The Sassy Side of Cinderella

 

Maybe you’ve seen the ads for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.” They are everywhere, without fail. That’s because putting this show on Broadway is a first. “Cinderella” was written for TV in 1957, and then remade a couple of times. The most famous version was with Lesley Ann Warren. Now it comes to Broadway as a live show at last. I didn’t know what it would be: for children? moldy? something out of the 50s?

Well, the big surprise is that “Cinderella” has been refashioned for 2013. Douglas Carter Beane took a hacksaw to the old script and made the new one sassy, bouncy, and a little snarky. He’s still retained the romantic core. But let’s face it. We know this story by heart. And by now, to tell it straight would send adults to the sleeping bags. So Beane has inserted humor and twists, made everyone involved a little savvy, and wiser. By the time the second act finishes, you’re even feeling sympathetic toward the evil Stepmother (played to hilarious effect by the great Harriet Harris).

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