The timeless enchantment of a magical fairy tale is reborn with the
Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of originality, charm, and
elegance. Originally presented on television in 1957 starring Julie
Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was the most widely
viewed program in the history of the medium. Its re-creation in
1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren was no less successful in
transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of
dreams-come-true, and so was a second remake in 1997, which starred
Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother. In
1956 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were indisputably the
world's most successful writers of musicals. Julie Andrews was a
sparkling new star, having just triumphed in My Fair Lady. When her
agent approached Rodgers and Hammerstein and suggested that the
television audience would welcome a musical version of
"Cinderella," it was an irresistible temptation for all. Everything
about the project was right from the start. The CBS production team
was quickly assembled. Richard Lewine, a distant cousin of Rodgers
and a close friend, was the producer, Ralph Nelson the director.
Howard Lindsay and his wife, Dorothy Stickney, were signed for the
King and Queen; Jon Cypher played the Prince; the Stepmother and
Stepsisters were made less frightening and more comic by Ilka
Chase, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley; rather than the standard
old crone, the beautiful Edie Adams played the Godmother. Rodgers
and Hammerstein approached the story with the honesty and
simplicity that characterized all their work. They purposely did
not seek to improve a story they felt was dramatically sound, as
many writers are prone to do, instead concentrating on bringing the
characters to life. Rodgers wrote in his autobiography Musical
Stages, "In writing the story and the songs, Oscar and I felt that
it was important to keep everything as traditional as possible,
without any 'modernizing' or reaching for psychological
significance." When Hammerstein was asked where he found the
version of Cinderella story he based his adaptation upon, he
answered, "I looked it up in the encyclopedia." The marriage of
music, lyrics and story in Cinderella exemplified their artistic
philosophy; all elements held together integrally to illuminate the
characters. As Rodgers explained, "Although a few of its songs have
become popular, our score for Cinderella is another example of what
theatre music is really about. No matter what the medium, a score
is more than a collection of individual songs. It is, or should be,
a cohesive entity whose word and music are believable expressions
of the characters singing them...Like a symphony, concerto or
opera, some portions have greater appeal than others, but it is the
work as a whole that makes the overall impression." Cinderella
succeeded. When it was broadcast on March 31, 1957, it was viewed
by more people than any other program in the history of television.
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