( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) No Damsel In Distress, Learning The Meaning Behind Happily Ever After
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
Acclaimed Broadway Musical Bad Cinderella is the modern retelling that leaves Cinderella as a tough, breaking-the-norm woman who isn’t waiting to be saved but wants to find the true meaning of happily ever after. Bad Cinderella opened on March 23 at the Imperial Theater. The musical is produced on Broadway by Christine Schwarzman and Darren Johnston of No Guarantees and Really Useful Group. Wagner Johnson Productions is the executive producer. The story and book are by Emerald Fennell, and the book adaptation creator is Alexis Scheer.
Bad Cinderella’s main cast includes Linedy Genao as Cinderella, Jordan Dobson as Prince Sebastian, Sami Gayle, and Morgan Higgins as the stepsister’s Adele and Marie, Carolee Carmello as the stepmother, Grace McLean as the Queen, Cameron Loyal as Prince Charming and the Godmother played by Christina Acosta Robinson. The design team for Bad Cinderella includes Gabriela Tylesova (Scenic and Costume Design), Bruno Poet (Lighting Design), Gareth Owen (Sound Design), Luc Verschueren (Hair and Wig Design), and casting by Tara Rubin Casting. Their hard work has brought the town of Belleville to life through creative imagination, fantasy, sexy outfits, and a gothic lead.
Bad Cinderella is a modern retelling with sultry and edge that made it stand out from the original damsel in distress story of soft-heartedness. When Prince Charming suddenly disappears and isn’t anywhere to be found, the Queen marries off her son Prince Sebastian, the next in line to be King. He has a town of girls he can choose from including three step sisters. What’s interesting is how he and Cinderella are as thick as thieves, the underestimated ones. Although Sebastian is a Prince he isn’t as popular as his older brother. For Cinderella she doesn’t dress like the other girls, she is the goth outcast. Sebastian and Cinderella have feelings for each other but don’t express them. When a misunderstanding leads Prince Sebastian to soon marry one of her stepsisters she is determined to rewrite their story and find their happily ever after.
There have been mixed messages about Bad Cinderella, given the bar was set very high by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s other musical hits, from Phantom of the Opera to Cats. Writer Emerald Fennell’s recent film Promising Young Woman also made fans expectant. However, the Broadway musical attempted to change the narrative of how we see love and how we can break stereotypes of women. The musical numbers by Cinderella, Prince Charming, Prince Sebastian, the stepsisters, the stepmother, and the queen have the audience clapping in jubilation. With the musical genius of Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by David Zippel, they brought a new source of powerful sound that empowers.
You can go to their website for more information on the cast and creative. If you want to explore this new modern fairytale, book tickets here. View the Bad Cinderella Instagram for videos, images, behind-the-scenes snippets, and updates on the Broadway musical.
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