Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans - Karen Zacarias

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CINDERELLA EATS
RICE AND BEANS:
A Salsa Fairy Tale
Book and Lyrics By

KAREN ZACARIAS
Music by
DEBORAH WICKS LA PUMA
Dramatic Publishing
Woodstock, Illinois • England • Australia • New Zealand
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
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©MMVIII
Book and lyrics by KAREN ZACARIAS
Music by DEBORAH WICKS LA PUMA
Printed in the United States of America

All Rights Reserved
(CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A Salsa Fairy Tale)
For inquiries concerning all other rights, contact:

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Phone: (212) 489-7730
ISBN: 978-1-58342-591-6

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“Produced by special arrangement with

THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of
Woodstock, Illinois”
****
CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A Salsa Fairy

Tale was originally commissioned by Imagination Stage,
Bethesda, Maryland.
The musical premiered at Imagination Stage in February

2003. The director was Kate Breyer. The cast was as fol-
lows:
PADRINO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mando Alvarado

CENICIENTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Vignoli
ROSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Penn
JOEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ricardo Frederick
3
CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND
BEANS: A Salsa Fairy Tale
CHARACTERS
CINDERELLA (also known as CENICIENTA) . . . . . . . . .

a sixth-grader from Puerto Rico
visiting the United States to learn English
ROSA . . . . . the wicked cool “stepsister. Loves pop music,
basketball and being popular
JOEY . . . . . . Rosa’s best friend and head of the pep squad
(also voice for NARRATOR)
PADRINO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Almost Fairy Godfather
SETTING: Padrino’s house and Pumpkin Grove Elemen-

tary (or Middle/Junior High) School in the United States.
MUSICAL NUMBERS
Fairy Tale Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cinderella, Rosa

Ya Vino El Padrino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All
Rosa’s Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All
Dos Por Dos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cinderella, Padrino
Zapatos Magicos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cinderella
The Weekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All
Comparison Rap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosa, Padrino
In Your Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosa, Cinderella
Ya Vino Finale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All
4
CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS:
A Salsa Fairytale
SONG: FAIRY TALE OPENING
NARRATOR (voiceover, stuffy, standard).

Once upon a time, in a land right about there
There was a young girl from Puerto Rico named
Cenicienta: Cinderella—
(ENTER CINDERELLA, prim and proper, with a

broom.)
CINDERELLA.
LA LA LA LA LA
NARRATOR. Once upon a time, in a land right about here,

there was a young girl from the United States named
Rosa—
(ENTER ROSA, with attitude and perhaps a basketball.)
ROSA.
YO YO YO YO YO
NARRATOR. Destiny had placed these girls in different

parts of the world…with different languages and cus-
5
6 CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS:
toms. Neither girl knew it, but one person would change
their lives forever.
ROSA. Forever?
CINDERELLA. Para siempre?
(The girls EXIT or freeze in tableau.)
NARRATOR. That super-dooper magical force, of course,

is the wonderful, the marvelous, the beautiful FAIRY
GODMOTHER!!!
(Searching spotlight. Applause. PADRINO, in a bath-

robe, is caught in the spotlight. He’s eating something.)
Wait a minute! (MUSIC screeches to a halt.) Where’s

the fairy godmother?
PADRINO. Oh, she’s out of town. At a spa, with some

other fairy godmothers. She works so hard, she needed
to relax. Soy su marido.
NARRATOR. Her what?
PADRINO. I’m her husband. The Almost Fairy Godfather.
El Padrino.
NARRATOR. But we need her for the story! We left mes-
sages!
PADRINO. Messages! (He looks through his pockets and
pulls out crumpled pieces of paper. Reads.) No, that’s
the cable bill. “Remember to feed the cat.” I think I did
that. Oh, lookey here—I wrote this—”Fairy Godmother:
Somebody called to make sure you are there for the
Cinderella story.” Caramba! I guess I forgot to tell her!

A Salsa Fairy Tale 7
NARRATOR. What??? The story has already started and

Cenicienta is traveling from Puerto Rico to Pumpkin
Grove Elementary (or Middle) School in the United
States right now! Oh no!
PADRINO. OK! OK! I’ll call her! (Beat.) No! This is her
first vacation in years! I can’t mess that up.
NARRATOR. We need a fairy godmother!
PADRINO (pause). OK—I’ll go. I can do that. I can
smooth things over, keep the fort down, tend the farm…
What am I supposed to do?
NARRATOR. You know! Transform. Make things better.
Shoes! Don’t you know the Cinderella story?
PADRINO (unsure). Of course I do… (A Disney Cinder-
ella book plops out of the sky.) Ah—
NARRATOR. Do you know magic?
PADRINO. Me? A little bit. See my tiny little wings? I
have n’t passed my fairy god fa ther test. But don’t
worry…
NARRATOR (worried). Oooh!
PADRINO. —Let me just get my stuff together. Disguises!
Doritos! My magic remote. What else could I need?
(Another book drops down. The PADRINO looks at it.)
“Fairy Godparenting for Dummies: a reference for the
rest of us.”
NARRATOR. Maybe we should call your wife and—
PADRINO. No! Everything is under control. Bajo control.
(Begin MUSIC.) Just don’t worry my wife. I know ex-
actly what I’m doing (flings the Dummy book away. Re-
grets it for a second) …kinda sorta.

SONG: YA VINO EL PADRINO
PADRINO.
YA VINO EL PADRINO
FAIRY GODFATHER IN TOWN
YA VINO EL PADRINO
HERE TO TURN YOUR STORY AROUND
YA VINO EL PADRINO
EL DADDY GRANDE—THE BIG POP
YA VINO EL PADRINO
TO GET THINGS GOING
UNTIL THEY STOP.
FAIRY GODFATHER ES EL HOMBRE,
I’M THE MAN TO BE
AND MY MAGIC WILL SOON BE SUPER
FABULOSO, YOU’LL SEE
ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES OVERLOOKED
I WILL SOON BE OVERBOOKED
FOR WISHES AND BALLS
AND FAIRY AUDITIONING CALLS
YA VINO EL PADRINO
ALTHOUGH I’VE NOT PASSED MY TEST
YA VINO EL PADRINO
WHILE MY WIFE IS AT THE SPA
I’LL JUST DO MY BEST
(Looking in the Disney book.)
So who is this Cinderella girl, anyway?
(ENTER CINDERELLA.)
CINDERELLA.
CENICIENTA DE PUERTO RICO
ISLAND OF THE SEA
WILL BE A STUDENT Y LEARNING ENGLISH

EN EL BIG CITY
CENICIENTA IS SWEET,
SI, TAN DULCE, SO NICE
BUT TAKES ORDERS TOO WELL
SHE CLEAN EVERYTHING TWICE
PADRINO (looking through the book). Oh, I need to find

some kind of stepsister.
(ENTER ROSA and JOEY.)
ROSA & JOEY.

