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Cinderella (1957), the only musical written by Rodgers & Hammerstein for television, premiered live on CBS-TV (USA)on March 31, 1957 at 8pm EST. It was viewed in colour by those who had colour sets and the black and white videotape of the show was broadcast three hours later on the West Coast (USA).
'Cinderella' (1957) was produced at a costly $375,000. "Being ignorant of the medium," wrote Hammerstein of his first experience in television, "I wrote this show on the assumption we could do anything, and nothing has been refused me yet." 'Cinderella' went through an unusually long (for television) rehearsal period, followed by two complete run-throughs (dubbed "the New Haven and Boston tryouts" by the authors). A videotape of one of the rehearsals was recently discovered in CBS' vaults. It offers an interesting insight by comparison to the final broadcast version.
It was determined by CBS that their musical would be created specifically for the medium of Television unlike NBC's Peter Pan the success of which they were attempting to recreate. In their choice of a fairy tale for broadcast, inspired casting may have helped CBS in the decision: at the time, a radiant Julie Andrews was charming Broadway in "an Edwardian Cinderella musical" - MY FAIR LADY. When CBS asked her to play Cinderella for them, she readily agreed. With ideal casting like that, the network had very little trouble getting Rodgers & Hammerstein involved. "What sold us immediately was the chance to work with Julie," recalled Rodgers in his autobiography. "It was right from the start."
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II prepared their version of CINDERELLA in a scant eight month period. The story remained true to Perrault's original. "The traditional "Cinderella" has done very well," Hammerstein remarked. "Why should we trick her up? We wanted to do a musical version of the story that everyone remembers from childhood." Nevertheless, the script was embroidered with a few sly and witty touches that were uniquely Hammerstein, and the score featured such jewels as "In My Own Little Corner," "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?," "Ten Minutes Ago," "Impossible; It's Possible" and several of Rodgers' most enchanting waltzes and marches. The live perfomance of Cinderella was directed by Emmy-winning director Ralph Nelson, ('pioneering director of live television') who went on to direct the award winning Lilies of the Field.
On March 18, the cast recorded the "Cinderella" score at Columbia Records studios under the supervision of Goddard Lieberson. The soundtrack album was released in conjunction with the broadcast less than two weeks later. On Sunday March 24, Rodgers and Hammerstein appeared on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, playing selections from CINDERELLA and urging viewers to watch "the same channel, same time, same place" one week hence.
The original 1957 version now survives only in a relatively crude kinescope in the archives of the Museum of Television in New York City. Among fans, copies of the videotape are slowly circulating for they are one and all fascinated with the idea of Julie Andrews as the original Cinderella. A petition has been created to arouse interest and coerce the powers that be at CBS/Viacom to restore, remaster and release the videotape so that fans can own a bonafide copy of the production.
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