One pair of glass slippers, one charming prince, one fairy godmother.

The story of Cinderella is familiar to many, but what will happen when this traditional fairytale takes on a steampunk style?

The Allen High School theater department plans on exploring this with their upcoming winter musical, Cinderella.

“At first everyone was really shocked by it because it’s not what Allen usually does,” senior stage director Mallory Heins said.

By definition, steampunk is a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.

“There’s no weird story line, it’s just the traditional Cinderella story but there’s a design twist,” head choreographer and costume designer Lisa Smentek said.

Steampunk costume designs are generally influenced by the style of the 19^th century. Steampunk may also incorporate additional elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, or alternate history making it often a hybrid genre.

“It is a huge undertaking. For me personally it’s probably the most exciting costuming job I’ve done for a musical ever,” Smentek said. “Even the ballroom scene and the transformation scene are all very unique and not something we can mass produce or send off somewhere.”

As for the music, steampunk is broadly defined. There is little consensus on the actual sound of steampunk, and there are many ranges of musical styles and interpretations.

“The music is very much like what Roger and Hammerstein wrote back in the ’50s,” director of music Brian McKinney said. “The music is not steampunk, that’s more design and stage. The music is going to be what the Cinderella music has been for years.”

Theater students are looking forward to producing this wildly different production.

“We can be so creative. I’m just excited to see it come together,” Heins said. “That’s the ultimate satisfaction, just seeing the show complete with all this creativity from so many people. That’s my favorite part about theater. Just so many people creating this giant mass of great.”

The “Cinderella” musical is not set to premiere until January. The cast list has been released with junior Alexa Mooring as Cinderella and sophomore John Badar as Prince Charming and rehearsals have officially begun.

“Watching the kid’s faces and their anticipation, it’s like a champagne bottle just ready to explode,” Smentek said. “They just can’t wait for that curtain to open. It’s [those] two minutes before the curtains open. It’s unmatched by anything else.”