ROSA PEREZ IS WICKED COOL
GOES TO PUMPKIN GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL
SHE LOVES HIPPITY HIPPITY HOP
ROCK AND BURNIN’ FUNK
AND ON THE COURT SHE’LL RESORT
TO A MEAN SLAM DUNK
WITH HER GOOD PAL JOEY
THEY’RE THE POP IN POPULAR
THERE AINT NO STOPPIN’ HER
I’M (SHE’S) CALLIN’ THE SHOTS
ALL.
CENICIENTA IS SO MEEK
CINDERELLA.
CENICIENTA SPANISH SPEAK
ALL.
AND ROSA THINKS SHE’S SMOOTH

ROSA.
ROSA’S GOT THE FUNK AND GROOVE
ALL.
CENICIENTA IS TOO NICE
CINDERELLA.
CENICIENTA EATS BEANS AND RICE
ALL.
AND ROSA IS A TRIP
ROSA.
ROSA’S FRIENDS THINK SHE IS HIP
ALL.
CENICIENTA
AND ROSA
CENICIENTA
AND ROSA
CENICIENTA
AND ROSA
PADRINO.
VAMOS AL CUENTO!
(End of song.
Class bell. Pumpkin Grove Elementary (Middle) School.

ROSA and JOEY are walking through the halls.)

ROSA (to herself). Imagine the ball. Dribble. Dribble.

Pivot. Shoot. And the crowd goes wild! Rosa Perez is
awesome…again!
JOEY. Hey, Rosa, what’s up?
ROSA. Just being a legend in my own time in my own
mind. What’s up?
JOEY. For sixth period, Mr. Dinkledoodle is sick today!
You know what that means!
ROSA & JOEY (high-fives). Substitute!!!
JOEY. And I hear we have a new kid in our class! A girl
that only speaks Spanish!
ROSA. A sub and a new kid? Wow—we are going to have
fun!
PADRINO. That new kid must be Cinderella. She must be
the one I need to help! I know, I’ll disguise myself as
one of these powerful substitute teachers and go to her
class.
(PADRINO begins to dress as a substitute teacher. His

cell phone rings. The real world freezes.)
I hate it when that happens at a performance! (He an-

swers in mid-silly disguise.) Mami? Good! Mud bath!
Sounds relaxing! Me? Nothing! Just thinking of feeding
the cat. I sound funny? ’Cause I’m a funny guy. Of
course I’d let you know if there’s a problem. Yo te
quiero muchisimo. No, yo, te quiero mas. Adios.
(PADRINO hangs up. JOEY and ROSA unfreeze. We are

in the classroom. PADRINO pretends to be the substitute
teacher.)

All right class…settle down…settle down… Your regu-

lar teacher, Mr. Dinkledoodle, is sick…and I will be
your substitute teacher. Before we talk about the home-
work. I would like to introduce to you…
(ENTER CINDERELLA wearing flowers in her hair and

a simple yet folkloric top and shorts.)
…The fairest of them all: the smart, the beautiful, the

wonderful, and very kind Cenicienta.
CINDERELLA. Hola.
JOEY. Ceni-what?
ROSA. Cinderella is Cenicienta in English. Can you be-
lieve it? Her name is Cinderella!!
(Laughter.)
PADRINO. She is an exchange student from Puerto Rico.

ROSA. Can we exchange her back if we have a receipt?
(JOEY and ROSA high-five each other.)
PADRINO (to ROSA). And you are?
(JOEY stands and begins to cheer.)
JOEY. That’s Rosa! (To the audience.)

GIMME AN R! (R)
GIMME AN O! (O)
GIMME AN S! (S)
GIMME AN A! (A)

WHAT’S THAT SPELL?

ROSA!!
Everybody knows who she is. (Begin MUSIC.)
ROSA. Everyone knows who I am.
SONG: ROSA’S RULES
I RULE THE COURT,

I RULE THE CLASSROOM
AND ALL IN BETWEEN
AND IF YOU STAY HERE LONG ENOUGH THEN
YOU’LL SEE WHAT I MEAN
OOO
OH OH OH OH
JOEY.
YO YO YO YO YO
ROSA.
MY NAME IS ROSA
IT’S ROSA
YOU CAN SAY IT AGAIN
JOEY.
ROSA!
ROSA.
MY NAME IS ROSA
IT’S ROSA
COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY IF I MAKE YOU MY
FRIEND

JOEY.
R-O-S-A
HEY HEY
IF YOU SPELL IT
YOU CAN TELL IT
THIS GIRL CAN PLAY
(HUP HUP) SAY HER NAME
(HUP HUP) FEEL THE FLAME
R-O-S-A
SHE’S GOT GAME
WATCH OUT
SHE’LL PUT YOU ALL TO SHAME
ROSA!
ROSA. What a great cheer!

JOEY. Yeah, well you wrote it.
ROSA. Oh yeah.
MY NAME IS ROSA, NOT ROSITA
NOT PINKY, NOT PINK
ALTHOUGH MY NAME MIGHT BE IN SPANISH
THAT’S NOT HOW I THINK
JOEY, CINDERELLA & PADRINO.

OOO
ROSA.
YO YO YO YO

GO GO GO GO GO!
ROSA.
MY NAME IS ROSA

IT’S ROSA
YOU CAN SAY IT AGAIN

ROSA!
ROSA.
MY NAME IS ROSA
IT’S ROSA
COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY
Because I am number one in everything! Right?
JOEY. Right!
ROSA.
IF I MAKE YOU MY FRIEND
(End of song.)
PADRINO. Alrighty. Cinderella, do you have anything

you’d like to say to the class?
CINDERELLA. Estoy muy feliz de estar aqui. Vine a este
pais para aprender otro idioma
PADRINO. Ah, she says she is very happy to be here. She
has come to this country to learn a foreign language.
ROSA. How can English be a foreign language?
JOEY. Yeah!
(Laughter.)
PADRINO. What was that?

ROSA & JOEY. Nothing.

PADRINO. I thought so. Anyway, we are very excited to

have her here at Pumpkin Grove. Let’s give her a warm
welcome. And flowers TA-DA (He makes something
strange appear like a fish.) Wowza!
(Laughter.)
ROSA. SO are we going to learn anything today?

PADRINO. Of course, and Rosa…sounds to me like you
volunteered to give (magically brings out a book) the
book report!
ROSA. This is a math class.
PADRINO (throws away the book). I knew that. Let’s do
this (flips the blackboard. Magically, a problem ap-
pears) math problem…
(JOEY gasps. ROSA goes up to the board and looks at

the numbers. She scratches her head.)
ROSA. I’m having trouble with the multiplication because

(looking at CINDERELLA) the addition is very trouble-
some. I wish I could subtract it.
PADRINO. This is bad. Can no one do the problem?
JOEY (raises his hand). I don’t understand it.
(CINDERELLA raises her hand, goes up to the board

and begins to write—singing a famous Spanish ditty…)
SONG: DOS POR DOS
CINDERELLA.
DOS POR DOS SON CUATRO (2X2=4)

DOS POR TRES SON SEIS (2X3=6)

SEIS Y DOS SON OCHO (6 + 2= 8)
Y OCHO, DIES Y SEIS (+ 8= 16)
BRINCA LA TABLITA,
YO YA LA BRINQUE
BRINCA LA DE NUEVO
YO YA ME CANSE
PADRINO (claps in wild enthusiasm). One more time!
(PADRINO joins in. It’s a super happy, wholesome,

overly precious dance. ROSA is NOT amused).
CINDERELLA & PADRINO.

