ABC's 'Cinderella' A Royal Treat
Brandy Stars In Disney Remake Of Classic Musical

Date: November 02, 1997
By Ron Miller, Television Editor

From San Jose Mercury News (California)
Submitted by: Larry A.


GENUINE TV blockbusters are rare, which makes tonight's "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" a blessing. ABC's long-awaited $12 million musical is simply smashing.

Brandy (Norwood) -- the rhythm and blues recording sensation and star of UPN's "Moesha" sitcom -- steps up to superstar status here. The kid's now 18 and so obviously the next sensation that producers must already be forming a line at her agent's door just off the buzz about this film.

Brandy in a lavish new Disney musical is nearly enough to make this an event, but when you add Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother and Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg and Bernadette Peters, you have something for just about everyone.

Illustrious footsteps

The late Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II -- arguably the greatest composers in Broadway musical history -- wrote only one original show for television. This is it. It first was performed live on CBS in 1957 with a promising young star named Julie Andrews as Cinderella. Andrews was then starring on Broadway in "My Fair Lady" and was still years away from her "Mary Poppins" Oscar and her biggest hit, Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music." A second version was done in 1965 with Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella.

But it was Whitney Houston who really spearheaded the project, after seeing CBS's revival of "Gypsy." She approached the producers of that show four years ago, they suggested the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical and she agreed to star in it for CBS.

Before production could get going, though, Houston decided she now was too old -- she's 33 -- to play Cinderella. By the time she decided to produce the film with Brandy in the leading role and herself as The Fairy Godmother, CBS balked at the rising costs -- roughly three times the cost of the average two-hour TV movie -- and Disney-owned ABC stepped in.

The result is an amazing, rainbow-hued production designed not only to appeal to all ages, but also to all ethnic groups. Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother are black, but the Prince is Filipino -- Paolo Montalban. Cinderella's stepmother is white (Bernadette Peters), but her stepsisters come in two shades -- Veanne Cox, who's white, and Natalie Desselle, who's black. The Queen is black (Whoopi Goldberg), but her King is white (Victor Garber).

It all works like magic.

Padding the score

Mindful of the fact that "Cinderella" has a rather skimpy score, the producers have rooted around in the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook and borrowed three tunes from other shows: "The Sweetest Sounds" from "No Strings," "Falling in Love with Love" from "The Boys from Syracuse," and "There's Music in You" from the 1953 film "Main Street to Broadway." The one that works best is "The Sweetest Sounds," which becomes a plaintive expression of Cinderella's longing for a better life.

Whitney Houston opens the film with a brief chorus from "Impossible," the original show's big tune, then reprises it in a wonderful duet with Brandy. Decked out in gold, waving her wand with vigor, Houston is a street-savvy Fairy Godmother, but not obnoxiously so.

But there's no question about who owns this show: Brandy is magnificently sweet and ethereal, proving she can step away from her contempo hustle and the "Moesha" image, giving a bravura performance as a wistful girl living off dreams. Her smooth, soft voice is ideal for the Broadway tunes and she can crank up the volume and belt them out whenever necessary. It's a real star turn for her.

Alexander as valet

There are some nice comic bits: Jason Alexander from "Seinfeld," a real Broadway trouper, plays the Prince's valet, who finds himself being hustled by Stepmother Peters, who wants her two ugly daughters to get a shot at the Prince. She coos at him about "that certain something between us."

"You know, I wish there were something between us," Alexander grumbles. "A continent."

When King Max (Victor Garber) sees the stunning Cinderella at the ball, he mutters, "If I were a young man ... "

"Yes, dear?" growls Queen Whoopi.

"Well, I'd be younger, wouldn't I?" he stammers.

Disney has pulled together all its master craftsmen for a gorgeous production, filmed mostly on the historic Sony studios lot, formerly MGM. The effects are wonderful, especially the creation of Cinderella's carriage from a garden pumpkin.

Also of note is the film debut of Paolo Montalban -- a handsome young fellow with a marvelous voice who provides a perfect match for Brandy's tall, shapely Cinderella. Best yet, the new "Cinderella" brings a familiar, but useful message for today's youngsters, who ought to be watching in droves: Magic can only take you so far and the rest is up to you.