September 23, 2013

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 blac
k & 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

Julie Andrews and Jon Cyphe in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

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

Lesley Ann Warren in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965)

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

Brandy Norwood in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)

March 2, 2013
Stage version debuts on Broadway for the first time
-Stars Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana
-Although b
ased 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

Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway


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?

6 comments:

  1. I have only seen the Julie Andrews version, but I love it!!!

    Lady Eowyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really like that one as well! It's hard to beat Julie Andrews.

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  2. Oh yes, the Julie Andrews version used to be my favorite thing to watch. =] I've also heard the Asian tour cast album of R+H Cinderella with Lea Salonga. She is brilliant as ever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know there was an Asian one. I'll have to check it out!

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  3. I love R&H Cinderella! My first exposure was the Lesley Ann Warren version when I was about ten-- then when I was fourteen I bought the Julie Andrews cast recording and loved it to pieces. I sooooo want to see the live version on Broadway. Someday....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen the Lesley Ann Warren version yet, but since I've seen the other two I'm hoping to watch it soon and check it off my list. I'm guessing you've listened to the Broadway Cast Recording? The whole thing is spectacular, and especially Laura Osnes. I so want to see it on Broadway as well. It looks like such a great show.

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