*ABOUT THE PLAY*

Cinderella, the kind, persecuted heroine, has been suffering at the hands of her evil step family for hundreds of years, all over the world. There are many versions of this classic folk tale; one of the earliest recorded versions appeared in China (850-60 Common Era), and is written as though it is a tale well known to its audience. Yeh-shen has a magical fish instead of a fairy godmother and a golden shoe instead of a crystal one. But the hard luck and the handsome prince remain the same, instantly recognizable to aill of us who grew up with this tale, the ultimate happy ending story.

Walt Disney, with his unerring eye for the popular fancy, took his Cinderella from Charles Perrault’s Contes de ma Mere l’Ove (Tales of Mother Goose) where our heroine had the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage, the animal servants and the glass slipper, leaving out the gory punishments that the Brothers Grimm meted out to the step family (red hot pokers, anyone?) …

Disney’s only modern competition is this musical version of Cinderella. It was originally written for CBS television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1957. This stage version has played constantly for decades, delighting us with its portrayal of justice
done and true love conquering all.

Pamela Monk