Cinderella - The Music

Cinderella (1957) is the perfect example of Rodgers and Hammerstein's versatility and ability to redefine the limitations of a Broadway musical. The remarkable concept of a live television musical created a host of difficulties and stylistic differences, affecting every aspect of the production, not least the musical score.

Cinderella featured ten musical numbers, as opposed to the usual fourteen to sixteen found in a typical Rodgers and Hammerstein work. Due to the nature of live television, each piece of incidental musica was written to time perfectly with location/scene changes, costume changes and advertisement breaks; the original production had to fit within a 90 minute slot, divided into six short acts to allow for advertisements.

Even the songs were clearly intended for television: the choral numbers are frequently broken up into individual solos to allow for the dominance of close ups on screen. This was altered for the stage production, and additional musical numbers were added to increase the running length. Subsequent productions included songs that had previously been written, and then cut, from some of Rodgers and Hammerstein's earlier productions. Perhaps the most notable of these is 'Boys and Girls', originally intended for the 1943 production of Oklahoma!, but is here included as a duet for the King and Queen during the first act.

Cinderella was an incredible achievement for Rodgers and Hammerstein, if not one of their best known works. It is with great pleaseure that we invite you to experience this show with us tonight, and we hope you will find this musical gem as enchanting as we have.

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