We’ve already seen one musical version of Cinderella, as part of Into the Woods. I’m sure many of you are also familiar with the Disney animation; but don’t stop there. Richard Rodgers (1902–1979), composer, and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), lyricist, collaborated on many great musicals – including Cinderella! This musical rendition was largely based on Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon. Therefore, we have the popular glass slipper and pumpkin coach.
The songs are sweet and a lot of fun. Note that these are not the same songs as in the Disney animation. I was actually surprised when I realized the cartoon (1950) preceded the Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration. To me, the animated version has always been more prevalent, to the point where I barely knew these musicals existed, so I assumed they had an older origin.
There are various other, modernized, movies based on Cinderella, some of which turn out to be musicals too. These are really fun movies, and I’ll feature them in a future post.
The very first version, released in 1957, starred Julie Andrews as Cinderella. Although captured in color as well as in black-and-white, only the black-and-white recording remains.
Less than 10 years later, in 1965, another version aired, starring Lesley Ann Warren. The storyline and music are very similar in both. However, there is one new song, which had originally been composed for South Pacific. Watch either of them for a good dose of Cinderella magic!
Lastly, there was a much newer version with a celebrated, multiracial cast in 1997. This latest version has basically the same structure as the first two, but there are a total of three new Rodgers and Hammerstein songs included! These new songs were also adopted from other musical scores written by that harmonious duo.
For fans of musical fairy tales, I recommend watching any one of these. Or you can watch them all, like I did!
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical version is also adapted on Broadway. See this short clip for more about the show tunes of Cinderella.
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There’s The Slipper and the Rose which is a lot of fun IMO http://amzn.to/2DJHJAr
It’s a lot of fun IMO. The story goes a bit beyond the traditional “happily ever after”.
Also, The Glass Slipper which is more of a dance movie than what we usually think of as “musical” http://amzn.to/2DJHJAr
Thanks for sharing!! I love the music from The Slipper and the Rose. I’ll have to feature both of those in a future post.
I look forward to it!
I adore the Brandy version! So much I put it on my list of top Cinderella adaptations 🙂 I’ve yet to see the other two versions but I would love to.
That’s great! I definitely recommend the other two – each has its own unique feel.
I was surprised to learn about the Julie Andrews version, although I’m sure it set the stage for her being chosen as Mary Poppins, etc. Also, interesting to learn a song from South Pacific got into the second Cinderella version…good stuff!
I don’t think the song was actually used in South Pacific, so it was free for the taking!
Julie Andrews made a great Cinderella. She certainly went on to do a lot after that.