ALW's Cinderella — Page 3

First thoughts (also posted on theatreboard)

Whilst at the end of act one I was feeling a bit unsure, it kinda all came together in act two.

Firstly, I really liked the score as a whole, with Only You, Lonely You and I Know I Have a Heart being the two stand out moments for me.
There’s a song between Cinderella and Sebastian towards the start of act one which I really liked, and the motif plays through the show. I also loved the Entracte and the ball music at the top of act two.

The show looks amazing. Costumes, settings, lighting all top notch and looks like a lot of money has been put into it. The stage moving at the top of act two, whilst some may call it gimmicky, is quite magical and makes total sense.

Casting wise everyone is great. Carrie holds the show and sings effortlessly. Ivano sounds great and has an excellent moment to show off his dancing. I was waiting for a big vocal moment from VHB but it never arrived, although she certainly has the comedic chops, as does Rebecca Trehearn.

The Godmother/Necklace/Midnight plot point as others have mentioned really needs to have more to it. Gloria Onitiri is a fantastic performer but is so underused here. It seems the necklace is forgotten until the last few minutes when it all needs to be wrapped up, and we get the Godmother back for all of a minute or so.

All in all, very enjoyable and I will definitely look forward to another visit. I don’t expect there to be many changes but if they can provide clarity to the plot points mentioned above it will certainly make the show more solid. I wouldn’t say the show was too long and actually, another 5 minutes to solidify the book would go a long way. Bows at the end were all just a long line of the cast - I’m sure they will stage them fully later (seems to be quite common not to have at early previews)

SPOILERS

 

Yes, essentially everything moves from THIS - the whole section rotates clockwise around the stage and behind it. 

 

To THIS



It happens at the beginning of Act Two (the Ball). In terms of what takes place on stage, a lot of ball dancing with sweeping melodies, the prince trying to find a bride - eventually dancing with the 'transformed' Cinderella who now has blonde hair, makeup and a ravishing dress (as opposed to her emo outfit). The prince doesn't recognise her and when she says that she has always loved him he kind of mocks and dismisses her as ridiculous because she thinks she is just one of the other girls trying to get with him who doesn't know him, and says he is 'waiting for someone' (i.e. the real Cinderella). Then Carrie Hope does one of her big ballads ("I Know I have a heart" on an empty stage but now in the round so the blocking involves kind of changing position occasionally so everyone gets a piece of the song, and then the Prince also has a lit bit of a meltdown in song, which I enjoyed although need the cast recording to really remember it. If I recall it is at this moment the chairs start coming back. The effect of this whole thing is essentially making the theatre more seem more intimate. I liked it but I wouldn't describe it as necessary. Very curious if it transfers to Broadway if they will want to invest in making this happen - maybe it's not necessary but this is essentially the Chandelier or Helicopter of the show so maybe they think it's worth it just for the word of mouth. 

For those that are interested, ALW appeared to sit at the end of row I or J so he did not appear to opt for going to 'the ball'. 

 

Updated On: 6/27/21 at 05:03 PM

Any song list in the playbill if so can someone post it please

CATSNYrevival said: "How many times is the album release going to be postponed?"

Expected release is July 9 according to Apple Music. I can't imagine it will be postponed again now that the show is currently in previews. 

Updated On: 6/28/21 at 04:21 PM

Come someone use a spoiler to explain how the transformations are done?

Jordan Catalano said: "Forgot to add, there were some parents there I saw after the show who were a bit shocked that they had just taken their little kids to see this show that really isn’t aimed at kids AT ALL. Maybe the marketing needs to change a bit to even feature the three or four HUNKS (I was so focused on one of them I lost count) who heat up the stage half naked for most of the show. I want a show of just them."

Tell us more about these guys, please!

I don't know why they're dressed like that but I'm not complaining.

chewy5000 said: "These guys, presumably:

"

What is their role in the show?