CINDERELLA Previews Thread.

[henrikegerman]

So it was ok to put a trunk song into the 1965 tv version (which was not in the 1959 tv version) but just so wrong to put it and several other trunk songs into the 2013 Broadway version?

I don't get the logic.

Of course, that doesn't mean one can't - after seeing the show - say this interpolation or that doesn't work. Or that none of it worked.

But to condemn the mere fact of changes outright and blindly - by some even before they see the show - simply because they've wrecked with perfection isn't persuasive.

[PalJoey]

Pal Joey, they wrote Cinderella for tv during the Eisenhower era. The fact that they stuck to fairy tale romance and avoided more topical social justice issues which might now resonate with an audience (for better or for worse depending on how they are treated), doesn't necessarily mean R&H would have been opposed to a 2013 R&H score Broadway version Cinderella which takes a very different approach.

Huh?

They also wrote The Sound of Music in the Eisenhower era, replete with Nazis. They didn't write it as a fairy tale just because of the era in which they were writing it.

Likewise, they didn't write Cinderella as a fairy tale because it was the Eisenhower era.

The wrote Cinderella as a fairy tale because it is a friggin' fairy tale.

[E.Davis]

Did anyone think that she looked a little to much like Belle in the second ball gown?

[degrassifan]

Not only was Loneliness of Evening a trunk song in the 1965 version, but the 1965 version also had an instrumental of "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" during the ball scene, and that was originally written for Oklahoma!

"(Would any producer bring in numbers from GIGI to improve a My Fair Lady revival?)"

Actually, I wouldn't mind Eliza singing "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight" in a My Fair Lady revival as she gets ready for the Embassy Ball.

[Belle9]

Yes she did look like Belle! Funny I forgot to mention that given my username... I found it very strange that they would choose that dress, but it didn't bother me too much.

[E.Davis]

It was also interesting that the dress she was in, the one that Madame tears, looks just like the one from the Disney film.....

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Belle9, I'm curious. Did you see the show with your parents?

[Belle9]

No, I saw it with a friend.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Thanks for indulging me by answering. :)

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Someone told me earlier today that the show's running time last night, including intermission, was down to 2:20. They definitely made some cuts. Didn't After Eight or someone else have the first or second preview at 2:45 or 2:50? 2:20 sounds reasonable to me, and I'd think that after the show is up for a while and tightens up, it could be down to 2:15 or so.

[bwayphreak234]

Wow they have already cut off 25 minutes?

[dyland]

[dyland]

does anyone have a picture of the company board in the lobby?

[egghumor]

From reading this entire thread at this point, it would seem THIS production is the one Stephen Sondheim should be firing off an angry letter about.

[Jungle Red]

The point I think we're making is that these changes don't deflect from the story. They work.

These new changes don't work. That's the problem.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Egghumor and JungleRed, unless you've seen the show (and I haven't), how the hell do you know they don't work? From reading this board? Really? Some people think they don't work. Maybe after actually seeing the show you'll agree. Or not.

[egghumor]

Whoa! Just chill, ROM! I was making a joke about the obvious passion of devotees of CINDERELLA. For my money, I hardly care.

[songanddanceman2]

RaisedOnMusicals wow you really want this show to be a hit

[henrikegerman]

Pal Joey, yes, Cinderella and Sound of Music were both products of their time. And, yes, it was a time when one could make a musical about a family fleeing the Nazis from a book about a family fleeing the Nazis. And the public loved it. But that's not the same as opening up a classic fairy tale to touch on mass social problems, which I doubt would have met with much approval. Especially on television.

But even if it could have worked then, the fact that they chose not to be iconoclasts in adapting Cinderella then, doesn't mean they wouldn't be ok with a new version of the musical on stage 54 years later which would treat the material differently by bringing in larger social themes.

[Jungle Red]

I haven't seen the show and I probably won't, unless I win a trip to NYC. I certainly can't get there while working full time and school starts next week.

From what I've read, these changes don't work. At least for me. I like when musicals take on social, moral, ethical issues. Those musicals work because they're part of the original idea.

If the creative team wanted to write a musical about the 2012 election, they just should've done that. But to cram this new idea into a beloved, classic show boggles me.

You can agree or not. I really don't care.

[SamIAm2]

I appreciate everyone's reports and comments about the show. The changes you report actually make me look forward to seeing the show more than I did before, when I thought that it would be the basic Cinderella story.

I had thought that I would probably see it because I think that Laura Osnes is one of the finest performers around and expect that her career will continue to get bigger and bigger. However, I was not sure I wanted to make the trip up from DC to sit through 2 1/2 hours of a simplistic fairy tale that has its greatest appeal to demographic groups very different from the 60 year old male that I am. To me, I expect that the new features in this book will give the story more depth and more substance. I am happy that it addresses ethical issues that are very pertinent today. Now I am as excited to see the show as I am to again see Laura perform live.

[South Fl Marc]

I have to say, before reading this thread, I had no desire to see this show. After all, if I wanted to see Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella, I have four dvds of it, Leslie and Julie being my favorite (I don't have Brandy's, that one is just pathetic due to a totally miscast leading lady).

Now, I am dieing to see it. It sounds really interesting and it should be fun to see how much it changes over the previews.

On a side note, Whizzer, I love all of your reviews! Thanks!

[ucjrdude902]

Whizzer do you plan on going back later in previews?

[PalJoey]

But even if it could have worked then, the fact that they chose not to be iconoclasts in adapting Cinderella then, doesn't mean they wouldn't be ok with a new version of the musical on stage 54 years later which would treat the material differently by bringing in larger social themes.

Well, I suppose it's all conjecture, since the men are dead, but I would posit that my conjecture--that the styles in which they wrote the two musicals are the styles they intended--is eminently logical; whereas your conjecture--that the styles in which they wrote the two musicals were accidental products of their times--is blatantly screwy.

[henrikegerman]

I just read Whizzer's review. (I should have read it days ago; then I wouldn't have risked making a fool of myself in some of my posts - ah, well, I'm constantly making a fool of myself on this site anyway).

And now, Judging by Whizzer's description, even I have to admit, even before seeing it, that this new Cinderella sounds like a nightmare.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

I absolutely want to go back during previews. If I can I might go this weekend.

Ha henrik- a nightmare might be too harsh! It's just very problematic right now. I think some very good points have been raised about meeting people's expectations when they see this show.

No one is buying a ticket to see Cinderella. Things ARE happening everyday, but that is indeed an impossibility. One can only buy a ticket to Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and alteration to the title comes with a promise of what this production will deliver. Go to ibdb.com. The show isn't listed under "C" but "R." When you buy tickets the tagline isn't anywhere to be found.

The Jean-Michel plot isn't really cringeworthy or anything. It's just out of place, boring and unnecessary. Belle is also not over-exaggerating how politically charged it is. It's just a retread of the Romney/Obama election. Harriet Harris even has some line to her daughters like, "How could you associate with those people...they're liberals!" Bartlett all but comes out says he doesn't care about the 47%.