The Beginners Guide to R+H's Cinderella

This week I'll be joining in on Celebrate Musical Week at Another Period Drama Blog. The idea is to pick one musical and write about it several times this week. Being such a big musical fan I though it would be fun to join in, so for this week be prepared for all sorts of awesomeness from Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella.

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We're all familiar with the story of Cinderella: a young woman forced to be a servant by her cruel and selfish stepmother and stepsisters, yet dreams of a better life. With the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a princess and finds her prince.The R+H version is the story that classic fairy tale that they put their own spin on and filled with spectacular songs.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were genius' when it came to writing musicals and Cinderella was no exception. Their shows were originally written for the stage and later on most of them were made into films as well. And although The Sound of Music, The King and I, and South Pacific may be some of the most popular and well known shows they wrote, in my opinion this is one of, if not the best musical they wrote.

To start off the week I though go over the history of the show, which spans over 50 years!

And now I present:

The History of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

March 31, 1957
Television musical airs live on CBS
-Stars Julie Andrews and Jon Cypher
-Seen by over 100 million people (approx. 60% of the US then), a record at the time
-Was originally broadcasted in both black & white and color, but due to technology at the time only the B&W was able to be saved and remains today
-Nominated for 2 Emmy Awards


February 22, 1965
First television remake broadcasted on CBS
-Stars Lesley Ann Warren
-Seen by over 22 million viewers


November 22, 1997
Made for TV movie airs on ABC
-Stars Brandy Norwood, Bernadette Peters, and Veanne Cox
-Seen by over 60 million people


March 2, 2013
Stage version debuts on Broadway for the first time
-Stars Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana
-Although based on the version by Douglas Carter Beane, the story line is very similar to the original, just updated a little and five new songs added to make it longer.
-Costume designer William Ivey Long won a Tony for Best Costume Design in a Musical

Now that you're familiar with the R+H version you'll be ready for the rest of the posts I have planned this week. Cinderella is one of my all-time favorite musicals, so it's going to be a blast. Have you seen any of the versions of Cinderella?