Cinderella (telefilms)

Infobox Television Film
bgcolour =
name = Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
format = Musical telefilm


caption = DVD cover for Julie Andrews "Cinderella".
runtime = 76 min
director = Ralph Nelson
producer = Richard Lewine
writer = Oscar Hammerstein II
starring = Julie Andrews
Howard Lindsay
Dorothy Stickney
Ilka Chase
Kaye Ballard
Alice Ghostley
music = Richard Rodgers
Oscar Hammerstein II
country = United States
language = English
network = CBS
released = March 31 1957
website =
imdb_id = 0129672

"Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" is a musical written for television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II based upon the fairy tale, Cinderella.

"Cinderella" was originally written for a live television musical broadcast in 1957, as a vehicle for Julie Andrews, who played the title role. Its popularity caused the creators to adapt the work for the stage, and it was subsequently remade for television twice, in 1965 and 1997, starring Lesley Ann Warren and Brandy, respectively, in the title role.

Television

1957 Original

The 1957 version was directed by Ralph Nelson and starred Julie Andrews as Cinderella. It also starred Howard Lindsay (The King), Dorothy Stickney (The Queen), Edith Adams (Fairy Godmother), Kaye Ballard (Portia), Alice Ghostley (Joy) [the stepsisters] , Ilka Chase (Stepmother), Jon Cypher (The Prince), and Iggie Wolfington (The Steward).

This version appeared as a U.S. live broadcast (except on the west coast) on March 31, 1957. It was written specifically for CBS television. Rodgers and Hammerstein were (as Rodgers wrote in his autobiography) enticed by the opportunity to write for Andrews, who was then starring on Broadway in "My Fair Lady". It also included a 28-piece orchestra, 20 dancers, and seven ensemble singers under the musical direction of the noted conductor Alfredo Antonini [ "The New York Times", March 31, 1957, pg. 106] .

It was produced for $376,000 (very expensive for its time) and was heavily promoted by its sponsors, Pepsi-Cola and the Shulton Company (then maker of Old Spice). The promotion and an appearance by Rodgers and Hammerstein on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the week before helped to give the telecast a reported audience of 107 million people, the largest achieved by that time (and more than any subsequent television series episode as of 2004). It was televised in color, and the entire cast and orchestra made a separate mono and stereo recording of the music for Columbia Records, which was later issued on CD by Sony.

A "New York Times" review by Jack Gould on April 7, 1957 characterized it as "a pleasant Cinderella that lacked the magic touch." He wrote that the broadcast received an "extraordinary range of reactions; it was either unreservedly enjoyed, rather angrily rejected or generally approved, subject to significant reservations." He praised Andrews as a "beguiling vision" in "lovely color video." But he complained about the book ("What possessed Mr. Hammerstein to turn the stepsisters into distasteful vaudeville clowns?"); about errors in "the most elementary kind of showmanship;" about costume ("couldn't Cinderella have been dressed in a dreamlike ball gown of fantasy rather than a chic, form-fitting number?"); about the songs ("not top-drawer Rodgers and Hammerstein"); and the staging ("cramped... excellent depth, but limited width marred the ballroom scene.") He judged the songs "reminiscent and derivative of some of their earlier successes" but praised four of them and said "In television, where original music is virtually nonexistent, these add up to quite a treat... some current [Broadway] musicals cannot boast as much melodically."

For many years, the 1957 version was thought to be lost; however, a black-and-white kinescope recording of the color telecast was re-broadcast on PBS in December 2004 as part of its "Great Performances" series. It was subsequently released on DVD, with a documentary including most of its original players, as well as a tape or kinescope of Rodgers and Hammerstein's appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the preceding Sunday, featuring Hammerstein reciting one of the songs to orchestral accompaniment.

List of songs

This list is from the original 1957 version; the 1965 and 1997 versions each added one or more songs from other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals.

