Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella

On my recent trip to New York City I decided to go and watch Broadway shows. The one I was most eager about seeing was Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Cinderella has been remade on countless occasions and I can almost guarantee that you’ll have seen the Rodger and Hammerstein Cinderella before. My personal favourite is the 1997 movie staring Brandy. Cinderella is suitable for all ages, this performance was certainly family friendly but not childish enough to only be appreciated by the younger visitors.

Keke Palmer is currently playing the lead role of Cinderella and is the first African American to play the role. Looking at the Playbill, Palmer has appeared in everything so is well known in America. I however had never heard of her. Despite this, I didn’t go and see it just because of who was playing Cinderella. Personally, I thought she did a great job at playing the lead. Although vocally she may not have been as strong as the likes of original Broadway Cinderella Laura Osnes, I still found her performance enjoyable. I’ve read quite a few negative reviews of her performance but when you take into consideration it is Palmer’s Broadway debut and she is only 21 years of age I think they’re undeserved. Staring alongside Palmer as her stepmother is The View host, Sherri Shepherd and Joe Carroll as Prince Topher. 

The production itself was everything that I had expected Cinderella on stage to be like. Its magical stage effects were just superb at times. For example, one minute Cinderella is in her rag clothes and the next her clothes literally fly off her and she appears in a ball gown. The show was certainly visually fantastic at times! Quite amusingly in this performance Cinderella doesn’t lose her glass slipper but in fact hands it to the Prince, which received roaring laughter from the crowd. The songs are songs that you will have guaranteed to have heard in previous versions of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella are so wonderful and will be stuck in your head for days. I know I’ve had the soundtrack I bought at the production of repeat since I left the theatre. 

Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is only going to be showing at the Broadway Theatre in New York City until January 3^rd 2015 so if you want to see the show you’d better grab your ball gown and glass slippers before it’s too late.