Cinderella

As I earlier posted, we were scheduled to watch the first show of Cinderella today, July 29. While the first gala was scheduled the night of the same day, a matinee show was scheduled as a preview. We did watch the preview, and here's my take on it. 

The cast is great, the music lively and appropriate, the set and set changes are great, and the spoken dialogues are witty and up-to-date (the king's secret service tasked to find the girl who left the shoe, the I-love-your-ball repartee of one of the stepsisters, the fairy godmother's some-people-are-too-dumb line, and many more) make watching Cinderella at the CCP worth your while and cash.

Lea Salonga is, as always, superb. But I found her short stature distracting, particularly as most of the other people in the cast are mostly tall Caucasians. Indeed, when she first appeared, it didn't occur to me that it was Lea, that is, not until she spoke. I thought the girl on stage is just one of the cast, for my impression of her was that of a girl in her teens (and to think that some comments on Broadwayworld.com point out that Lea is too old for the role). Add to it the fact that the Prince, Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James, played by Peter Sadie, is rather tall. Lea has to look up every time they're together onstage (see Peter's audition video here and see for yourself how much their heights differ).

Speaking of Lea, I can't get out from my mind the word Repertory while I watched the show. It seems that Annie had grown to be Cinderella, and the latter staging is just a much better version of the Repertory productions in the past.  

Peter can sing and that is all there is. He looks tragically blank, either happy or unhappy. He and Lea may have chemistry together, but unfortunately, even that does not cover up for his lack of expression. They should thank the fairy godmother who is around, not only to do the magic, but to spice things up when scenes are tragically boring.

Set is great, though there are minor, but noticeable glitches (understandable, really, as that was the very first show). Lighting was magical in scenes where the godmother was using her powers, but not quite spectacular.  Perhaps I was just too fond of Disney, as I was half-expecting  Lea's costume from rags to the ball gown to be changed in full view - as in the animated movies.  I will not tell how they did it because that will spoil some of the fun. As for the music, it didn't touch me as much as songs from other musicals do. To be frank, only the Prince is Giving a Ball and the Impossible/It's Possible numbers remain in my mind just hours after watching it.

My verdict: Show is less grand and less touching than Saigon but it's still worth watching.