(Photo courtesy of Carol Rosegg via Rodgers + Hammerstein)The national tour of the 2013 Broadway adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” leaves the clichés at the ball and brings a refreshing take on the classic story to ASU Gammage from March 13 to 15.
Don’t get this version confused with Disney’s “Cinderella.” Aside from the shared name, the two couldn’t be more different.
Notably, Cinderella returns to the palace twice and instead of losing her glass slipper, she deliberately leaves it with the Prince as a way to find her.
The fairy tale is distinctly modernized thanks to a new script by Douglas Carter Beane that complements Rodgers and Hammerstein’s original score.
Though first used in a 1957 television broadcast starring Julie Andrews as Cinderella, any '90s kids out there may recognize the songs from the 1997 television version of “Cinderella” that aired on ABC, with Brandy, Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg and Bernadette Peters.
“Cinderella” captivated all ages, from the little girls all dressed up to the husbands only there out of obligation, with genuinely funny jokes paired with engaging characters and a realistic plot.
Gone is the perfect prince on a white horse, Prince Topher, short for Christopher, is just a goofy, self-questioning guy recently returned from university who is shown the social injustice happening under his nose at the hands of his darkly clothed, villainous adviser by Cinderella herself.
Cinderella’s cruel step-family is replaced by a relatively tame stepmother (compared to Disney's version), played by Fran Drescher from “The Nanny,” a sympathetic stepsister and another for comedic relief.
Drescher and her signature laugh recently joined the national tour and was met with excited applause when she entered the stage.
It’s no surprise the show won a Tony Award for best costume design. William Ivey Long’s costumes really were fantastic.
The marvelous ball gowns complemented Josh Rhodes’s choreography, swishing around the stage during the Prince’s ball in a swirl of color. It’s quite a beautiful scene, punctuated by Cinderella’s eye-catching pure white gown.
But even more impressive were the magical costume quick-changes right before the audience’s eyes. We were left constantly guessing whether a character’s current outfit secretly hid another within.
I blinked and missed the part when Cinderella’s ordinary clothes are turned into a beautiful white gown by the Fairy Godmother, but I did catch her second major transformation after the ball.
My best advice is to keep your eyes open at all times. Even if there’s not a quick-change happening, the intricate set is more than capable of holding your attention.
Kecia Lewis as the Fairy Godmother is no Whitney Houston, and her singing doesn’t quite match the power of her speaking voice.
That could be the fault of the older score though. Belting wasn’t really a thing in the 1950s; vibrato was all the range. But Lewis makes a convincing godmother with her warmth and witty wake-up calls for Cinderella’s self-doubt, and you’ll still find yourself humming “It’s Possible” on the way out.
Alexandra Zom was in for headliner Paige Faure as Cinderella on Saturday night and while her voice and acting weren’t particularly memorable, she still did a fair job.
Andy Huntington Jones was quirky and endearing as Topher, and the pair pull off some of the show’s best songs, including “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful” and “Ten Minutes Ago.”
Again, the score is particularly challenging, but the tunes are simple enough to feel familiar and comforting.
The strength of this production is the collective solid performances of each cast member. Truly, there are not real standouts. In a sense, this strengthens the production because we can appreciate each character instead of obsessing over a single star.
It’s a great show for the whole family, and I would bet the show will have another national tour soon. It definitely has potential to be a new classic.
Reach the reporter at enichol3@asu.edu or follow @LizNichols4 on Twitter.
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