Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Wicked Stepsister Sweeps Up!
Image: Ainsley Melham, Shubshri Kandiah in Cinderella.
Image: Jeff Busby-2
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella recently opened its long-awaited Sydney run at the Lyric Theatre after the originally booked season, due to play at the end of 2021, got shuffled around thanks to covid – the performance was received with thunderous applause and had more than a couple of magical moments that made the audience go, ‘ooooh!’
It’s probably safe to say that Cinderella is at the bottom of the heap when it comes to memorable Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals because it has no earworms you wake up singing the next morning, such as ‘My Favourite Things’ from The Sound of Music.
That being said, the cast and crew did a great job with the material they had to work with, though the production is not without its problems – mostly teething one would suspect.
Slight problems like muddy diction and slightly inconsistent accents will most likely tighten up with a few more run-throughs and the wonderful choreography that the talented dancers were working so hard at, sometimes got lost in the seemingly muted lighting, making it hard to appreciate the intricate moves and grooves.
Queer Lead Cast Shines
The cast is talented and all perform well, though the queer lead cast members really shone – Prince Topher, played by Ainsley Melham with impeccable comedic timing, smooth dance moves and an emotive and soaring singing voice was as fantastic as you’ve come to expect him to be but PHWOAR, Bianca Bruce!
Bruce must have a sore back because her rendition of Charlotte (pronounced Char-lotte, thank you very much!) absolutely carried the show to the end and then she pretty much ran away with it!
Her facials and expressive eyes, plainly seeable from way back, and comedic timing made it impossible for you to ignore her onstage presence and her solo number a couple of songs into the second act was a definite musical highlight.
The sets glide effortlessly to reveal interesting staging surprises and the lack of digital projection makes for a nice reminder of the magic that musical theatre can provide with a bit of clever smoke and mirrors action. The costumes are sumptuous and detailed, most of the magic on offer is achieved with blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it costume tricks – it’s almost worth the ticket price to witness a bit of magic, even if it’s just of the theatre variety!
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, playing at the Lyric Theatre until the end of January, cinderellamusical.com.au