DOS POR DOS SON CUATRO
DOS POR TRES SON SEIS
SEIS Y DOS SON OCHO
Y OCHO, DIES Y SEIS
BRINCA LA TABLITA,
YO YA LA BRINQUE
BRINCA LA DE NUEVO
YO YA ME CANSE
(End of song.)
PADRINO. That’s right! Isn’t that fabulous!

JOEY. I never knew math could be so…cheer-y! Ah!
(Writes it in his notebook.)
ROSA (icy, takes out all the joy from the room). Ahhh,
NOT! That is so uncool!
JOEY (stops writing). Umm, yeah. Uncool.
CINDERELLA. Extraño Puerto Rico.
JOEY. Rosa Perez, aren’t your parents from Puerto Rico?

ROSA. Uh-huh.
PADRINO. That’s it! You will spend the weekend to-
gether. I’ll call your mother. I’m certain she will love to
host a lovely exchange student from her native land.
You two can be like sisters.
ROSA. I don’t want a sister.
PADRINO. A STEPSISTER then! (To himself.) Oh, I’m
good.
JOEY. Yo! Your mom is always trying to get you to speak
more Spanish.
PADRINO. Is n’t that fab u lous? (To CINDERELLA.)
Cenicienta vas a ir a pasar el fin de semana con Rosa!
CINDERELLA. El fin de semana con Rosa! Que bueno!
ROSA. Dude, whatever.
(Bell rings.)
PADRINO. School’s over! Now, be good, Rosa girl. Buena

suerte, Cenicienta. (To the audience.) Disguise off,
Cinderella story plan ON!
(The classroom disperses and JOEY EXITS. PADRINO

takes off his disguise and watches, unseen, as CINDER-
ELLA and ROSA walk in a circle, eyeing each other.)
ROSA. Listen, Cinderella, if you are walking home with

me, you better have something normal to wear.
CINDERELLA. Ah si, mi falda! (She brings out an old-
fashioned skirt.)
ROSA. Yuck! Put that away! Now. Did anyone see us?
(Looks around.) Listen, you are here now. That means
no Spanish, no silly skirts, no rice and beans. No noth-
ing. Let’s look in my locker. I may have a T-shirt you

can borrow. (ROSA opens her locker, and stuff spills out
in a mess on the floor.)
CINDERELLA. Dios mio.
ROSA (pulls out a cute, trendy shirt). Oh, look at this!
Don’t you like it?!!!
CINDERELLA. Si!
ROSA. Don’t you wish you had something like this?
CINDERELLA. Si!
ROSA. Well, It’s too nice to share. (She puts it on.) Ah,
here is something (sniffs the shirt…not too bad) for you.
CINDERELLA. Gracias! (She opens it. It’s dirty and has
holes.)
ROSA. Hey! It’s way better than what you are wearing be-
cause it has those swooshy lines. It’s a fancy brand. Put
it on.
CINDERELLA (struggles to say no…but then). Bueno.
(She puts it on.)
ROSA. What am I going to do with you? Hey, I have an
idea. Cinderella, clean this up!
CINDERELLA. Como?
ROSA. That’s the story, right? Cinderella cleans and the
wicked cool stepsister lives happily ever after. The end.
PADRINO (looks through his book). That’s the story?
(ENTER JOEY with a basketball.)
JOEY. Whoa, you’re making her clean up your stuff all by

herself?
ROSA. No, I’m helping by telling her where everything
goes. (To CINDERELLA.) Higher. (To JOEY.) And this
weekend, she’s going to clean my room! (To CINDER-
ELLA.) Wipe that harder. Harder. (To JOEY.) She likes

it. She wouldn’t do it if she didn’t, right?
CINDERELLA (shrugs). Si.
PADRINO. Wait a second! This is a story about cleaning?
(Looks through the book.) There has to be something
more.
(JOEY bounces the ball to ROSA. She bounces it back.

JOEY drops the ball. CINDERELLA picks it up.)
CINDERELLA. Pelota.
ROSA. Here we call that a—
(CINDERELLA does an amazing trick with the ball.)
JOEY & ROSA. Ball. (ROSA and JOEY are stupefied.)

CINDERELLA. A ball.
(ROSA grabs the ball from CINDERELLA, gives it to

JOEY, and then hands her more stuff to clean or put
away.)
PADRINO. A ball! (NOTE: The three “balls” should flow

off one another.) Orale! Dancing is much better than
cleaning! (Looks through the book.) What do I need? I
need a coach to get there and…I need…a prince? That’s
so mushy. Do I have to? Of course I have to. It’s part of
the story. Ball. Coach and prince. Winter, spring, sum-
mer, fall, make me a super BALL!
(Magic. PADRINO takes the ball from JOEY and re-

places it with a roll of parchment.)

JOEY (about to bounce the parchment). What’s this?

(Opens it.) Hear ye, hear ye! A proclamation for the
people of this fair land. (He doesn’t get it.) Huh?
ROSA. It’s news.
JOEY. News! Oh! Hey, I have some very cool news! “It is
hereby pronounced that Mr. Prince, the most famous
basketball coach in the land, is coming to our great
school!”
PADRINO (worried). Ah—
ROSA. He is? Coach Prince? He’s the best coach in the
world.
JOEY. Where he will conduct a ball…game
ROSA. Game!
PADRINO. GAME? (Complete panic.) Oh no, what have I
done? I have completely messed up the entire— (Cell
phone rings. The kids freeze.) Oh-oh. (Answering.) Hola
Mami! Good! Here? Boring. Been focusing a little on…
on cleaning…but I think I’ll watch a ball game pretty
soon. Groceries? Yes, I’m writing it down. Milk. What
kind? 2%. Gottcha. No, I love you more. More. More.
Bye. (He hangs up. Everyone unfreezes.)
JOEY (continuing to read the proclamation). —A basket-
ball tryout in which he will pick one girl from our
school, and one girl only, to play for the Sooper Dooper
Eastern Western Division Basketball Team.
ROSA. Only one girl?
JOEY. Dude, that’s what the proclamation says.
ROSA. Well, that has to be me.
JOEY. Of course, who else could possibly beat you? No-
body can jump like you do. Or scurry around the court
like you.

(CINDERELLA is scurrying around in the background,

doing lay-ups to get stuff in the upper part of the locker.)
ROSA. Which means I’m the top. The best. The only one,
right?
JOEY. Right! (To the audience.) Say after me: (He begins
to cheer.)
R-O-S-A (R-O-S-A)
ROSA IS THE WAY TO PLAY!
(Rosa is the way to play!)
DON’T YOU DARE
TO COMPARE
ROSA’S TALENT YOU CAN’T SHARE!
ROOOOSA!!
ROSA. Gosh, that’s a great cheer!
JOEY. Yeah, well, you wrote that one too.
ROSA. So when is Coach Prince coming?
JOEY (checking parchment). Monday. When the clock
chimes three.
CINDERELLA (to ROSA). Ya termine mi trabajo. (To
JOEY.) Hola. Yo soy Cenicienta.
ROSA. No you’re not. Remem ber, your new name is
Cinderella.
CINDERELLA. Yo soy Cinderella.
JOEY. Yo! I’m Joey.
CINDERELLA. Encantada.
JOEY. Whoa! You talk to her in Spanish, Rosa Perez.
CINDERELLA. Porfavor no hablen de mi… Estoy parada
aqui!
ROSA. She talks too fast.

