Fresh ‘Cinderella’ gives heroine social conscience
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” is back — with a difference, in the lavish and enjoyable touring production of the recent Broadway hit.
This Cindy is the same plucky, sweet-natured, longsuffering yet eternally hopeful heroine she’s always been. Yet she’s acquired a social conscience and more worldly perspective — not to mention a supporting cast of quirky, politically aware and sometimes sarcastic characters to help — or hinder — her advancement from ash heap to palace.
To develop the first Broadway production of the show Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote for TV in 1957, the producers recruited playwright Douglas Carter Beane to write a new book. While sincere in depicting the heroine, the script’s
perspective in other respects is tongue-in-cheek and modern. This remake presents a clueless Prince Topher, whom Cinderella needs to awaken to the injustice sweeping his kingdom, due to the edicts of power-grabbing Prime Minister Sebastian. It also adds Jean-Michel, a soap-box reformer, bent on revolution and sweet on stepsister Gabrielle, who’s not wicked in this telling but ditsy and well-meaning. Most of Beane’s plot
additions and tart one-liners are funny in their own right, even if they don’t always fit the sincere score and love story like a glass slipper. Yet everything gels increasingly well as the action advances, especially as Act 2 helpfully extends the narrative, with the heroine and Gabrielle becoming allies, and gives Cinderella a chance to revisit the Prince.
The most important factor is the score, and that is beautifully realized, with fine voices in the leads and strong musical values throughout, from Danny Troob’s sparkling orchestrations to Jay Alger’s sensitive conducting. The handful of key songs from the original score are first-rate Rodgers and Hammerstein, lovely songs that capture the heart of the story with an enchanting lilt: “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible,” “Ten Minutes Ago,” “A Lovely Night” and the haunting “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?”
Lesser-known Rodgers and Hammerstein songs from other shows helpfully expand the score. “Me, Who Am I?” makes an effective establishing song for the re-conceived Prince, while two fine ballads, “Loneliness of Evening” and “There’s Music in You,” are especially well-employed here.
Mark Brokaw’s smart, stylish direction helps smooth the tonal discrepancies. Even more helpful is Josh Rhodes’ spirited choreography, particularly the sweeping waltz that caps Act 1, a beautifully shaped and sustained dance scene.
Audrey Cardwell, who has just assumed the title role, makes an ideal Cinderella. She dances elegantly, sings with sweetness, strength and feeling, and acts the part with requisite warmth, charm, pathos, pluck and generosity of spirit.
Andy Huntington Jones brings a strong voice and unaffected humor to his engaging Prince Topher, a regular-guy royal who’s learning on the job.
Kecia Lewis deftly morphs from raucously dotty Crazy Marie into the glittering Fairy Godmother, the Rodgers and Hammerstein earth mother figure dispensing common sense and inspiration; she scores big with her stirring “There’s Music in You.”
Aymee Garcia is a funny fright as clunky stepsister Charlotte, with traces of Miss Piggy in her blunt delivery; she’s a hoot in the entertaining “Stepsister’s Lament.” Kaitlyn Davidson is dear as insecure, lovesick Gabrielle, with David Andino funny as her harmless radical beau.
Beth Glover’s absurdly pretentious Madame, the stepmother, and Branch Woodman’s snide, condescending Sebastian are able — and ultimately redeemable — villains. Antoine L. Smith adds another rousing voice as the deadpan Lord Pinkleton.
William Ivey Long’s sumptuous costumes and Anna Louizos’ picturesque settings, from shadowy forest to grand ballroom, ensure that the show looks great and in traditional storybook fashion. The big transformation scene, with first the Godmother, then Cinderella, going from rags to splendor, is a marvel.
The new script’s wry jokes, the point of the rewrite — that everyone deserves a fair shake — fit right in with the prevalent humanitarian streak in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s work overall. The show is at its best when it lets the music make the magic — and that’s enough of the time to recommend it.