Cinderella
Tickets from $45 Buy Tickets
Cititour.com Review
Not every story needs to be a Broadway extravaganza. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which began life as a lovely little 90-minute TV special in 1957, has been stretched and stuffed into a big, bold two-and-a-half-hour musical. It looks gorgeous, so much so that it may take a bit of time to notice this Cinderella is metaphorically close to naked beneath its radiant gowns and lavish stagecraft.
Witty playwright Douglas Carter Beane has “modernized” Hammerstein’s book, attempting to make it about more than just the rags-to-riches story of a maltreated stepdaughter. Now there’s no king or queen, and the kingdom is being ruled by a corrupt bureaucrat unbeknownst to Prince Topher (he was Prince Christopher originally). Ella’s (her name’s been shortened too) desire to go to the ball isn’t just about romance and beauty and clothes, it’s also so she can alert him to the plight of the poor, whose land is being unjustly seized.
It’s a clever conceit, but no matter how much window dressing Beane and director Mark Brokaw use to try to add heft to Cinderella, it can’t disguise the fact that this was never a terribly deep show to begin with. Granted, even lesser Rodgers and Hammerstein songs are more sumptuous than most of the new Broadway music, so there’s joy to be had when Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana croon “Ten Minutes Ago” and at the adorably amusing Ann Harada’s rendition of “Stepsister’s Lament.” Harriet Harris is a wonderful comedic hag as the evil stepmother, but Peter Bartlett’s take on the wicked ruler Sebastian could use a more sinister touch.
The most splendid sequences involve Ella’s rags-to-couture transformation. She's abetted by her fairy godmother (Victoria Clark) and a fox and raccoon who become her pumpkin/coach’s footman and driver. It’s where story, music and Josh Rhodes’s vivacious choreography come together to create theatrical and fairytale magic.
But this Cinderella is not the royal beauty that this production longs to turn her into. Maybe if an attempt had been made to stage the modest 90-minute version... But modesty doesn’t go very far on Broadway these days.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://www.cinderellaonbroadway.com
Cast
Laura Osnes, Santino Fontana, Victoria Clark, Harriet Harris, Peter Bartlett, Ann Harada, Marla Mindelle, Greg Hildreth, Phumzile Sojola
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/3/2013
Closing 1/3/2015
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 1/25/2013
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Map
Comments
Sign up for our newsletter !