CINDERELLA. En Puerto Rico, hablamos como relam-

pagos. Puerto Rico es parte de los Estados Unidos…
United States.
JOEY. Tell her that in this part of the United States, she
has to speak English.
ROSA. You tell her.
JOEY (yelling as if she’s deaf). CINDERELLA SPEAK
ENGLISH!
CINDERELLA (with difficulty and a thick accent). Mee
name ees Cinderella. Jel-lo
(Pause. JOEY and ROSA laugh. They laugh louder.)
ROSA. Jello. I like Jello for dessert! Watch it jiggle. See it

wiggle!
JOEY. Green Jello is my favorite. With whipped cream!
CINDERELLA. Porque se rien? Que dije?
JOEY. She’s so great! It’s too funny.
ROSA. Look at her clothes.
JOEY. Who bought her that, her grandmother?
CINDERELLA. Mi hada madrina. (She takes out a small
pocket Spanish/English dictionary and looks up the
words.) My fairy godmother.
ROSA. Her fairy godmother! Well she has bad taste!
PADRINO (unheard by the others). She has great taste!
Look at me!
ROSA. Jeepers, yeah right…fairy godparents! How can
you believe in all that magical pumpkins and stuff?
JOEY. Yeah, right, that’s messed up.
ROSA. Did your fairy godmother give you those funny
shoes? Are they magical? Ha! Ha! Ha!
CINDERELLA. Son zapatos, nada mas.
(ROSA goes to her locker and undoes everything that

CINDERELLA has just arranged to find a pair of fancy
sneakers.)
ROSA. These are my shoes and they are as magical as you

can get. They are the x109 Super Jordans with purified
air-filtered heels, state-of-the-art velocity rubber soles,
and high-tension reaction laces. They cost more than
four years of braces—and they are vital for my basket-
ball game. They jump higher, scoot faster, and leap lon-
ger than any other shoe on the market.
JOEY. They are styling.
ROSA. So what do your shoes do? (CINDERELLA shrugs.)
Stink your feet? (ROSA and JOEY laugh.)
SONG: ZAPATOS MAGICOS
CINDERELLA.
MIS ZAPATOS
NO SON MAGICOS
SON SOLO PRACTICOS
ELLOS VIENEN Y VAN
MIRA: AQUI ESTAN
(The tempo picks up into a fun Salsa.)
MIS ZAPATOS
NO SON MAGICOS
ELLOS PUEDEN ANDAR
CAMINAN AL CAMINAR
PASO A PASO
LLEGO A DONDE ESTOY
PIE ADELANTE Y ATRAS
PRACTICA SOY

(CINDERELLA gets the basketball and does some more

great moves.)
JOEY. Whoa!
CINDERELLA.
PIES SOBRE LA TIERRA
Y BRAZOS A TRABAJAR
PERO MI ALMA
COMO SUENA
EN UNA ESTRELLA ATERRIZAR
QUIERO VOLAR HASTA LA LUNA
CORAZON COMO RADAR
QUIERO CANTAR MIS SENTIMIENTOS
EXPRESARME SIN CALLAR
MIS ZAPATOS
NO SON MAGICOS
ELLOS PUEDEN ANDAR
CAMINAN AL CAMINAR
PERO SUENO
PASO A PASO
CON UN ESTRELLA, MI MAGIA VA ESCAPAR
(CINDERELLA encourages JOEY to dance like her.)
Mira Joey. Asi—Mueve la cadera.
JOEY. Mueve la cadera? (JOEY starts dancing.)

CINDERELLA. Eso!
MIS ZAPATOS
NO SON MAGICOS
ELLOS PUEDEN ANDAR
CAMINAN AL CAMINAR
PERO SUENO
PASO A PASO

CON UN ESTRELLA, MI MAGIA VA ESCAPAR

Y BRILLAR
Y MIS ZAPATOS PRACTICOS VAN A BAILAR
(JOEY and CINDERELLA dance together, having the

time of their lives. Maybe CINDERELLA dips JOEY.
Song ends in a big flourish.)
ROSA (deadpan). Dude, that’s the kind of music you like?

CINDERELLA. Salsa, cumbia, merengue…me encanta.
JOEY. Dawg, that was kinda…cool!
ROSA. My mother likes that stuff. It’s so uncool.
JOEY. I thought it was pretty awesome!
ROSA. What?
JOEY. Did you see that? Yo, not only can Cinderella do
math, she can dance! And better yet, Cinderella plays
basketball! I bet Coach Prince would love to see her
play basketball. (To CINDERELLA.) Would you love to
meet Coach Prince?
CINDERELLA. Coach Prince! Me encanta. El es el mejor
entrenador de baloncesto.
JOEY. You know who he is? How?
CINDERELLA. Basketball es muy importante en Puerto
Rico. Coach Prince! Es muy famoso! Es fabuloso!
JOEY. Great! Well, you should come Monday at 3 p.m.
and try out!
CINDERELLA. Claro que si! A las tres! Lunes!
ROSA. WHAT?!? What did you say?
JOEY. That she was pretty awesome…
ROSA. I think you meant to say she was pretty AWFUL!
Right?
JOEY. Dude, I guess, I mean…

ROSA. There is no reason for Cinderella to ever meet

Coach Prince. She doesn’t really play basketball. How
can she? She doesn’t even speak English! Cinderella,
what are you looking at?
CINDERELLA. No entiendo porque te estas portando asi.
ROSA. You can’t understand why I’m acting like this? Of
course you can’t—be cause I’M cool. I’m cool. So
cool…and you aren’t! Now clean up my locker. It’s a
mess again. And this weekend, no basketball for you un-
til you clean up my room and do my homework. I have
to prepare for Coach Prince because I deserve a spot on
the Sooper Dooper Eastern Western Division Basketball
Team and you don’t!! (ROSA storms off.)
CINDERELLA. Caramba.
JOEY. Jeepers.
PADRINO. Wowza and hijole!
(CINDERELLA continues cleaning ROSA’s locker. JOEY

helps by handing her something.)
JOEY. You’re going to keep cleaning her mess?

CINDERELLA. Si!
JOEY. Why? (CINDERELLA shrugs. JOEY hands her
something else.) I’ll show you where she lives.
CINDERELLA. Gracias.
JOEY. Hey, maybe on the way there, you could help me a
little with math.
CINDERELLA. Claro.
JOEY. And I can help you with English.
CINDERELLA. Thank you. (Begin MUSIC.)
JOEY. Don’t worry, Rosa’s great! The weekend will be
fun. Kinda, sorta…
(CINDERELLA and JOEY EXIT.)
SONG: THE WEEKEND
PADRINO.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
ADD ROSA.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
ADD JOEY.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
ADD CINDERELLA.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
THE WEEKEND
THE WEEKEND
WAS NOT EXACTLY A SUCCESS
I CAN’T CALL MY WIFE TO FIX THE MESS
ALL.
THE WEEKEND
THE WEEKEND
PADRINO.
I’VE MESSED UP—AYE!—SO MANY THINGS
AT THIS RATE I’LL NEVER GET MY WINGS
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
EL CUENTO’S GETTING OUT OF WACK

ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
THIS FAIRY TALE IS OFF THE TRACK
AND I DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET IT BACK
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
POR FIN LLEGO LA MANANA
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
POR FIN LLEGO LA MANANA
ROSA.
THE WEEKEND
THE WEEKEND
I COULDN’T FOCUS ON MY GAME
CINDERELLA IS THE ONE TO BLAME
ALL.
THE WEEKEND
THE WEEKEND
JOEY.
ROSA WHAT’D SHE DO?
ROSA WHAT’D SHE SAY?

