Cinderella, forced into a life of household chores by her wickedly cruel stepmother and stepsisters, dreams of a better life. The town crier announces a royal ball at which the Prince of the kingdom intends to find a bride, and Cinderella wishes she could attend. When her stepsisters and stepmother go off to the ball, a Fairy Godmother appears and magically grants Cinderella’s wish. At the ball, Cinderella and the Prince meet and instantly fall in love, but she abruptly excuses herself at midnight, leaving only a glass slipper on the palace steps. After an extensive search throughout the kingdom, the Prince and Cinderella are magically reunited and blissfully married.
Originally presented on television in 1957 starring Julie Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was the most widely viewed program in the history of the medium. Its recreation in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren was no less successful in transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of dreams-come-true, and so was a second remake in 1997, which starred Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother. This version of the magical fairy tale is reborn with the Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of originality, charm and elegance.