5th Avenue Theatre goes traditional with Cinderella

Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” offers a more recent, fractured-fairytale approach to the Cinderella story but the 5th Avenue Theatre has chosen to revive the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein version from the 1950’s Cinderella.

This musical was a TV sensation, with 60 per cent of America tuning in, when it premiered live with Julie Andrews in 1957.

And a decade later 18-year-old Leslie Anne Warren became a star with her own TV version, which ended up played annually for a full ten years – that’s the version most baby boomers will remember.

And in the late 90’s, Disney even did a movie version with a mostly African-American cast, starring Brandy as Cinderella.

As much as I am trumpeting the 5th Avenue’s revival of a 50+ year old musical, the Cinderella story is obviously a much, much older tale. Part of a long oral tradition, the fairy tale was first written down in the 1600’s by the French, and given a darker twist by the Brothers Grimm in the 19th century. Interestingly, the 5th Avenue production starts off with a little Chinese girl on stage … and a narrator (the Fairy Godmother) suggesting the very first version of Cinderella may actually have come from China over 2,000 years ago.

That may be true, but for baby boomers, it’s all about Rodgers and Hammerstein.

“Cinderella” runs through New Year’s Eve at the 5th Avenue Theatre.