ROSA.
WHAT DIDN’T SHE DO IN HER CINDERELLA WAY?
WASHED THE WINDOWS
MOPPED THE FLOOR
POLISHED SHOES
AND ASKED TO DO MORE
SPEAKING SPANISH TO MY MOM SO NICE
SHE EVEN COOKED US BEANS AND RICE
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
CINDERELLA.
YO NO PODIA DESCANSAR
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
CINDERELLA.
ROSA ME HIZO TODO LIMPIARY
YO NO LA QUERIA ENFADAR
ESTOY TAN CANSADA, QUIERO LLORAR
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
ROSA.
SHE’S SO PERFECT I COULD SCREAM!
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA

CINDERELLA.
ALL SHE DO IS MAKE ME CLEAN!
PADRINO. I’m supposed to help, but instead, I put this

cleaning girl with this bossy girl and ruined the story!
How am I going to fix this?
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
I ALMOST WANT TO CRY
ALL.
EL FIN DE SEMANA
PADRINO.
WILL THESE WINGS EVER FLY?
I HOPE THIS BALL GAME IS WORTH A TRY
’CAUSE WE BARELY SURVIVED
ALL.
THE WEEKEND
THE WEEKEND…
THE WEEKEND/EL FIN DE SEMANA
THE WEEKEND/EL FIN DE SEMANA…
(End of song. School bell.)
PADRINO. Wowza! It’s Monday already.
(ENTER JOEY. He is goofily singing to himself and

moving his hips.)
JOEY. Mueve la cadera…

ROSA. You too? I thought you were my friend.
JOEY. You are the girl with the most cool in our school.
ROSA. Yeah, I know. So where is everybody?
JOEY. Learning basketball moves from Cinderella.
ROSA. What’s next, Snow White teaches hockey? Why
did you tell Cinderella about Coach Prince coming?
JOEY. Because she is a really good basketball player.
ROSA. Exactly!
JOEY. I don’t understand.
ROSA. How many girls will Coach Prince pick from our
school?
JOEY. One.
ROSA. And, if he picks Cinderella, what does that mean?
JOEY. That she will get to go to the Sooper Dooper East-
ern Western Division Basketball Game and have the
time of her life?
ROSA. Listen. This conversation is about me. Me! Me!
Me! And if she gets picked, then it means I don’t get to
go. Do you know how long I’ve been looking forward to
trying out for Coach Prince?
JOEY. Since Friday?
ROSA. That’s right. And how much I have practiced for
this opportunity?.
JOEY. Dude, you are lazy. You never practice.
ROSA. Because I have natural talent. She doesn’t.
JOEY. Dude, she has something. Did you see her lay-up? It
was wow!
GODFATHER (unseen). Her fairy godmother taught her
that.

ROSA. It was not wow! OK? Joey, you and I are the cool-
est, most popular peo ple in school. You can’t start
changing on me.
JOEY. She helped me with math. And I understood it.
ROSA. Oh no. This is bad. Joey, we need to come up with
a plan.
JOEY. But she’s so nice.
ROSA. Exactly!
JOEY. I don’t know what you are talking about!
ROSA. I’m talking about everything that we hold sacred
and dear. I’m talking about Pumpkin Grove’s most im-
portant students. I’m talking about being popular. About
hating math. About you being the head of the pep squad
and me being the best basketball player.
JOEY. You know, lots of other students are starting to like
Cinderella…
ROSA. And we have to stop that! Because what about
…ME?
JOEY. What?
ROSA. Have you seen her dorky clothes? Her silly accent?
Do you know what she likes to eat…all the time?
JOEY. No… What are you doing?
ROSA. A public service announcement… (She grabs chalk
and writes on the blackboard.) CINDERELLA EATS
RICE AND BEANS!
JOEY. Dude, that’s not cool!
ROSA. What are you talking about? I’m the most wicked
cool girl in school!
JOEY. Not when you try to hurt other people’s feelings!
And mess up the blackboard. It makes you wicked…
UGLY!
ROSA. Ugly! Don’t say that!
(NOTE: This cheer should NOT have audience partici-

pation.)
JOEY. U-G-L-Y. You don’t got no alibi. You UGLY…

when you act like that. You UGLY. (JOEY storms off.
MUSIC playoff.)
ROSA. Joey, come back here. Joey, please don’t go! Don’t
leave me by myself. I’m not ugly, am I? Is anybody lis-
tening? Won’t anyone help me?
PADRINO. I wish someone could help her. Boy does that
kid really need a fairy godmother.
(Magic. Poof! ROSA sees PADRINO.)
ROSA. Where did you come from?

PADRINO. Oops. Can you see me?
ROSA. Uh-huh. Who are you? Oh! Are you my magical
whatchamacallit?
PADRINO. Your magical whatchamacallit?
PADRINO & ROSA. AGGGHHHH!
PADRINO (collects himself). Hola Rosa, I guess I am your
Almost Fairy Godfather. (Sings.) Ya vino el Padrino…
ROSA. Padrino? Where’s my fairy godmother? Cinderella
has a fairy godmother.
PADRINO. Well, apparently, surprise to both of us, you
get a fairy godfather.
ROSA. NOOOOO!
PADRINO. You know fairy godfathers are just as good as
fairy godmothers. We just do things a little differently.
ROSA. Oh yeah? Well, do you have any references? You
know, satisfied customers?

PADRINO. You see these little itty bitty wings? I’m an al-
most fairy godfather. I’m not certified yet.
ROSA. What do you have to do to get certified?
PADRINO. Help you, I believe…
ROSA. I want a fairy godmother who knows what she’s
doing!!!
PADRINO. Listen, you get me or nothing. Nada.
ROSA. So what happens now?
PADRINO (takes up a scrunched piece of paper; reads it).
Let’s see… Ah yes! Step 1: Appear. Oops. Did that…
Then step 2: I figure out what you need and, step 3: I’ll
grant it.
ROSA. You had to write that down?
PADRINO. Also, I need to get a gallon of milk, for my
wife, the fairy godmother before I get home. 2%
ROSA (sniffs). Can’t you call her?
PADRINO. Who?
ROSA. Your wife! Tell her I need someone really good to
help me. The best.
PADRINO. You know, I’m sure there’s a very good reason
why I’m supposed to be your fairy godfather. Besides,
it’s not so nice to be compared all the time. (Mimics a
voice.) “Oye, chico, The fairy godmother holds her wand
more gracefully. Oye, chico, The fairy godmother has
great gowns. Oye chico, The fairy godmother has bigger
wings.” Listen, I may not be the best, but I’m trying.
ROSA. Tell me about it! (Be gin MU SIC.) Cinderella
speaks Spanish so well. Cinderella is great at math.
Cinderella is more wow than wow. Doesn’t anybody
think I’m special?

SONG: COMPARISON RAP
PADRINO & ROSA.