#"Overture" (instrumental)
#"The Prince Is Giving A Ball" (Herald and Chorus)
#"In My Own Little Corner" (Cinderella)
#"Royal Dressing Room Scene" (King, Queen, Chef, Steward)
#"In My Own Little Corner" (Reprise) (Cinderella)
#"Impossible; It's Possible" (Cinderella and Fairy Godmother)
#"Gavotte" (instrumental)
#"Ten Minutes Ago" (Prince and Cinderella)
#"Stepsisters' Lament" (Stepsisters)
#"Waltz for a Ball" (instrumental and Chorus)
#"Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" (Prince and Cinderella)
#"When You're Driving Through Moonlight" (Cinderella, Stepmother, Stepsisters)
#"A Lovely Night" (Cinderella, Stepmother, Stepsisters)
#"The Search" (instrumental)
#"The Wedding" (instrumental)
#"Mother And Daughter March" (instrumental)
#"Never In a Thousand Years" (eventually omitted from the production)
#"There is Music in You" (Performed by Whitney Houston in 1997 version)

1965 version

The 1965 re-make of the musical, also in color, was recorded on videotape, and is directed by Charles S. Dubin; Richard Rodgers was executive producer (Oscar Hammerstein II had died in 1960). Although she played the title role, Lesley Ann Warren received eighth billing because this was her first television appearance, and she was as yet unknown to the general public. It also starred Ginger Rogers as the queen, Walter Pidgeon as the king, Celeste Holm as the fairy godmother, Jo Van Fleet as the stepmother, Stuart Damon as the prince, Pat Carroll as Prunella, and Barbara Ruick as Esmerelda (the stepsisters).

This version did not use Hammerstein's original script, but instead, a new one commissioned by Rodgers and written by Joseph Schrank. Also produced for CBS, it was regularly rebroadcast well into the 1970s. It included the song "Loneliness of Evening", which was written for "South Pacific" but never actually sung in that musical (some of the lyrics were recited as a love letter poem in the 1958 film version while a portion of the melody is used as underscoring). The "Royal Dressing Room Scene" in the 1957 version was omitted from this production. A cast album LP of the 1965 telecast was also issued by Columbia Masterworks Records.

The Disney Channel aired this version in the early 1990's.

1997 version

Infobox Television Film
bgcolour =
name = Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
format = Musical telefilm


caption = Promotional ad for the 1997 version of "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella".
runtime = 88 min
director = Robert Iscove
producer = Mike Moder
writer = Oscar Hammerstein II
Robert L. Freedman
starring = Brandy
Jason Alexander
Victor Garber Whoopi Goldberg
Whitney Houston
Bernadette Peters
Veanne Cox
Natalie Desselle
Paolo Montalbán
music = Richard Rodgers
Oscar Hammerstein II
Lorenz Hart
country = United States
language = English
network = ABC
released = November 2, 1997 on "The Wonderful World of Disney"
first_aired =
website =
imdb_id = 0128996

The 1997 television re-make of the musical, the only one of the three versions shot on film, is directed by Robert Iscove, written by Robert L. Freedman, and produced by Whitney Houston and Debra Martin Chase for Walt Disney Productions. It was one of the first broadcasts in the latest revival of "The Wonderful World of Disney", on Disney-owned ABC. This version was notable for boasting a racially diverse cast, with Brandy as Cinderella, Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother, Bernadette Peters as Cinderella's stepmother, Paolo Montalban as the prince, Whoopi Goldberg as the queen, Victor Garber as the king, and Jason Alexander as Lionel, the herald.

The hit song "Falling in Love With Love", from the Rodgers and Hart musical "The Boys from Syracuse", was sung by Bernadette Peters as the Stepmother. "The Sweetest Sounds" from Rodgers' "No Strings", was also used, sung by Cinderella and the Prince. "There's Music in You," written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the 1953 film "Main Street To Broadway", was sung as the finale by Fairy Godmother Whitney Houston. The production won two awards in 1998: The Art Directors Guild "Excellence in Production Design Award" and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program.

