Shubshri Kandiah as Cinderella, out looking for love and a rich husband. Photo: Jeff Busby
And they all lived happily ever after. Hardly a plot spoiler in the fairytale circumstances created by this Rodgers and Hammerstein confection of Cinderella, which in turn relies heavily on the 17th-century tale concocted by Charles Perrault. Disney has made that version seem the only one. However, this production originated as a movie musical in 1957, starring Julie Andrews. In 2013, it was adapted for the Broadway stage, with some new lyrics by Douglas Carter Beane, and nominated for nine Tony Awards. Now it’s on at the Lyric with Shubshri Kandiah in the title role, Ainsley Melham as Prince Charming, Tina Bursill as the Wicked Stepmama (here known as Madame), Silvie Paladino as the Fairy Godmama (here known as Marie) and Nicholas Hammond as Sebastian, the prince’s none too trustworthy eminence grise.
All the Cinderella variations have a common theme: kind-hearted, pretty but poor maiden rises above her social station by marrying rich and handsome prince. Enter Melham as Prince Topher. Topher? I tried to find out why Topher, but it remains a mystery to me (except as an abbreviation of Christopher). Similarly, Kandiah’s Cinders goes by the name of Ella – in the beginning anyway.
Like all good princes, Topher is a slayer of giants and dragons and that’s how we meet him in Scene 1. Turns out though that when he’s not brandishing his sword, he is having troubled and almost existential thoughts. Cue the first song: Me, Who Am I? But fear not, Melham (star of Pippin and many other musicals) has a great voice and is a believable and handsome prince, albeit a slightly insecure one. How will anyone fall in love with him, he wonders? Just wait, Topher. Give it time.
Kandiah’s Ella (Fangirls, The Pearlfishers) appears in the forest, foraging for what could be nuts. Like every scene in this production, the set designs (Anna Louizos) are beautiful and lavish. Ella’s goodhearted bona fides are established early on when she defends an old lady from ridicule, but she’s soon back home under the roof of her nasty old stepmother and what a delight it is to see Bursill as the cranky and curmudgeonly Madame. And this Ella doesn’t mope about by the hearth, she’s thinking of ways to better herself. She has a dream.
Of course there are stepsisters – but they are not called ‘ugly’ here, it is the 2020s. And Gabrielle (Matilda Moran) and Charlotte (Bianca Bruce) aren’t as nasty as the stepsisters you may have seen in a ‘boo! hiss! He’s behind you’ panto. In fact Gabrielle’s secretly in love with a revolutionary do-gooder called Jean-Michel (Josh Gardiner) who’s championing the rights of the poor. You can bet your spangled slipper that Madame would be having none of that mésalliance. I mean, what next? Votes for all and Ella marrying a prince?
There’s nothing Grimm about this show. When Marie turns up to rescue Ella and give her a dream frock, there were gasps as Kandiah did a twirl and her rags became white silky riches without so much as an abracadabra. Similarly magical is the moment when Marie conjures up a magnificent horsedrawn carriage as spectacular as anything the British royals might ride about in. Suitably attired, and with the right transport, Ella is off to the ball!
This show has already had seasons in Brisbane and Melbourne, so it is running like clockwork. Melham and Kandiah are well-matched as Ella and Topher, a fine musical and acting team. We can believe their attraction for each other.
Of course, as we know, young Ella is no clockwatcher and it all falls apart at midnight with poor old Topher – sorry, rich, young and handsome Topher – left wondering what he said wrong.
Opera Australia is a co-presenter of this show, along with John Frost and Crossroads Live, so you’d expect the music to be the best, and it is. The modestly named Band, is directed by Simon Holt and doesn’t put a note wrong. And the choreography, especially awesome when the entire ensemble is cavorting and spinning and turning somersaults on stage together, is as sure-footed as can be.
Act 2 starts with a great little number, called Stepsister’s Lament, in which Bruce gets to wonder why all these Prince Charming types don’t go for a more substantial girl, like her? Her sister has better luck with her beau.
But the quest is on to find the elusive glass-slipper-wearer and once again Paladino’s Marie, a vision in mauve gauziness, does her magic. This time Ella twirls about to become enfolded in sparkling gold ballgown. More gasps. Paladino’s big number, There’s Music in You, is a showstopper in itself. I do wonder, though, about Marie’s hat. A glassy confection with what looked a bit like horns, I couldn’t make out what it might signify or whether it was some sort of glassware collectable, straight from Antiques Roadshow. Perhaps such styles will be all the rage at the Melbourne Cup or the next royal wedding.
Never mind. A small distraction. And seeing Paladino on the trapeze above the stage is unforgettable.
Meanwhile, Topher is learning a few hard facts. There are poor people in his kingdom, something his chief minister Sebastian had been keeping from him. Well, who knew? And John Michel is a ‘good man, angry for all the right reasons’ and Gabrielle knows this. (Take that, wicked Madame.) Soon Prince Topher, having rediscovered his true love, is all set to make things better. Yay! And Cinderella (she’s adopting the name to remind her of anyone stuck by the hearth and the cinders) is a gentle advocate for social justice.
Dreamers of the world unite. Here is a Cinderella with a very slight nod to 21st century sensibilities (although the penultimate number is titled Do I Love You Because You Are Beautiful? and asks Or are you beautiful because I love you?). It sets out to charm, and it does. It promises more equality and that the world, all clean and glittery, will be a better place. It is a fairytale, after all. And those young enough to believe in them, will love this show.
In Sydney at the Lyric Theatre until 29 January 2023.
Tickets (Ticketmaster) from $69 (plus transaction fees)
