Douglas Fisher, the president of the union, said in a statement, "Seeing Cinderella with a tape recording is like going to a Buckeye game with a taped marching band."

The live music was cut from the performances in order to save money. The 47 musicians for Cinderella would have cost $52,873 for the five performances over the four-day run. The show's 29 dancers cost $18,500.

The decision to eliminate the orchestra for these performances was "agonizing," BalletMet executive director Cheri Mitchell said.

BalletMet only narrowly avoided posting a deficit for 2004; it would have been the company's first deficit in 26 years.

Performances of Cinderella run through April 17.