When Whitney Houston signed on to the film, she was put as producer and in the role of Cinderella. However, she later called Brandy and told her she wanted her to audition for the role of Cinderella saying "I'm already 33 years old, and I want "you" to play Cinderella". Brandy only agreed to do the part if Houston played her fairy godmother, because she was " [her] idol." ["A Cinerella Story Featurette: Hosted By Bernadette Peters" (Available on the DVD)]

All three of the telecast versions of "Cinderella" are now available on DVD.

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London 1958

Harold Fielding produced a stage version of "Cinderella" at the London Coliseum, opening on December 18 1958 and playing through the holiday season. A young ingenue, Yana, played Cinderella with Tommy Steele in a cameo.

United States

Stage versions appeared in theatres in the U.S. as early as 1961. The New York City Opera produced the musical in 1993 and 1995, with the Fairy Godmother being played by Sally Ann Howes and the Stepmother played by Nancy Marchand and Jean Stapleton and revived the production in 2004, with Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother and Dick Van Patten as the King, among other television stars.

A United States tour played from late 2000 through 2001, and starred Kitt as the Fairy Godmother, with Deborah Gibson and later Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Cinderella, Paolo Montalban as the Prince, and, in a casting twist, a gender-bending Everett Quinton playing the Stepmother. ["St. Petersburg Times", November 30 2000.]

Infobox Musical
name=Cinderella


caption=Broadway Asia Poster
music= Richard Rogers
lyrics=Oscar Hammerstein II
basis= "Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella"
productions=2008 Manila 2008 Hangzhou 2008 Suzhou 2008 Wuhan 2008 Chengdu 2008 Shanghai 2008 Beijing 2008 Nanjing 2008 Xian 2008 Shenzhen 2008 Guangzhou 2008 Ningbo 2008 Macau 2009 Singapore
2009 Bangkok
2009 Kuala Lumpur

Asia

Broadway Asia Entertainment produced Cinderella on stage starring Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and Australian actor Peter Saide. The production featured a Broadway caliber cast and design team including direction by Bobby Garcia and costume design by couture fashion designer Renato Balestra. Set was designed by Tony Award Winner David Gallo and lighting design by famed Broadway designer Paul Miller. The 30 week Asian tour started in Manila, Philippines in Summer 2008 from July 29 through August 24. The show will then go on to several cities in China, including; Xian,Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Gunagzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. After its run in China Cinderella will be in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and Japan. An Original International Tour Cast Recording was released in time for the first performance in Manila.

Infobox Musical
name=Cinderella the Musical
subtitle=シンデレラ　the　ミュージカル


caption=Promotional Poster
music= Richard Rogers
lyrics=Oscar Hammerstein II
basis= "Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella"
productions=2008 Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
awards=

Japan

A recent, all-female production of the musical featured J-Pop group Morning Musume and veteran members of the Takarazuka Revue. [ja icon [http://www.helloproject.com/newslist/hello_0803011000.html Hello! Project official announcement.] ] [ja icon [http://www.koma-sta.co.jp/events/0808/index.html Koma Stadium official website.] ] The production ran 33 times, from August 6 to August 25 2008, at Koma Stadium in Shinjuku. The lead roles of Cinderella and the Prince were performed by Morning Musume members Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki.

References

External links

* [http://www.cinderellaonstage.com/ The Official Cinderella Asian Tour Website]
*
*imdb title|id=0057950|title=Cinderella (1965)
*imdb title|id=0128996|title=Cinderella (1997)
* [http://www.rnh.com/show_detail.asp?id=CI Detailed listing from Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/cinderella/index.html Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella"] , from the PBS "Great Performances" website
* [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/89713.html playbill article, Nov.21, 2004 "The First "Cinderella" Returns]
* [http://www.curtainup.com/cinderella.html Curtain Up review, October 2005]
* [http://www.geocities.com/celluloid_cinderellamp/enter.html The Celluloid Cinderella]