BWW Exclusive: Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization Launches AR Instagram Filter With Assistance from CINDERELLA Prince, Paolo Montalban

Concord Theatricals just announced that The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization has launched an AR Filter on the official "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" Instagram page. Beginning at 10AM, fans are encouraged to visit THIS LINK on their mobile devices to use the filter. Through the enchantment of AR, they'll be sprinkled with magic from the Fairy Godmother's wand - accompanied by some iconic music from Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Need a bit of inspiration? Paolo Montalban, who starred as "Prince Christopher" in the 1997 TV musical alongside Brandy and Whitney Houston, was the first to test out the new filter, and stars in the filter's demo video on Instagram. Fans can use the filter to express their excitement about #Cinderella1997 before its exclusive arrival on Disney+ on Friday, February 12. And if they tag @CinderellaMusical they might be featured on the page's Instagram Story!

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, streaming exclusively on Disney+ from February 12, the legendary 1997 televised movie musical stars Brandy in the title role and Whitney Houston as "Fairy Godmother," alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Natalie Desselle Reid, Bernadette Peters, Paolo Montalban, Veanne Cox and Jason Alexander.

Premiering on November 2, 1997 to 60 million viewers as a program for "The Wonderful World of Disney" series on ABC, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella became an instant fan favorite, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and earning seven Emmy Award nominations. Celebrated for its diverse representation, grand musical numbers and unforgettable song book, the film features an incredible array of beloved songs by the iconic songwriting duo of Rodgers & Hammerstein, including "Impossible," "In My Own Little Corner," "Ten Minutes Ago," "A Lovely Night," "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" and more. The television special was directed by Robert Iscove, with a teleplay by Robert L. Freedman and choregraphy by Rob Marshall. Whitney Houston, Debra Martin Chase, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron served as Executive Producers. Chris Montan was a Producer and Robyn Crawford was an Associate Producer.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was originally presented on television in 1957, and was the only musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for the medium. Starring a 21-year-old Julie Andrews, on a brief hiatus from her starring role in My Fair Lady on Broadway, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was at the time the most widely viewed program in the history of television, drawing an astonishing 107 million viewers. Its recreation in 1965, starring Lesley Ann Warren, was no less successful in transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of "Dreams Come True," and the second remake in 1997 set a new standard for representation and diversity in musicals. In 2013, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella finally made it to Broadway, with Laura Osnes in the title role.

The marriage of music, lyrics and story in Cinderella exemplified Rodgers & Hammerstein's artistic philosophy; all elements held together integrally to illuminate the characters. As Rodgers explained, "Although a few of its songs have become popular, our score for Cinderella is another example of what theater music is really about. No matter what the medium, a score is more than a collection of individual songs. It is, or should be, a cohesive entity whose word and music are believable expressions of the characters singing them... like a symphony, concerto, or opera, some portions have greater appeal than others, but it is the work as a whole that makes the overall impression."

Stock and amateur rights for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella are represented by Concord Theatricals.