REVIEW: The Classic Fairytale Is Given A Contemporary Twist In Rogers And Hammerstein's CINDERELLA

Friday 4th November 2022, 7:30pm, Lyric Theatre Sydney

Following on from its 2013 Broadway premiere, Douglas Carter Beane's (Book) stage adaptation of Richard Rodgers (Music) and Oscar Hammerstein II's (Lyrics and book) CINDERELLA waltzes onto the Lyric Stage to captivate Sydney audiences of all ages. Based on the French version of the fairy tale, Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, published by Charles Perrault in 1697, this work blends music, first written for the television production in 1957 with the gentler version of the tale of oppression and kindness winning over cruelty and injustice along with new revolutionary characters and more depth and compassion from the existing ones.

Mark Brokaw (Director) and Josh Rhodes' (Choreographer) Broadway production is recreated for the Sydney stage to provide an evening of easy entertainment with beautiful sets (Anna Louizos) and colourful costumes (William Ivey Long) that ensure there is a blend of awe and absurdity, particularly for cruel Madame (Tina Bursil) and her selfish daughters Charlotte (Bianca Bruce) and Gabrielle (Matilda Moran). While many contemporary musicals, particularly touring productions, have come to rely heavily on computer generated backdrops it is refreshing that Louizos has returned to the classic set design, including elements that the characters interact with, from knots in trees from which Ella's (Shubsri Kandiah) woodland friends emerge, to the detailed elements her father's home in which she has now become a servant following his death. The design of the work incorporates a comical combination of the classic imagery and pantomime sensibilities, from the Prince Topher's (Ainsley Melham) wheeled horse and colourful puppet beasts that he slays.

Paired with Beane's adaptation, Brokaw ensures that this work does not take itself to seriously while the gravity of the underlying message is maintained. In this vein, the they ensure that the work also has a universal appeal, not just entertaining the throng of youngsters wanting a fairytale, but the older audiences that are a bit more wise to the realities of the world. Beane has layered in grown up jokes in such a way that they sail over the consciousness of the innocent youth and the physical comedy is only apparent to the astute observer.

The casting captures this intention perfectly. As Ella, Shubshri Kandiah exudes a balance of the sweet natured innocence everyone expects of Cinderella while still having the strength of character to stand up for what she believes in of kindness and loyalty to her friends. Its wonderful that the casting has also avoided the Disney images that many would associate with Cinderella. Ainsley Melham is always a delight to watch and his Prince Topher is no different. He has a wonderful ability to layer his characters with subtle complexities that glint through the façade that his character shows to the world. While Topher is supposed to be a charming prince, capable of slaying dragons and the like, Melham ensures that it is clear that beneath the obligation, the Prince is sceptical of his purpose in life and the machinations of his advisor Sebastian (Nicholas Hammond).

As the 'villans' of the story, Tina Bursill and Nicholas Hammond are delicious as Madame and Sebastian. They both exude the confidence and gravity of those that believe they are entitled to treat others poorly though they both should realise their positions aren't really as elevated as they wish they'd be. As Madame's daughters, Cinderella's stepsisters, Bianca Bruce and Matilda Moran are comically brilliant as the perpetually hungry Charlotte and the secretly sensitive Gabrielle. Bruce and the female ensemble's rendition of Stepsister's Lament is a wonderful comic relief to open Act 2 and Moran's expression of Gabrielle's "awakening" to a more caring and sensitive nature is endearing.

In the supporting, but no less important, roles of Marie and Jean Michel, Silvie Paladino and Josh Gardiner are wonderful as they lend different elements to the story with figures that should not be dismissed because at face value they seem insignificant. The 'mad woman' Marie that only Ella seems to have time for, turns out to be her 'fairy godmother' with magic to make her dreams come true, well, at least till midnight. Jean Michel is the young outspoken revolutionary providing a voice for the displaced poor in Prince Topher's kingdom but holds more understanding of how to manage an effective and happy community. It is a treat to see Paladino back on a Sydney musical stage, lending her soaring classical voice that has been the mainstay of every Christmas broadcast for years to the weighty role. Gardiner lends a physicality to his expression of Jean Michel that balances a goofy awkwardness with sincerity and passion.

Regardless of your age, this interpretation of CINDERELLA is a wonderful escape from the real world as it blends the sensibilities of the golden age of Broadway with contemporary concerns and propels the classic fairytale into the modern era. A beautiful and magical theatrical experience for young and old.

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