‘Cinderella’ with a twist
A funny thing happened on Ted Chapin’s way to Israel.
The president of Rodgers & Hammerstein, the organization that controls the work of the creative musical writing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, was on a community tour with fellow Broadway executives when Tony-winning producer Robyn Goodman asked if they could collaborate together on a project.
No one, he challenged her, has figured out how to make a Broadway-worthy version of “Cinderella.”
This Cinderella, they determined, would be a more modern woman, in charge of her fate.
And so a contemporary take on the classic tale was born. Though it retains all the memorable moments, the pumpkin, glass slipper and masked ball, it does have some surprising twists, Chapin said.
It’s now being presented at Segerstrom Center for the Arts until May 1.
This isn’t the 1950 animated Disney tale with songs like “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” or “Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo.” This is the Rodgers and Hammerstein take, written as a 1957 TV musical starring Julie Andrews and adapted in 2013 for Broadway, eventually being nominated for nine Tony Awards.
“It’s a very honest and sweet and modern story,” Chapin said by phone from New York. “Cinderella is not just pining for the man. The prince grows up and she helps him.”
But a challenging hurdle, Chapin said, was pushing the story while maintaining the integrity of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”
To do so, Goodman suggested that the creative team look to the literal translation of “Cinderella,” a version of which appeared in Italy around the 1600s.
The early European version of the story indicated three balls, and the heroine didn’t leave behind a slipper in the first act.
As for the cruel stepsisters? They were merrily playing a popular French parlor game that translated to “ridicule,” Chapin said. The game was for players to conjure up, in a split second, a quip.
The current production features the influential American musical theater writing team’s classic songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Ten Minutes Ago” and “Impossible/it’s Possible.” (Rodgers died in 1979 and Hammerstein in 1960.)
Most astonishing, Chapin said, is the more than 300 elaborate costumes for a cast of about 30 actors — and that doesn’t include the understudies.
Costume designer William Ivey Long looked to 18th century pattern books before selecting silk crinkle chiffon for the Fairy Godmother and a layered tulle skirt with scattered radiant sequins for Cinderella’s ballroom dress.
The idea was to have the audience constantly marvel at Cinderella spinning around and to facilitate the magical quality of her changing from peasant garb into a stunning gown.
“It’s a beautiful creation,” Chapin said. “I want the audience to take away an evening of theater that they have enjoyed, and I hope they have an emotional experience in watching characters overcome adversity and triumph in the end.”
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IF YOU GO
What: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, until May 1
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $25
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org
