Top Songs
- Cinderella (Original 1957 TV Cast Recording) · 1957
Essential Albums
- Released in 1957, the soundtrack for Cinderella marked a new kind of project for Rodgers & Hammerstein: Not only was it the first time they’d written expressly for television—rather than adapting a show from the stage—it was the first time Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were working with such well-known source material. The novelty provided a challenge: The duo needed the story to remain recognizable for kids, while also offering enough depth for parents to be interested. And, in certain ways, the two Broadway legends were more conscious of the immediacy of their music than ever before: After all, a show might get a season to prove itself—but a TV special only runs once. The show was conceived in part as a spotlight for the young British actress Julie Andrews, who had recently made her name in the US acting opposite Rex Harrison in the hit Broadway musical My Fair Lady. Andrews’ famously sunny disposition imbued Cinderella with a sense of persistence and almost transcendent optimism in the face of steep odds (“In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible; It’s Possible”). The broadcast was reportedly seen by 107 million people—at the time, an astonishing 60% of the US population. Rodgers & Hammerstein later noted the same audience for a stage production would’ve meant selling out eight nights a week for 140 years—a tough prospect, even for a Fairy Godmother.
About Howard Lindsay
b. 29 March 1889, Waterford, New York, USA, d. 11 February 1968, New York City, New York, USA. In 1932 Lindsay directed Cole Porter’s Gay Divorce, but it was another two years before he began to make his name. This came after producer Vinton Freedley linked him with Russell Crouse to work on Porter’s Anything Goes (1934), which was in difficulties. Freedley’s action was fortuitous, not only for Anything Goes but also for Lindsay and Crouse. The new show, starring Ethel Merman, was not merely a box-office success in 1934, it was a hit many times over as revival followed revival during subsequent decades. Lindsay and Crouse’s later collaborations include Red, Hot And Blue! (1936), with music by Porter and Merman in the lead, and Call Me Madam (1950), with music by Irving Berlin and Merman again the star. They also wrote the book for yet another Merman vehicle, Happy Hunting (1956), for The Sound Of Music (1959), by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and for Berlin’s Mr. President (1962). Lindsay and Crouse also worked on dramatic productions, among the most successful being Life With Father (1939) andState Of The Union (1945).
- HOMETOWN
- Waterford, NY, United States
- BORN
- March 29, 1889
- GENRE
- Soundtrack