Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway 2012-3 Season

 

I'm a little late on this since the buzz started around December--I frankly forgot it during the holidays--but there hasn't been much news about it yet anyway, mostly the initial announcement. So here are clips from various articles to get the fullest news. I am rather happy about it since the reworking could make it interesting and this musical is the type to go on tour if it does well on Broadway so I have a better chance of seeing it. My life doesn't lend itself to Broadway trips to New York very often. Not ever, actually, although I have seen things in LA and London come to think of it. And it might lead to another TV production or at least a PBS taping. The Andrews version is my favorite or perhaps due to its age.

From Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella Eyes Broadway Run with New Book From Douglas Carter Beane by Broadway.com Staff:

The first Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is eyeing a run during the 2012-13 season, according to the New York Times. The show, which was first produced as a made-for-television film in 1957, will feature a new book by Douglas Carter Beane (Sister Act, Lysistrata Jones). A workshop of the musical is expected to take place in April. While producers have an actress in mind for the title role, no potential casting has been revealed.

The production is expected to feature several songs that were cut from other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals including South Pacific ("Now is the Time") and The Sound of Music ("I've Lived and I've Loved"). It would also feature several changes to the book including eliminating the characters of Cinderella's birth mother and father, as well as the King and Queen (who will be replaced by one character who oversees the Prince and the kingdom).

From Douglas Carter Beane Is Godfather of Broadway-Aimed Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella by Adam Hetrick:

The property's closest brush with Broadway was a national tour that played The Theatre at Madison Square Garden in 2001. It starred Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother and Jamie-Lynn Sigler in the title role. That production drew on several versions of Cinderella, including the original 1957 teleplay and the 1997 "Wonderful World of Disney" version.

Beane (Xanadu, Lysistrata Jones, The Little Dog Laughed), who also delivered a fresh book for the Broadway production of Sister Act, will "re-chart" the journey of the classic tale in a new way. Retaining all classic elements of the fairytale, it will now be Cinderella's turn to rescue the Prince.

Beane's treatment will also incorporate songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, as well as songs from the original television version, including "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible," "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"

Various stage and film productions of Cinderella have been studded with rarities from the Rodgers and Hammerstein trunk, including cut songs from South Pacific and Oklahoma! Through the years, such hits as "The Sweetest Sounds" and "Falling in Love With Love" have also found their way into Cinderella.

Cinderella was written for television and had its premiere in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the title role. A 1965 made-for-television version starred Lesley Ann Warren, Celeste Holm and Ginger Rogers. The 1997 television remake featured Brandy and Whitney Houston. It has been licensed as a stage property since 1958.

From Could a Reconceived ‘Cinderella’ Get Invited to a Broadway Ball?
by PATRICK HEALY:

Calling Mr. Beane’s book “somewhat revisionist,” Ms. Goodman said that the biggest twist was having Cinderella “rescue the prince by teaching him good values.” She described the plot as blending political satire (to interest adult theater-goers) with slapstick humor and the familiar story of cruel stepsisters, a fairy godmother, and a magic pumpkin (to appeal to children and teenagers). Mr. Beane also sought inspiration from various literary adaptation of the tale.

Mr. Chapin said that Mr. Beane was given plenty of latitude to reconceive the story for modern audiences. He added that the playwright had expanded the score to include a few songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein trunk that had been cut from some of their other musicals, such as a song called “Now Is the Time” that was written for “South Pacific” and “I’ve Lived and I’ve Loved” from “The Sound of Music.” No classic songs from other shows will be interpolated for “Cinderella,” Mr. Chapin said.

The new story does not include Cinderella’s mother and father (but fear not, the step-mother lives), Ms. Goodman said, nor is there a king and queen living in the castle with the prince. “Instead there is a guy who oversees the kingdom for the prince,” she said, described this regent figure as “a kind of Dick Cheney character.”

And finally because a director brings us one major step closer to the stage:

From New Broadway Cinderella Will Reunite Director Mark Brokaw With Writer Douglas Carter Beane by Kenneth Jones:

Mark Brokaw, the director who gave shape to productions of Paul Vogel's How I Learned to Drive and Douglas Carter Beane's As Bees in Honey Drown, will direct the first Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, producer Robyn Goodman announced on Jan. 12. Tony Award nominee Beane was previously announced as the adapter of the script for the new version.