y’all doin’ here, Cinderellas?”
Cinderella (in unison) “We’re havin’ a good time. We’re the most beautiful at the ball. Chris and Bow said so!”
Cousin #2 “Where did you get those kicks and fits? You probably boosted ‘em.”
Cinderellas (in unison) “Y’all need to get up out our face; we deserve to be here too.”
(start dancing with Chris and Bow Wow)
(Cousin #3 cuts in, and gets in Cinderella’s face)
Cousin #3 “I know your dirty, ugly, dumb self didn’t disrespect me!”
Bow Wow and Chris Brown (in unison) “Peeps, look. I came here to jam for peace, and I want to jam… (and point to Cinderellas) …with you.”
Cousins (laugh and mock the Cinderellas) “Those ugly, stinkin’ girls. They can’t dance.”
Cinderellas “Hold on, fellas. We’ll be right back.”
Cousins (in unison) “Yeah, meet us outside.”
(Song, “Meet Me at the Club” plays in the background. Choreographed fight dance scene.)
ACT IV
Scene 1 (Cinderellas and Cousins all sitting in juvenile detention. Enter Aunties, shaking their heads in disbelief.)
Auntie #2 “Come on, Cousins. I got a surprise for y’all.”
Auntie #1 “Yeah, yo behind’s grounded for four weeks, and you gonna be cleanin’ up behind yourselves.”
(Aunties gather Cousins by the ear and exit. Enter Fairy Godmother with a twirl)
Fill In the Blank with the last lines of the play!