Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cinderella, R & H Style!

 Originally broadcast on March 31, 1957,
Cinderella was written specifically for television by
Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The team was evidently excited to work with young Julie Andrews,
who was still performing in My Fair Lady on Broadway.
Jon Cypher co-starred as The Prince.

 Look at the size of that camera!
Alice Ghostley and Kaye Ballard (on the left)played the Stepsisters, 
and mom (on the right) was Ilka Chase.

And here's what that huge camera saw...
a 90 minute program, with 6 commercial breaks,
so Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote it in 6 acts.
It purportedly took Oscar 7 months to write the book and lyrics.

  

 A pensive Julie... she was 22!


 Watching the live performance from the green room...
over 100 costumes, large set pieces,
56 actors, 33 musicians (who played in another room!),
and 80 stagehands...in a tiny studio at CBS.

Over 100 million viewers watched that live performance back in 1957.
Additional productions for television (1965), film (1997),
and numerous staged creations continue on apace!

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