RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA {FIRST REHEARSAL FILM {"NEW HAVEN OPENING"}

Summary

This program is a kinescope of a full-length rehearsal of the 1957 production of "Cinderella," the first musical written especially for television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Dubbed the "New Haven opening" by composer Richard Rodgers, the recording of the rehearsal was meant to function like an out-of-town tryout for a Broadway show, giving the producer, director, and songwriters a chance to make changes before the performances were cast in stone. The film of the performance was discovered in 2002 in the archives of CBS Entertainment. This rehearsal of the production begins slightly differently from the aired version, with a pantomime of villagers that leads to the introduction of Cinderella and her stepmother and stepsisters; the number "The Prince Is Giving a Ball" was moved to the opening of the show later to provide more of the feeling of a Broadway musical. While the stepmother and stepsisters Portia and Joy go upstairs to nap, the weary, overworked Cinderella indulges her imagination in the song "In My Own Little Corner." In the next scene it is announced that "The Prince Is Giving a Ball," and the king and queen confer on the arrangements for the upcoming affair, at which the queen hopes their son will find a bride. On the evening of the ball, the stepmother, Portia, and Joy depart for the festivities, leaving Cinderella to reprise "In My Own Little Corner" rather sadly. Her fairy godmother appears, and the two discuss the power of dreams in "Impossible/It's Possible" as the godmother arranges for Cinderella to go to the ball. She warns her charge, however, that Cinderella must leave the dance by midnight. At the ball, the prince is dancing with Portia in desultory fashion when he spies Cinderella coming down the stairs. The pair fall in love and begin dancing as the crowd wonders who the mystery girl may be, and Portia and Joy croon "The Stepsisters' Lament." Soon the prince and Cinderella ponder their brief history in "Ten Minutes Ago," and the prince asks, "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" As the clock chimes twelve, Cinderella races away from the palace, leaving only her glass slipper. The next morning, she tells her stepsisters and stepmother that she can imagine what it was like to attend the ball; she and they sing "When You're Riding Through the Moonlight" and "A Lovely Night." At the palace, the prince instigates a search for the young woman whose foot will fit into the slipper, and the queen tells her son that she worries that he is in love with a dream; the two reprise "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" The fairy godmother must take a hand once more to enable the prince to find Cinderella. This program features a number of differences from the final performance aside from the shift in the placement of the number "The Prince Is Giving a Ball," from large details (e.g., the final production brought radical costume and makeup changes for Edie Adams, playing the fairy godmother, and subtle changes in vocal and acting style for Julie Andrews as Cinderella) to small ones (e.g., the cushion on which the glass slipper rests changes color in the final production to provide more contrast). Includes two rehearsals for commercials.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by Darrel C. Karl.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: March 17, 1957 Sunday 9:30 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:18:16
• COLOR/B&W: B&W
• CATALOG ID: T:69240
• GENRE: Comedy; Music; Specials
• SUBJECT HEADING: Fairy tales; Musical revues, comedies, etc.; Rehearsals (Music)
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1957
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - "Cinderella" Columbia Records album
  • TV - Commercials - Pepsi-Cola soft drink

CREDITS

• Richard Lewine … Producer
• Paul E. Davis … Production (Misc.), Assistant to the Producer
• William Eckart … Production (Misc.), Settings and costumes by
• Jean Eckart … Production (Misc.), Settings and costumes by
• Irwin Nicholson … Production (Misc.), Production Assistant
• Ralph Nelson … Director
• Rowland Vance … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
• Lou Tedesco … Direction (Misc.), Technical Director
• Richard Rodgers … Composer, Music by
• Hammerstein, Oscar, II … Book by, Lyrics by
• Alfredo Antonini … Conductor
• Jonathan Lucas … Choreographer
• Robert Russell Bennett … Music (Misc. Credits), Orchestrations by
• Julie Andrews … Cast, Cinderella
• Howard Lindsay … Cast, the King
• Dorothy Stickney … Cast, the Queen
• Ilka Chase … Cast, the Stepmother
• Kaye Ballard … Cast, Stepsister Portia
• Alice Ghostley … Cast, Stepsister Joy
• Jon Cypher … Cast, Prince Charming
• Adams, Edith (See also: Adams, Edie) … Cast, the Fairy Godmother
• Robert Penn … Cast, the Town Crier
• Alec Clarke … Cast, the Captain of the Guard
• Iggie Wolfington … Cast, the Chef
• George Hall … Cast, the Steward
• David E. Perkins … Cast, the Court Tailor
• Eleanor Phelps … Cast, a Townsperson
• Martha Greenhouse … Cast, a Townsperson
• Jerome Collamore … Cast, a Townsperson
• Julius J. Bloom … Cast, a Townsperson
• Jacquelyn Paige … Cast, a Townsperson
• John Call … Cast, a Townsperson
• Kathy Kelly … Cast, a Child
• Karen Lock … Cast, a Child
• Leland Mayforth … Cast, a Child
• Johnny Towsen … Cast, a Child
• Karen Waters … Cast, a Child
• Charles Aschmann … Singer
• Herb Banke … Singer
• Grace Dorian … Singer
• Pat Finch … Singer
• Marvin Goodis … Singer
• Margot Moser … Singer
• Earl Rogers … Singer
• Donald Barton … Dancer
• Hank Brunjes … Dancer
• Robert Burland … Dancer
• Jean Cotes … Dancer
• Sally Crane … Dancer
• Richard Crowley … Dancer
• Bill Damian … Dancer
• Debbie Douglas … Dancer
• Jose Falcion … Dancer
• Gloria Hamilton … Dancer
• Dorothy Hill … Dancer
• Stuart Hodes … Dancer
• Diana Hunter … Dancer
• Joseph Layton … Dancer
• Giselle Orkin … Dancer
• Hazel Patterson … Dancer
• Alec Polermo … Dancer
• John Smolko … Dancer
• Tao Strong … Dancer
• Jayne Turner … Dancer