SO DIFFICULT TO COMPARE
RED APPLES WITH GREEN PEARS
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS TO BE
BETTER TO BE SOMEONE ELSE
INSTEAD OF JUST ME
I PRETEND NOT TO CARE
BUT ALL DAY, I COMPARE
ROSA.
IS SHE TALLER?
PADRINO.
AM I TOO ROUND?
ROSA.
DOES SHE MAKE ME SMALLER?
PADRINO
TO FLY OFF THE GROUND?
PADRINO & ROSA.

OH OH OH
PADRINO.
SHE KNOWS HER MAGIC
ROSA.
UH-HUH

PADRINO.
SHE FLIES THROUGH SPACE
ROSA.
YEAH
PADRINO & ROSA.

SHOULD I EVEN TRY TO KEEP HER PACE?
ROSA.
SO SHE MIGHT BE SMART
PADRINO.
GIRL
ROSA.
SO SHE MIGHT HAVE GRACE
PADRINO.
C’MON
PADRINO & ROSA.

DOES THAT MAKE ME COMMONPLACE?
SHOULD I DARE
DO I CARE TO COMPARE?
SHOULD I DARE
SHOULD I DARE
ROSA.
SHOULD I STAND HERE OR THERE? SHOULD I SAY
THIS OR THAT?

PADRINO.
AM I SMARTER, FUNNIER
PADRINO & ROSA.

BETTER THAN THAT?
PADRINO.
IS MY MAGIC GOOD ENOUGH?
ROSA.
IS MY PIVOT FAST AND TOUGH?
PADRINO & ROSA.

SHE’S SO SMOOTH THAT I LOOK ROUGH
SO DIFFICULT TO COMPARE
RED APPLES WITH GREEN PEARS
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS TO BE
BETTER TO BE SOMEONE ELSE
INSTEAD OF JUST ME
AND I WORRY
I WON’T MEASURE UP
AND I WORRY
I WON’T BE DOWN
ROSA.
AS THE COOLEST
PADRINO.
HIPPEST
ROSA.
FASCINATING

PADRINO.
ELEVATING
ROSA.
FIRST RATING
PADRINO.
SCINTILATING
ROSA.
FASHION-PLATING
PADRINO.
NARRATING
ROSA.
DICTATING
PADRINO & ROSA.

SYNCOPATING PERSON IN TOWN.
(End of song.)
PADRINO. So what appears to be the problem?

ROSA. Haven’t you been following the story?
PADRINO. Listen. Don’t talk to me about the story. OK?
Let’s just make a “needs assessment.”
ROSA. Once upon a time, in a land right about here, Coach
Prince was coming to pick “the fairest of the mall.”
PADRINO. Fairest of them all…not the mall.
ROSA. Oh. Anyway. Coach Prince will pick one girl for
the team…and Cinderella moved here…and she is so…

well…you know…and now…well the whole school…

Joey and I fought…and there’s this ball game…and…
I…I just…
PADRINO. I’m trying to follow.
ROSA. Fairy Godfather, I just want to make sure I’m the
“fairest of them all.”
PADRINO. Of course! The fairest! Indeed! This is great!
Your fairy godfather just realized exactly what you
need! We need to transform you and get you ready for
the ball…game!
ROSA. Oooh! I like what I’m hearing.
(Magic. Poof! PADRINO presents ROSA with a humble

clean folkloric outfit…exactly like CINDERELLA’s.)
PADRINO. Ta da!
ROSA. Is this the outfit I’m supposed to get?
PADRINO. This is exactly what you need.
ROSA. Wait! A minute! Look at these shoes…they don’t
have high-tension reaction laces.
PADRINO. That’s right.
ROSA. And my shirt is not a polysaturated-polyester-
smooth-wearing T!
PADRINO. That’s correct.
ROSA. And these shorts…they don’t have a logo.
PADRINO. That’s affirmative.
ROSA. You were supposed to transform me.
PADRINO. I did.
ROSA. But I’ll be dressed like some kind of dorky,
nerdy… (gasp) dressed like Cinderella!
PADRINO. That’s right. Now wear those and good luck
with the big tryout!
ROSA. Godfather! Padrino! This is so unfair.

PADRINO. Actually, this is the fairest of them all. Hurry
up, it’s almost three o’clock!
(ROSA EXITS.)
(To the audience.) And I barely have time to become

Coach Prince. Disguise numero 2!
(PADRINO EXITS. JOEY and CINDERELLA ENTER

with a basketball.)
JOEY. Remember, pep is important. So stay focused and

play with pep! Ready? OK! (JOEY throws the ball to
CINDERELLA. She throws it back and sees the note on
the blackboard.)
CINDERELLA. Jeepers!
JOEY. Caramba.
CINDERELLA (reading it). “Cinderella Eats Rice and
Beans.”
JOEY. Don’t worry, I can erase that note.
CINDERELLA. Dejalo.
JOEY. Leave it? But…
(The clock chimes three. Ball game crowd noises begin.)
CINDERELLA. Es la hora!
JOEY. I better get ready to cheer!
(JOEY EXITS. CINDERELLA gets ready for the game.

ROSA ENTERS, wearing the same exact outfit as CIN-
DERELLA.)

CINDERELLA. Rosa?
ROSA (does the “speak-to-the-hand” movement). Yo,
don’t even go there.
CINDERELLA. Buena suerte.
ROSA. I don’t need luck, because I’m surely, definitely,
absolutely going to win. (To herself.) Kinda sorta.
(PADRINO enters disguised as Coach Prince, dressed in

sweats, and talking like Howard Cosell.)
PADRINO. It’s three o’clock and welcome to the Sooper

Dooper Eastern Western Division Ball Game tryouts. I
am Coach Prince, the biggest, baddest, bestest coach in
all the land. And I’m here to find players with smarts
and tenacity who care about basketball…who are con-
tenders! Who are the best! Are there any players like
that here?
CINDERELLA. Si!
ROSA. Yes!
(ENTER a spirited JOEY dressed in a huge pumpkin

costume. He begins to cheer.)
JOEY (to the audience). I’m here to pumpkin you up!

I SAY PUMPKIN, YOU SAY SQUASH!
PUMPKIN! (SQUASH)
PUMPKIN! (SQUASH)
PADRINO. Will the first contender please introduce her-
self!
ROSA. I’m Rosa Perez. The biggest baddest bestest player
in all the land!
JOEY (cheering to audience).

ROSA ROSA. SHE’S OUR WO-MAN

IF SHE CAN’T DO IT
NO ONE CAN!
Go Pumpkins!
ROSA. Thanks, Joey.
PADRINO. And who are you?
CINDERELLA. Cinderella de Puerto Rico. (She sees some-
thing on the floor and gets down and cleans it.)
JOEY (cheering to audience).
CINDERELLA. CINDERELLA. SHE’S OUR WO-MAN
IF SHE CAN’T DO IT
NO ONE CAN!
Go Pumpkins!!
ROSA. Hey, you can’t do that!
JOEY. I’m cheering for both of you.
PADRINO. Girls. Estan listas? Are you ready? This is the
moment you have all been waiting for…this is the mo-
ment you can prove your spirit! You have two minutes!
The ball game starts…now! Jump ball!
(NOTE: The ball is mimed.
The BUZZER rings. The girls begin to play in real time.

ROSA tricks CINDERELLA.)
ROSA. Look! Ricky Martin!

