The large cast cranks up the energy and the dance moves are impressive as are the lighting quick costume changes, it’s magic indeed. Production wise there are some problems, at times the amplified voices are too loud and shrill and the little ones will need to put their fingers in their ears to prevent damage,

It’s easy to get lost in a story so familiar and just admire the craft. The stage design and costumes are impressive as well as the choreography and vocal arrangements (even with the overwrought volume). There is also a welcome inclusion of humourous moments and visual gags.

Introducing a younger audience to the joys of the theatre is never an easy task as theirs is a world of sensory overload. Tweaking a well-known tale to give it modern relevance and presenting it with the expansive dynamics that live theatre can present gives Cinderella a good chance to break through.

Cinderella is currently playing at Lyric Theatre, QPAC until Saturday 3rd September 2022!
Rob Hudson
www.cinderellamusical.com.au

Leading the cast of this lavish production will be Brisbane’s own rising musical theatre star Shubshri Kandiah as Ella (Cinderella), a strong and intelligent young woman who dreams of escaping her endless chores so she might see the world, Shubshri shot to fame when she made her professional debut as Princess Jasmine in the Australian tour of Disney’s Aladdin after graduating from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. She also played Ismene in Antigone with Queensland Theatre, performed in The Pearlfishers, and starred in the 2021 national tour of Belvoir’s Australian musical Fangirls.

Playing opposite Shubshri will be her Aladdin co-star Ainsley Melham as Prince Topher, the charming Prince of the kingdom who needs guidance and inspiration to realise his full potential. Ainsley most recently starred as Charlie in Merrily We Roll Along at the Hayes Theatre Co, following the title role of Pippin at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. He featured in the title role of Disney’s Aladdin across Australia and on Broadway, and also played Molina in MTC’s Kiss of the Spider Woman and Sonny in Xanadu at the Hayes.

John Frost and Lyndon Terracini are delighted to finally bring to the Australian stage one of the most beautiful musicals of all time. “We’re so excited to bring this Broadway favourite to Brisbane for the first time, especially starring Brisbane’s own Shubshri Kandiah. 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, will have audiences clamouring for more.”

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.

MELBOURNE
Regent Theatre, Collins Street, Melbourne
From 20 May
www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100

BRISBANE
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
From 5 August
Waitlist now at cinderellamusical.com.au

SYDNEY
Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star
From 23 October
www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100

This Cinderella is not about princes and princesses. It’s about a single woman trying to go on a half-decent date, and a single guy who has an unreasonable fear of not being heard over loud music in bars. There may not be any ugly sisters, but there’s the occasional mysterious animal. There’s midnight. There’s a shoe. There’s definitely dancing. And there’s beautiful transformation.

From the curious mind of preeminent playwright Matthew Whittet (Girl Asleep, The Book of Everything), comes a gorgeous and funny first date like no other. Filled with glittering magic and awkward affection, Cinderella is a heartfelt fairy tale for adults about love forged offline and in person.

Acclaimed Queensland performers Amy Ingram (I Want To Know What Love Is, COSI) and Thomas Larkin (Death Of A Salesman, True West) are directed by Daniel Evans (I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You, Richard III), in this poignant romantic comedy for anyone that’s sick of swiping left.

“Cinderella undermines the Hollywood rom-com to hilarious effect.” Concrete Playground

“Cinderella is an accurate and timely representation of romance in the digital age.” Suzy Goes See

Cinderella
26 April to 5 May 2019
Cremorne Theatre – QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

A spectacular live show combining two of his most famous and best-loved rhyming storybooks was heralded in 2014’s was heralded as “playful and exciting” (Stage Whispers), “terrific and twisted” (Australian Stage Online) and “a treat for mums, dads and the littlies” (The Courier-Mail). A visual feast that combines a rocking soundtrack, immersive visual design, dance, shadow puppetry bringing over 40 characters to life for audiences aged 5 to 105!

This return season at La Boite is amidst a national tour which will see shake & stir travel to over 25 venues across X states. Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts takes the familiar stories of Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, and several unsuspecting animals, and transforms them with surprising and hilarious results. If you think they all live happily ever after – think again!

Directed by shake & stir’s Ross Balbuziente, and starring Leon Cain, Judy Hainsworth, Nelle Lee and Nick Skubij, Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts is the perfect family entertainment this July school holidays.

Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts
4 – 11 July 2015
La Boite Roundhouse Theatre
www.laboite.com.au

Her step-mother and sisters are evil beyond redemption and the prince is handsome and honourable beyond reproach. None of this is unexpected, of course – Disney is as Disney does and it’s perfect little girl fodder, complete with doe-eyed innocence and glittery flouncy dresses. And it’s all shot with an impossible beauty that can only be achieved on a perfectly lit studio set.

Nothing is a surprise – the goodies get their fairy tale ending and the baddies get their just desserts. It’s just all so very… ‘nice’. Without being remarkable in any way, it pushes all the right buttons and duly hits all the appropriate marks. No one will go home disappointed but neither will anyone go home completely wowed.

The standalone pinnacle of the film is Helena Bonham Carter’s scene-stealing turn as the Fairy Godmother which is just fabulous in every way. The rest of the cast, which includes Cate Blanchett and Stellan Skarsgård, play strictly by the numbers – again, not disappointing just unremarkable.

Cinderella is completely harmless holiday fare that, at the very least, will be a welcome relief from the endless re-watches of my young one’s Barbie DVDs at home.

Stuart Jamieson
www.facebook.com/Cinderella