A Good Fit With Viewers Sunday

Date: November 02, 1997
By Gail Pennington

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
Submitted by: Larry A.


WARM up the VCR. November sweeps are in full swing, and that means too much TV, too little time.

Sunday night alone brings a big event on every network. ABC has two: a lavish new "Cinderella" (6 p.m. on Channel 30) and a powerful, Oprah Winfrey-produced drama, "Before Women Had Wings" (8 p.m.)

NBC counters with the effects-laden miniseries "House of Frankenstein" (8 p.m. on Channel 5), concluding Monday, while CBS hopes former secret weapon Angela Lansbury can score again with the first "Murder, She Wrote" reunion movie (8 p.m. on Channel 4).

Fox finally launches the new season of its most popular series, "The X-Files" (8 p.m. on Channel 2), while PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" offers a slick remake of the classic mystery "The Moonstone" (9 p.m. on Channel 9).

Although "Frankenstein" isn't as awful as it might have been, and both "Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest" and "The X-Files" are don't-miss events for their fans, ABC, by trying harder, becomes Sunday's big winner.

"Cinderella," on "The Wonderful World of Disney," is a delight from start to finish, with sparkling performances from stars Brandy Norwood and Paolo Montalban and stylish support from the likes of Whitney Houston (who produced and plays the Fairy Godmother), Bernadette Peters (the Wicked Stepmother), Jason Alexander (the Prince's valet) and Whoopi Goldberg (the Queen).

"Cinderella," a TV original by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, made its debut live on CBS in 1958, with Julie Andrews in the lead. A 1965 remake, also on CBS, starred Lesley Ann Warren.

For this glittery new version, the Rodgers & Hammerstein score has been beefed up with songs borrowed from other shows, including "Falling in Love With Love" (from Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "The Boys From Syracuse"), which becomes a star turn for Peters.

But the best updating is in the teleplay, by Robert L. Freedman, which retains the classic "Cinderella" premise that dreams can come true while emphasizing that you can't just sit in the corner and wish for happiness. The Prince, beautifully acted and voiced by newcomer Montalban (who isn't related to Ricardo Montalban), is no longer looking for the most beautiful woman in the kingdom - or the one with the smallest feet. Instead, he wants someone he can talk to.

Casting Montalban, who is Filipino, as a Prince with a black mother (Goldberg) and white father (Victor Garber) is all part of what the "Cinderella" producers call their rainbow scheme. In addition to a white Stepmother and black Fairy Godmother, this black Cinderella has one black Stepsister (Veanne Cox) and one white (Natalie Desselle). The melting-pot families take a little getting used to, but that's part of the magic.

Norwood is a lovely Cinderella, although her voice sometimes seems tentative next to the big belters in the cast. Montalban is a real find, and their scenes together at the ball should make hearts go pitter-pat among little girls of all ages. Houston is a show-stopper whenever she's on screen, which isn't often enough.

"Cinderella" is a new classic, worth taping for the family video library.