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Julie Andrews, fresh from the Broadway run of MY FAIR LADY, is a radiant Cinderella. Rodgers and Hammerstein's cotton-candy score is well-suited to her lovely voice. The amazing cast also includes Alice Ghostley (NEW FACES) and Kaye Ballard (THE GOLDEN APPLE) as the Stepsisters, Ilka Chase as the Wicked Stepmother, Edie Adams (WONDERFUL TOWN) as the Fairy Godmother and Jon Cypher as the Prince.

The romantic score gave rise to a number of memorable songs including "In My Own Little Corner", "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?", "A Lovely Night", "Stepsisters' Lament" and "Waltz For a Ball". The instrumental dance number "Gavotte" is heavenly, too.

2 years later the musical was staged in London as a Christmas pantomime starring Tommy Steele and Yana (cast album from Bayview Records), and in 1966 was taped for prosterity in an all-new production starring Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon.

However, the magic is palpable still in the gorgeous 1957 cast album of this lovely score. Highly-recommended.


"Impossible"- to listen to any other version! This one ROCKS   March 30, 2002
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

OH! This is AMAZING! WOW! :-)
As a child, I was simply entrancing with the cartoon Disney Cinderella, as most children are. I would watch it OVER and OVER and OVER again...the tape was practically worn out by the time I was 5 years old! I think I own about 4 tapes because of the constant wearing out problem. But as I got older, I developed into a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR (!!! emphasis on major) fan of Ms. Julie Andrews!! When I found out the Rodgers and Hammerstein WROTE Cinderella for her, I was positively THRILLED. For a few reasons.
1) I was in LOVE with everything "Cinderella"
2) I was (AM) in love with everything Julie Andrews
3) Rodgers and Hammerstein are a brilliant team
4) They wrote it FOR Julie!
So, I was determined to buy it. But as a normal, BROKE 13 yeard old, I had to wait. One day I was just browsing "Borders" and guess what I saw? CINDERELLA! With Julie! I practically screamed and grabbed it. Many, many people looked at me funny. I didn't care. I FLEW over to my mom--preparing myself to get into begging mode on the way. I begged and she agreed! I was flying in air!
We got into the car, I frantically unwrapped it and popped it in the car CD player. I went crazy for it! It's absolutely marvelous!
(I'm 15 now by the way)
I HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend this. You will NOT regret it!!!!
I PROMISE!
:-)
Meanwhile, I'll be meandering along humming "In My Own Little Corner!"
Au Revoir!


The best Cinderella; too bad the show's not available   November 12, 2001
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

This is the original recording of one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best but most overlooked scores. This was also one of their last scores, as only "Flower Drum Song" and "The Sound of Music" came later. They and CBS were very wise to cast Julie Andrews (who they wrote the show for) who was at that time in peak voice. This was her third major production; she had previously starred in "The Boy Friend" (1954) and "My Fair Lady" (1956), and took a break from My Fair Lady to star in Cinderella. The rest of the cast is wonderful.

This should be the Cinderella by which all Cinderella's before and since are judged, but it's a shame that it's not (and you can thank Disney for that). However, I will make some comparisons. The 1965 remake of this Cinderella starring Lesley Ann Warren is also very good, nearly as good as this, but the atrocious Brandy remake from 1997 does not even come remotely close (where did all the extra Rodgers and Hart songs come from?).

This original Cinderella should be made available to the public, for it would be a great success if it were. After all, the technology needed to restore the black and white videotape (which is what was used to broadcast the show on the west coast in 1957 on the same day it was broadcast live and in color in the east) is there and if you can get past the show being in black and white, you should be able to enjoy it. There's no reason why the show should not be restored and releasd. The 1957 TV broadcast of "Annie Get Your Gun" starring Mary Martin also nearly vanished forever until a kinescope was found and released on videocassette about 10 years ago. Of course the recording of that production still lives on in perpetuality.

Until we can see this production released on DVD or something, we'll have to live with its wonderful cast recording.


Essential Rodgers & Hammerstein   October 20, 2002
 8 out of 12 found this review helpful

While Rodgers and Hammerstein's main plays have been adapted to film with varying success, the songwriting team made a very successful venture into television in 1958 with their original version of "Cinderella." Even though I've always found Julie Andrews more annoying than enjoyable, in this CD, her talents are given a chance to shine, with her excellent reading of Hammerstein's lyrics in such songs as "In My Own Little Corner," and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful." The terrible thing is, while a kinescope of this 1958 performance does exist and has been shown at broadcasting museums, it's the lackluster early color TV version from 1964 and the even worse 1990's version that are easily accessible to fans for video. Listen to this CD to hear the charm of Hammerstein's lyrics and one of the best scores Richard Rodgers turned out in the 1950s. The fact that he was battling depression right around the time he was scoring this TV production is unnoticeable. This score is up there with the classic R&H shows, "Oklahoma!", "South Pacific," and "The King and I."