CINDERELLA. Donde? (CINDERELLA looks and ROSA
scores.)
PADRINO. Rosa with a steal, shoots, and that’s 2 points
for Rosa…
JOEY. GO PUMPKINS!
AH-HUH

’CUZ YOU ARE SUMPKIN!

AH-HUH
(The scoreboard says 2 to 0. ROSA and CINDERELLA

reset and start again.)
ROSA. Ha—I’m ahead!

CINDERELLA. Ha-veremos.
PADRINO. Cinderella has the ball and she fast handles
with a wicked cool crossover.
JOEY. PUMPKINS ARE SO TOUGH!
PADRINO. Cinderella cuts inside to the hoop and— (CIN-
DERELLA takes the ball and she dazzles with an intri-
cate sequence.) —count two for Cinderella!
(The scoreboard says 2 to 2. The girls reset again.)
JOEY. PUMPKINS ARE A SQUASH!

PUMPKIN SQUASH!
PUMPKIN SQUASH!
PADRINO. Ball out to Rosa—but wait!—Cinderella
flashes by and picks her pocket! She resets, fakes to the
inside and— Oh! Pulls it out for the jumper! And that’s
Cinderella with the deuce! (CINDERELLA celebrates!)
Cinderella ahead by two!
JOEY. PUMPKINS MAKE GOOD PIE!
ROSA. Joey!
JOEY. Hey, I’m supposed to cheer!
PADRINO. Twenty more seconds!
(The scoreboard says 4 to 2. The girls reset a third

time.)

ROSA (to herself). I gotta win.

PADRINO. Rosa is on offense and she is fired up, she
backs in—and the hook shot! Where did that come
from?!? It’s all tied up! How exciting! Four to 4! Who
will win?!
(The scoreboard says 4 to 4. The girls quickly reset for

the last time.)
There are 10 seconds left. Countdown 10, 9, 8, 7, 6—
(The scene goes into slow motion.)
5—
(ROSA gets the ball and tries to shoot, but CINDER-

ELLA intercepts the ball.)
4—
(ROSA gets desperate… She purposely stomps on CIND-

ERELLA’s foot…)
3—
(…pulling off her shoe and throwing it away…)
2—
(CINDERELLA, still with the ball, throws a shocked

look at ROSA but hobbles on one foot and aims for the
winning shot…)

1—
(ROSA purposely bumps CINDERELLA, making her fall

down. The ending buzzer rings. The action returns to
real time.)
CINDERELLA (infuriated). BASTA!!!
(CINDERELLA stands with her dukes up, ready to fight.

ROSA is shocked.)
ROSA. Help!
(CINDERELLA lunges for ROSA.)
PADRINO (dropping Coach Prince pretense). STOP! Oh

mi goodness. Dios mio! Stop them!
(JOEY, in his gigantic pumpkin suit, comes between

them holding them both off. PADRINO looks in panic
through the Disney book, realizes he won’t find any an-
swers in there, and throws it over his shoulder. He needs
to figure this out himself. He helps separate the girls.)
All right señoritas. Way to go! (To CINDERELLA.)

Fighting and (to ROSA) cheating won’t solve anything.
ROSA. You’re Coach Prince?!

PADRINO. Yes. And you are both disqualified from the
game.
ROSA. I didn’t win?
PADRINO. Nobody did.

JOEY. You mean Pumpkin Grove won’t have anybody on

the Sooper Dooper Eastern Western Division Basketball
Team?
PADRINO. That’s right! These girls are OUT OF HERE!
JOEY (to the girls. Very upset). How could you two do this
to our school? This is terrible day for the Pumpkins.
Terrible! (He EXITS, distraught.)
CINDERELLA & ROSA (trying to go after him). Joey!!
PADRINO. Ah-ah-ah…girls, you aren’t going anywhere!
Not only are you disqualified, but there’s detention for
you (points to CINDERELLA), and detention for you
(points to ROSA).
ROSA. Wait! Detention for me? You’re my fairy godfa-
ther!
CINDERELLA. Tu padrino?
ROSA. A fairy godfather that gives detention?
PADRINO. I know. But you have a problem with her and
she has a problem with you. And there’s only one type
of magic that can solve that. Now go!
(The girls leave the basketball court and go to the deten-

tion room. CINDERELLA paces back and forth. She is
still livid.)
ROSA. Listen, this is not my fault!

CINDERELLA. COMO???!!!
ROSA. I mean, you got me in detention. I wasn’t fighting.
CINDERELLA. No lo puedo creer!
ROSA. You are the one that came here and messed every-
thing up.
CINDERELLA. Mess? I clean! (She gets even more upset.)
and clean. Y trabajo y trabajo y trabajo…I was so happy
to come to _____________. (Insert name of city where

the play is taking place.) But now…now… (close to
tears) I want to be friends with you. Be like you! But
you just! say NO! No Cinderella, no Span ish. No
Cinderella, no fun. No Cinderella, no amigos. No. No!
No laugh, no angry, no cry… (She stops and begins to
cry.)
ROSA. Wowza.
CINDERELLA (crying a little harder). Sabes que? You
can write that (points to the blackboard) wherever, be-
cause I do eat rice and beans and they taste good!
(Pause.)
ROSA. Gosh, I never thought about how you felt.
CINDERELLA. Well, THINK ABOUT IT! (Begin MUSIC.
Takes a basketball on the floor and passes it to ROSA.)
Cinderella eats rice and beans.
(ROSA holds the ball. She thinks about it.)
SONG: IN YOUR SHOES
ROSA.
AND ROSA PEREZ IS JUST PLAIN MEAN
ALL SHE DOES ALL DAY IS WORRY WHAT TO
SAY
AND IT’S SO MUCH WORK TO BE A JERK
But myself I can’t fool, Rosa Perez is not cool.
ITS A BAD DISGUISE
SO NO ONE’S WISE
TO THE FACT
THAT MY LIFE IS ALL AN ACT

BUT CINDERELLA
CINDERELLA
BEAUTY AND BRAINS
SO PURE AND SO FREE
YOU SMILE
YOU DANCE
YOU’RE A MYSTERY
YOU DO MATH IN YOUR HEAD
AND YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BED
YOU DON’T FAIL TO IMPRESS
THAT COURT IS ALL YOURS
YOU’RE A BASKETBALL PRINCESS
CINDERELLA.
ME? NO.
I’M NERVOUS SO MUCH
THINGS I’VE NOT TRIED BEFORE
I AM TOO SCARED TO TOUCH
ALL I DO—CLEAN!
NOT SAY WHAT I MEAN
THAT I FEEL ALL WRONG
ROSA & CINDERELLA.

AND I WANT TO BE STRONG
ROSA.
LIKE YOU
CINDERELLA.
LIKE YOU
ROSA & CINDERELLA.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WALK IN YOUR SHOES?

(CINDERELLA and ROSA walk in a circle, looking at

each other as if for the first time.)
YOUR STYLE
YOUR GRACE
YOUR BASKETBALL PACE
YOU SWIRL
YOU WHIRL
SUCH A SPECIAL GIRL
STANDING TALL
WHEN OTHERS TRIP AND FALL
HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL?
YOUR SMARTS
YOUR CHARM
YOUR BASKETBALL ARM
YOU MOVE
AND GROOVE
AND RIGHTFULLY PROVE
A POEM LIVES INSIDE
YOUR MAGIC COULD NEVER HIDE
YOUR TALENTS SPARK SO BRIGHT
TO BE YOU, MUST FEEL SO RIGHT
I KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WALK IN YOUR SHOES?
ROSA. Cinderella…Cinderella… (CINDERELLA ignores

her and tries to get herself together.) Cenicienta.
CINDERELLA (looks at ROSA). Que?
ROSA. You must be uncomfortable with only one shoe.
CINDERELLA. Estoy bien. I’m OK.
(ROSA gets her sooper dooper shoes from her locker.)

