Don’t miss the ball for Brisbane’s Cinderella run
The Tony® Award-winning Broadway production of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella has waltzed into Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre, QPAC for a limited season up to 3 September.
Leading the cast is Brisbane’s own Shubshri Kandiah as Ella (Cinderella). After graduating from Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Shubshri launched her career playing Princess Jasmine in the Australian tour of Disney’s Aladdin, followed by a national tour of the musical Fangirls, as Ismene in Antigone with Queensland Theatre and in The Pearlfishers with Opera Queensland. Also starring in Cinderella are Ainsley Melham as Prince Topher, Silvie Paladino as Marie, the Fairy Godmother, Tina Bursill as Madame, Ella’s stepmother, and Nicholas Hammond as Lord Chancellor Sebastian.
Matilda Moran and Bianca Bruce play Ella’s stepsisters Gabrielle and Charlotte, while Daniel Belle is Lord Pinkleton, the second-in-command in the Royal household, and Josh Gardiner is Jean-Michel, the poor revolutionary who is in love with Gabrielle. Completing the cast are William Brougham, Danielle Evrat, Luke Haberecht, Matthew Jenson, Lauren Jimmieson (from Wishart), Leah Lim (from the Sunshine Coast), Kassie Martin, Rubin Matters, Joshua Russell, Greta Sherriff, Lewis Shilvock (who trained on the Gold Coast), Suzanne Steele (from Redlands), Tom Struik (from Fraser Coast), Daniel Szesiong Todd, Alexis van Maanen, Dean Vince, Daniel Wijngaarden, Erica Wild and Emily Wood.
Audiences and critics have been unanimous in their praise for this lavish production during the wildly successful Melbourne season, produced by Opera Australia and John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia.
Producers Lyndon Terracini and John Frost are delighted at audience reactions to this wonderful production. “We are thrilled that capacity audiences are loving this glorious and uplifting Broadway favourite,” they said. “Cinderella is one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s greatest scores and this production, with beautiful orchestrations, magnificent costumes and sets, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love from the classic story, is enchanting everyone who sees it. Brisbane is in for a treat!”
With its fresh new take on the beloved tale of a young woman who is transformed from a chambermaid into a princess, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella combines the story’s classic elements – the glass slippers, pumpkin, a beautiful masked ball and more – along with some surprising twists. More than just a pretty face with the right shoe size, this Cinderella is a contemporary figure living in a fairytale setting. A spirited young woman with savvy and soul, she not only fights for her own dreams, but forces the prince to open his eyes to the world around him and realise his dreams too.
One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most popular titles, Cinderella was written for television, debuting in 1957 starring Julie Andrews, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance. More than 100 million viewers saw the broadcast, more people than any other program in the history of television at the time. Cinderella was re-made for television in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren in the title role, Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon as the King and Queen, and Celeste Holm as the Fairy Godmother. A further television remake followed in 1997 with Brandy as Cinderella, Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, Bernadette Peters as the Stepmother, Whoopi Goldberg as the Queen and Jason Alexander as Lionel.
The stage version of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella made its long-awaited Broadway debut in January 2013, featuring a new book by Douglas Carter Beane and direction by Mark Brokaw, and it ran for two years. Mr Beane’s book blends masterfully with the musical’s cherished score, with songs including In My Own Little Corner, Impossible/It’s Possible, Ten Minutes Ago and Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a romantic and exciting experience – for anyone who’s ever had a dream, grab your tickets from the Cinderella Musical website.
Media release supplied.
