Cinderella (musical)

Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and selfcentered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a Princess and finds her Prince.

In the 1950s, television adaptations of musicals were fairly common. Broadcast versions of Annie Get Your Gun, Wonderful Town, Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate were all seen during the decade. In 1955, NBC had broadcast the Broadway musical Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin. It was a hit, and the network looked for more familyoriented musical projects. Richard Rodgers had previously supplied the Emmy Awardwinning score for Victory at Sea, a documentary series about World War II. NBC approached Rodgers and Hammerstein and asked them to write an original musical expressly for television rather than merely adapting an existing one to the television special format, then a novel idea. The team decided to adapt the fairy tale Cinderella and, new to television, they sought the advice of an industry insider, Richard Lewine. Lewine was then the Vice President in charge of color television at CBS. He told Rodgers and Hammerstein that CBS was also seeking a musical project and had already signed Julie Andrews, who was then starring in My Fair Lady on Broadway. Rodgers recalled, in his autobiography What sold us immediately was the chance to work with Julie. Rodgers and Hammerstein signed with CBS.Rodgers and Hammerstein retained ownership of the show and had control over casting, direction, set and costumes, while CBS controlled the technical aspects of the broadcast and had an option for a second broadcast. CBS announced the production on September 5, 1956. In adapting the famous fairy tale, Rodgers and Hammerstein stayed faithful to the original Charles Perrault version. Hammerstein was interviewed by the Saturday Review about the adaptation We want the kids who see it to recognize the story they know. Children can be very critical on that score. But, of course, their parents will be watching too, so we have tried to humanize the characters without altering the familiar plot structure. The musical had to fit into the 90minute program with six commercial breaks, so

Source: Wikipedia