Cinderella (musical) - Stage Productions

Stage Productions

The musical was first performed on stage at the London Coliseum, together with a 1958 holiday pantomime adaptation of Cinderella that also used songs from Me & Juliet. Harold Fielding produced this version, which opened on December 18, 1958 and played through the holiday season. Yana (Pamella Guard), played Cinderella. Also appearing were Tommy Steele, Jimmy Edwards and Betty Marsden.

Stage versions began to appear in U.S. theatres by 1961. The New York City Opera produced the musical in 1993 and 1995, with the Fairy Godmother being played by Sally Ann Howes and the Stepmother played by Nancy Marchand and Jean Stapleton. It revived the production in 2004 with Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother and Dick Van Patten as the King, among other television stars. A United States tour played from November 2000 through 2001 and starred Kitt as the Fairy Godmother, with Deborah Gibson and later Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Cinderella, Paolo Montalbán as the Prince, and, in a casting twist, a gender-bending Everett Quinton playing the Stepmother.

A 30-week Asian tour of Cinderella starred Lea Salonga and Australian Peter Saide. The production was directed by Bobby Garcia, with choreography by Vince Pesce, costume design by Renato Balestra. Sets were designed by David Gallo and lighting design was by Paul Miller. The tour started in Manila, Philippines, on July 29, 2008. The show then went on to several cities in China, including Xian, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Gunagzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. It then toured in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and Japan. A cast album was issued in 2008.

An all-female production of the musical in Japan in 2008 featured J-Pop group Morning Musume and veteran members of the Takarazuka Revue The production ran throughout August 2008, at Shinjuku Koma Theater. The lead roles of Cinderella and the Prince were performed by Morning Musume members Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki.

Douglas Carter Beane wrote a new book for the musical's first Broadway production expected to open in 2013. The new version, in which Cinderella rescues the prince, includes the best-known songs from the familiar score and features four songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, including "Now is the Time", cut from South Pacific, and "I've Lived and I've Loved", cut from The Sound of Music. It was given workshop productions in 2012. Mark Brokaw is directing the production with Josh Rhodes choreographing, and the Broadway cast includes Laura Osnes in the title role, Santino Fontana as the Prince, Victoria Clark as the Fairy Godmother, Harriet Harris as Cinderella's stepmother, Peter Bartlett as the Lord Chancellor and Ann Harada and Marla Mindelle as stepsisters Charlotte and Gabrielle, and Greg Hildreth as a new character, the rebel Jean-Michel, who wishes to overthrow the Prince and loves Gabrielle. Previews are scheduled to begin on January 24, 2013, with an official opening on February 24 at The Broadway Theatre. Designers include Anna Louizos (sets), William Ivey Long (costumes) and Kenneth Posner (lighting).