Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:00am

Starring Whitney Houston, Brandy, Paolo Montalban, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, Victor Garber, Veanne Cox is on BET right now in honor of Miss Houston.

I haven't seen this since it originally aired...and so far I'm loving it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:56am

Haven't seen it in years, but I thought it was delightful.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:56am

It might be easy for us to forget but this really was an important milestone in non-traditional casting, not just for Brandy as Cinderella, which meant a great deal in and of itself, but for its audacious employment of a strong multiracial cast thanks to Whitney Houston's ingenuity and courage. A very nice tribute. I just turned it on myself. Love the teamwork f Natalie Desselle-Reide and Veanne Cox, and Victor and Whoopi! Paolo Montalban is charming.

It will never supplant the Leslie Ann Warren version in my affections, but it means a lot to watch it this morning.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 11:36am

I was able to catch the end of it. I slept in this morning. It brought back many great memories. I would watch this version countless times when I was younger. Terrific cast and music. I also really started to become a fan of Bernadette's in this film. Still, I'd rank the Lesley Ann Warren version higher though.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 1:53pm

I wish they would release the soundtrack to this! I remember at the time there was some dispute between Whitney and Brandy's record labels, but that's surly not an issue now. It would be great to finally have this on CD.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 3:25pm

I thought it was awful, even when I was younger.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 6:20pm

The songs they added to fill out the film are excellent. I'm sure they're going to use some of them when it comes to Broadway.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 6:31pm

^They used them in the tour. I really liked the way the tour used part of "There's Music in You" for the prologue. I don't really understand why we need a new adaptation for Broadway.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 8:48pm

I don't like Brandy as Cinderella, but I love the rest of the cast. Btw, thanks for posting this, I caught the rest of the movie after reading it. :)

[gypsy4]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:32pm

I've never understood why Networks never mounted a Broadway engagement of the show, so many magical memories. the Tour also deserved a cast recording!

[random person 112]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:57pm

Me either it's a wonderful show. As for the movie i enjoyed it but they really couldn't find someone better than Brandy? Really?

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 11:05pm

^ Whitney was the one who wanted Brandy to play the role. The other day on Entertainment Tonight, they showed a behind the scenes look at the film, and Whitney said that she was attached to the project for four years and was originally going to play the title role. However, she felt that she was too old play Cinderella and just wanted to remain on as a producer. She thought that Brandy had the energy for the part. I also remember in another behind the scenes of the show, Brandy said that she would only play Cinderella if Whitney played her Fairy Godmother.



Updated On: 3/30/12 at 11:05 PM

[degrassifan]

Posted: 2/19/12 at 1:29am

It's such a beautiful movie with great music. The Julie Andrews version was great too! The Lesley Ann Warren version looked cheap, but was good as well. All three versions were simply beautiful, but I grew up with the 1997 version! In terms of the impact it had, Cinderella was the High School Musical of the late 90s (but better, of course).

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/20/12 at 11:24am

As I recalled the second remake, Brandy couldn't hold a candle to my childhood memories of annual viewings of Warren (as exciting an evening as network broadcasts of Wizard of Oz), or to my later adult viewing of Andrews. She registered as flat; a girl without any dreams to come true.

Seeing this yesterday, I felt this was a great strength. Even her ability to dream had been denied her. And there's a huge payoff. When she finally confronts Peters on the staircase after "A Lovely Night," she's heartbreaking.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/30/12 at 10:45pm

Bernadette's portrayal of the Stepmother was a choice in a poll today about fairy tale villains in an Entertainment Weekly article.


'Mirror Mirror' on the wall, who's most evil villainess of them all?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/30/12 at 10:54pm

I own all three on DVD (as well as countless other tellings of Cinderella) and they never cease to make me smile. I can't choose a favorite among the three because even though they're the same story they're each unique.

I was able to catch the tour when it hit MSG. I remember my friends and I lifted out binoculars in unison when Paolo took of his shirt. Deborah Gibson had been playing the title role but had been replaced with Jaime-Lynn Sigler. Eartha Kitt was so amazing as the Fairy Godmother. I wish I could relive that moment over and over again.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 3/30/12 at 11:15pm

Yay!! Anjelica Huston's stepmother in Ever After came in second place! Def my favorite Cinderella story.