ROSA (handing them to CINDERELLA). For you.

CINDERELLA. Pero esos son tus zapatos sooper dooper!
Are you sure?
ROSA. I loooove these shoes but they never really fit right.
Here!
CINDERELLA (magical moment). Wowza!
ROSA. They look good.
CINDERELLA. Thank you.
ROSA. Gracias a ti.
(They celebrate.)
ROSA & CINDERELLA.

WE THINK
WE LAUGH
WE CRY AND WE DREAM
WE SHOULD BELONG ON THE SAME TEAM
FROM YOU I LEARN WHAT I CAN
AND KNOW WHO I TRULY AM
I DARE TO NOT COMPARE
AND TO LEARN TO REALLY CARE
I KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN’T DO
NOW THAT I HAVE WALKED IN YOUR SHOES
CINDERELLA (overlapping).
BRILLAR Y CANTAR…
ROSA (overlapping).
WALK THE WALK
TALK THE TALK…
(PADRINO enters. End of song.)

PADRINO. Okay, what’s going on here?

ROSA & CINDERELLA. Nothing.
PADRINO. Oh, nice shoes, Cenicienta.
CINDERELLA. Si, much better than glass slippers.
(JOEY comes bounding in.)
JOEY. Rosa, Cinderella, guess what?

CINDERELLA (overlapping). Que?
ROSA (overlapping). What?
JOEY. I just found out I am going to the Sooper Dooper
Eastern Western Division Ball Game!
PADRINO. As the head cheerleading pumpkin!
ALL. Yay!
(JOEY begins to cheer, getting everyone to clap in

rhythm, and involving the whole audience.)
JOEY. Hoooooooe! ’CAUSE WE’RE THE PUMPKINS

ALL. AH-HUH
JOEY. THE MIGHTY PUMPKINS
ALL. AH-HUH
JOEY. YEAH WE’VE GOT SUMPKIN!
ALL. AH-HUH
JOEY. THE BIG ROUND PUMPKINS
ALL. AH-HUH
JOEY. I SAY PUMPKIN, YOU SAY PIE!
PUMPKIN!
ALL. PIE!
JOEY. PUMPKIN!
ALL. PIE!

JOEY. I SAY PUMPKIN, YOU SAY SQUASH!

PUMPKIN!
ALL. SQUASH!
JOEY. PUMPKIN!
ALL. SQUASH!
JOEY. I SAY PUMPKIN, YOU SAY COOL!
PUMPKIN!
ALL. COOL!
JOEY. PUMPKIN!
ALL. COOL!
JOEY. COOL SCHOOL!
NOW GO MIGHTY ROUND ORANGE PUMPKINS!
PADRINO. Now be good, Rosa girl. Buena suerte,
Cenicienta. Detention dismissed! (Begin MUSIC.)
(The KIDS EXIT all happy.)
PADRINO. Wowza. That was hard work. (Big sigh. He sits

down. Cell phone rings. He jumps up.) Oh-oh. That’s
going to be the fairy godmomma. (Answers the phone.)
Hola Mami! (Beat.) Surprise? What surprise?
(The KIDS sneak ing back in are car ry ing his new
wings.)
SONG: YA VINO FINALE
CINDERELLA, ROSA, & JOEY.

YA VINO EL PADRINO
A GODFATHER CAN DO MAGIC THINGS
PADRINO. Mami, you knew all this time?

CINDERELLA, ROSA & JOEY.

YA VINO EL PADRINO
AND FLY WITH HIS BIG BRAND NEW WINGS!
PADRINO. My official fairy godfather wings. I never

thought this day would come! It’s so great! Gracias! I
love you too! I’m going to fly home right away. (Hangs
up.) Wait, I had to get something. What was it? Can
anyone remember?
(The CAST scratches heads, shrugs. The audience, who

is much smarter, yells out “Milk!” and maybe even
“2%!”)
PADRINO. Milk! That’s right! Thanks amigos. Everybody

now…
ALL.
YA VINO EL PADRINO
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT FRIENDS?
PADRINO. Una mas!
ALL.
YA VINO EL PADRINO
AND ADIOS CHICOS
OUR STORY NOW ENDS
PADRINO.
YA ME VOY!
(PADRINO jumps in the air. Blackout.)
THE END
DIRECTOR’S NOTES

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans - Karen Zacarias

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Book and Lyrics By

DEBORAH WICKS LA PUMA

COPYRIGHT LAW GIVES THE AUTHOR OR THE AUTHOR’S

Printed in the United States of America

(CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A Salsa Fairy Tale)

For inquiries concerning all other rights, contact:

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

“Produced by special arrangement with

CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A Salsa Fairy

The musical premiered at Imagination Stage in February

PADRINO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mando Alvarado

CINDERELLA (also known as CENICIENTA) . . . . . . . . .

SETTING: Padrino’s house and Pumpkin Grove Elemen-

Fairy Tale Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cinderella, Rosa

SONG: FAIRY TALE OPENING

NARRATOR (voiceover, stuffy, standard).

(ENTER CINDERELLA, prim and proper, with a

NARRATOR. Once upon a time, in a land right about here,

(ENTER ROSA, with attitude and perhaps a basketball.)

NARRATOR. Destiny had placed these girls in different

(The girls EXIT or freeze in tableau.)

NARRATOR. That super-dooper magical force, of course,

(Searching spotlight. Applause. PADRINO, in a bath-

Wait a minute! (MUSIC screeches to a halt.) Where’s

PADRINO. Oh, she’s out of town. At a spa, with some

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

NARRATOR. What??? The story has already started and

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

SONG: YA VINO EL PADRINO

WILL BE A STUDENT Y LEARNING ENGLISH

PADRINO (looking through the book). Oh, I need to find

(ENTER ROSA and JOEY.)

ROSA & JOEY.

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

Class bell. Pumpkin Grove Elementary (Middle) School.

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

ROSA (to herself). Imagine the ball. Dribble. Dribble.

(PADRINO begins to dress as a substitute teacher. His

I hate it when that happens at a performance! (He an-

(PADRINO hangs up. JOEY and ROSA unfreeze. We are

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

All right class…settle down…settle down… Your regu-

(ENTER CINDERELLA wearing flowers in her hair and

…The fairest of them all: the smart, the beautiful, the

PADRINO. She is an exchange student from Puerto Rico.

(JOEY and ROSA high-five each other.)

PADRINO (to ROSA). And you are?

(JOEY stands and begins to cheer.)

JOEY. That’s Rosa! (To the audience.)

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

WHAT’S THAT SPELL?

ROSA. Everyone knows who I am.

SONG: ROSA’S RULES

I RULE THE COURT,

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

ROSA. What a great cheer!

JOEY, CINDERELLA & PADRINO.

JOEY, CINDERELLA & PADRINO.

FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY

JOEY, CINDERELLA & PADRINO.