A New Cinderella
It’s a new Cinderella – the girl and the show! With a whole new script written for the old Rodgers and Hammerstein show, Cinderella herself is now a feminist, one ugly step sister is nice, the other is funny, and the entertainment value of this musical is much enhanced.
The new Cinderella is now on stage at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, and while it’s a David Mirvish production, this is a touring show, arriving in Toronto for a nice sit-down of six weeks.
I had seen Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella in the past, and frankly, it was just another re-telling of the fairy tale, and probably not as much fun as the Disney version, with its Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.
But this new version, updated a couple of years ago, trumps all previous Cinderellas. It’s a clever show where Cinderella has to educate the Prince about social justice issues. The Stepmother is still evil, but so is the Prince’s advisor. Cinderella isn’t a woebegone character, waiting for her Prince to rescue her – she is quite capable of taking the situation into her own hands. And there are many laughs along the way.
The music, of course, is still the beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein score. In fact, in some songs, you hear a hint of The Sound of Music or South Pacific.
The show is very well cast, but as it’s an American touring company, we aren’t familiar with any of the actor/singer/dancers.
Costumes are a delight, and watch closely, if you blink you’ll miss the costume changes. Cinderella’s ball gown appears when she twirls, as if by magic.
The set, too, is good, with quick changes from out in the forest to inside the home. And of course, the requisite Cinderella staircase floats into place.
Cinderella continues with eight shows a week at Ed Mirvish Theatre until January 10. Call Ticket King 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333 or visit www.mirvish.com for tickets.
Cinderella
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
New Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Choreographed by Josh Rhodes
Musical Adaptation, Supervision, and Arrangements by David Chase
Orchestrations by Danny Troob
Performed by Kaitlyn Davidson, Andy Huntington Jones et al.
Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto
Presented by David Mirvish
December 1 to January 10, 2015
Reviewed by Mary Alderson