I don't think Bernadette's stepmother was that cruel. She could have been worse.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/30/12 at 11:25pm

^ That's actually one of the reasons why I perfer this version over the 1950 Disney animated film. Lady Tremaine truly was EVIL (though Elenor Audley voiced her very well). Bernadette, Jo Van Fleet, and Ilka Chase were mean, but they were never like the spawn of Satan. In the 1957 and 1965 versions, the Stepmothers and their daughters accpeted the fact that Cinderella would marry the Prince and they even attended the wedding. In the 1997 version, well it seems that the Step-family begged too much for forgivenness or they most likely not invited to the wedding.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 3/30/12 at 11:58pm

I don't think Lady Tremaine was that evil. She was looking out for her own daughters! Haha. But the movie said she was a cold and cruel person in general.

I think the nicest stepmother of all was Ilka Chase. She didn't really do anything. Jo Van Fleet actually beat Cinderella, even though we don't see it on camera. I think out of the three R&H stepmother, Bernadette's was the meanest. They way she belittled Cinderella was horrible. I don't think she and her daughters were forgiven though. The gates at the palace closed behind them.

Another interesting stepmother was Margaret Lockwood in The Slipper and the Rose.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 3/31/12 at 12:04am

The meanest Stepmother hands down was Everett Quinton.

Updated On: 3/31/12 at 12:04 AM

[jo]

Posted: 3/31/12 at 12:40am

I was lucky to have seen the Manila run of this international Asian production of CINDERELLA, with the incomparable Lea Salonga in the title role. Lovely music and refreshing performances by the international cast!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpeLwDRjBg4!



Updated On: 3/31/12 at 12:40 AM

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/31/12 at 10:57am

"I don't think Lady Tremaine was that evil. She was looking out for her own daughters! Haha. But the movie said she was a cold and cruel person in general."

Still, it was extremely awful of her to make her daughters tear the dress that the mice made for Cinderella to shreds. Also, in that unnecessary third film, which I briefly saw being shown in a book and video store, when she finally had enough of Cinderella, she made Lucifer drive an evil pumpkin carriage, with Cinderella trapped inside of it, which would lead her to her death. Fortunately, she escaped.

"I don't think she and her daughters were forgiven though. The gates at the palace closed behind them."

I think you're right.
Updated On: 3/31/12 at 10:57 AM

[degrassifan]

Posted: 3/31/12 at 1:20pm

Haha, I wasn't counting the third film (which was actually REALLY good in my opinion), but yes she is incredubly evil in it. She wanted Cinderella dead and actually was going to turn Anastasia into a toad with the godmother's wand in the movie's climax. Therefore, you are right. Tremaine was freaking ruthless!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/31/12 at 10:24pm

The third Disney film was very good. The songs were so-so (mostly pre-exisiting melodies with new words) but the plot was actually interesting.

Upon Cinderella & the Prince's first anniversary Lady Tremaine discovers how Cinderella actually did it. She steals The Fairy Godmother's wand to turn back time and make the prince think that Anastasia was the one he fell for. She ultimately turned against her own daughter which makes her more ruthless than the other characterizations of the character.

Cinderella II wasn't great but it's not bad if you look at it for what it was. Episodes of a television series that Disney decided not to go forward with. The songs featured are catchy and the short vignettes are cute.

My favorite telling of the tale has to be the Oscar-nominated Slipper & The Rose. It's one of the few versions that really touches on the class issues involved. Now, that is a movie I'd like to see come to Broadway.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 4/1/12 at 1:01am

Cinderella II was good for what it was, but I think Cinderella III should have been the original Cinderella sequel in the first place. Speaking of trilogies, I have yet to see The Little Mermaid III!

I wonder why The Slipper and the Rose hasn't come to Broadway yet? All it really needs are more songs. It already has a strong script, and a good concept of seeing things from the prince's point-of-view. We even get to see what happened after the slipper fits and the trials and tribulations Cinderella and Edward had to go through before reaching the alter.

This is random but why hasn't Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory come to Broadway yet? It's on ABC Family now and I think it has potential.