Cinderella story: Newest member of CTC thrilled with starring role

28-year-old Traci Allen makes her debut this week as the newest member of the Children’s Theatre Company. “The 7-year-old girl in me is freaking out,” Allen said during a break in rehearsal. “Oh my God! I’m Cinderella!” As an African American, Allen is claiming a traditionally white role as her own, playing a character based in European folklore and installed in our imaginations since the 1950s as a blonde Disney princess (the 1997 movie staring R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Cinderella notwithstanding).