Cinderella!!

Despite various Asian and European versions through centuries, “Cinderella” has retained its fairy-tale freshness and sparkle as the current staging by Broadway Asia Entertainment at the CCP proves persuasively.

Actress-singer Lea Salonga and director Bobby Garcia, the only Filipinos in an entirely Caucasian, mostly American, production, eloquently re-assert and reiterate their world-class stature in the international scene.

Lea, the tiniest in the cast, is a titan performance-wise. Off-hand, the six-foot-three Peter Saide as the Prince might be too tall for Lea, but in a fairytale, anything can happen, with even a scullery maid captivating a Prince. Although at first glance Lea and Peter may seem awkwardly paired, in the long run, they appear made for each other especially in the ballroom scene, with Lea twirling gracefully as Peter holds her hand, or laying her pretty head on his manly chest.

Rodgers and Hammerstein are up to their usual excellent standard: the music is utterly melodious and singable; the words develop the plot in a witty, clever, humorous — in brief, entertaining manner. The opening song The Prince Is Giving a Ball, so briskly, vibrantly, animatedly rendered by the entire ensemble, leads the audience to expect the ensuing marvelous spectacle.

Songs give depth and insight into particular situations; e.g., Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful? (Cinderella and the Prince), Impossible (Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother), My Own Little Corner (Cinderella) — these interpreted to the highly gratifying musical direction and conducting of J. Michael Duff.

David Gallo’s set designs — a golden carriage drawn by four horses (actually men wearing head-dresses), the Palace ballroom, the garden and other locales (these change in the wink of an eye) are fantastic. Fabulous! To begin with, the stage curtain depicting a huge glass shoe glittering above a silver balustrade is a striking precursor of forthcoming visual wonders such as the lighting design by Paul Miller and the magic design by Don Wayne which are threads making up the musical’s bewitching illusions, including Renato Balestra’s devastatingly gorgeous costumes.

The ensemble infectiously sings, dances or clowns; bit players act with zest and verve. Lea remarkably holds her own against the stiff competition offered by seasoned characters towering over her. In fact, attention is focused on her precisely because she is so tiny in dramatic contrast to the rest as she portrays the suffering, bullied kitchen maid, finally ending as the radiant, ravishing Princess-to-be in a wedding scene suffused with majestic grandeur.

Choreographer Vince Pesce puts imaginative, uniquely funny touches to the opening ballroom dances, infusing these with jerky, abrupt hand-and-leg movements.

Each cast member fully captures the essence of his/her role. But Julia Cook, appropriately cruel to Cinderella while tart and screechy to her own two daughters, looks too young to be their mother, and too beautiful as the tyrannical stepmother who is traditionally ugly, or at least, made to appear ugly. The King, Jefferson Slinkard, and the Queen, Jenna Cardin convey gleeful conviction; however, Cardin’s singing voice sounds a bit strident. Portia, Jen Richter, and Joy, Brandy Zarle, are delightfully zany sisters who alternately amuse and annoy. Fairy Godmother Charlie Parker deepens the aura of make-believe with her magnetic personality. An engaging singer-actor, Peter Saide depicts royalty with dignified aplomb.

Bobby Garcia’s brilliant direction is reflected in his perceptive, meticulous attention to detail which creates moving or rousing scenes, and keeps relationships lively, absorbing and exciting in consistently quickened tempo.

How admirably “Cinderella” compares with the best musicals I’ve seen on Broadway and the West End!