If you followed musical theatre news this week, then you’ll know that Andrew Lloyd Webber made the surprise announcement that his take on Cinderella would be going to Broadway under a new name: Bad Cinderella. Everybody appears to have an opinion on this, so I thought I may as well offer my two cents along with some context for the lucky people who have no idea on why this announcement is…baffling to say the least.
To make things easier, I’ll be referring to the West End as Cinderella and Broadway as Bad Cinderella.
Once Upon A COVID-19 Time…
If you followed anything to do with Cinderella/Bad Cinderella, then you’ll know how much infamy has preceded this fairytale. However, it wasn’t always like that.
Once upon a time, Cinderella was an anticipated new British musical following a 2019 workshop at The Other Palace (the above photo confirming Laurence O’Connor’s claims of no workshops wasn’t true). But alas! A deadly virus called COVID-19 ravished the West End kingdom, leaving Cinderella locked in a tower with no way of knowing when it would be free. But that didn’t stop the revered Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber fighting tooth and nail to bring his Cinderella to the ball, even willing to risk his life to save the kingdom from COVID-19 restrictions. After one of two delays, Cinderella finally opened its curtains to the West End’s loyal subjects.
Huzzah! The British critics praised Cinderella and it was a crowned West End hit! But an “evil” dragon from the strange land of New York cast a shadow on the show and set the fire ablaze for Lord Lloyd Webber’s ego. Despite the dragon’s words being constructive in nature, Lord Lloyd Webber’s dreams of bringing Bad Cinderella to the kingdom of Broadway were too great. From his summer castle in the island of Mallorca, he called the talented subjects of Cinderella and hurled the most profane insults I dare not repeat. Quite displeased with Lord Lloyd Webber’s comments, the cast threatened to form an angry mob out of the theatre with torches and pitchforms!
But that’s not the end of this story. It is however the last time I’ll write about Bad Cinderella in this pseudo-Medieval way that may have greatly exaggerated some details.
A Not So Happy Ending…
After the cast wrote cryptic tweets seemingly confirming the above incident, a surge of the Omicron COVID-19 variant forced Cinderella to close for over a month, which the creatives used as a chance to make revisions. Similarly to the West End production of Love Never Dies, the changes were mainly cosmetic including tighter pacing, altered lyrics and a new marketing campaign including photo ops around the Gillian Lynne Theatre, a new curtain call (because every new show wants to emulate the MegaSix’s free marketing) and revamped artwork with an emphasis on soft pastel tones instead of the heavily mocked neon testicle dress logo.
Unfortunately, the attempts to revamp Cinderella didn’t equal an increased box office as it was announced the show would close in June 2022. Did it end quietly?
Nope.
On top of it being announced on a Sunday during a UK Bank Holiday, it was revealed that the cast discovered the news half an hour before a public statement was made via The Stage. Worse yet, lead Carrie Hope Fletcher wasn’t in the Gillian Lynne Theatre at the time and was told about the closure via cast members on WhatsApp. And even worse yet, the incoming members for an upcoming cast change including Chrissy Bhima, Luke Latchman, Summer Strallen, John Whaite and Daisy Twells, who may I add were set to start rehearsals and already going through costume/wig fittings on the Thursday prior to that Sunday announcement, found out the news via social media.
Cinderella ultimately closed with only director Laurence O’Connor from the creative team attending, where he was forced to read a statement from Lord Lloyd Webber which resulted in a chorus of boos (watch it for yourself). What garnered everybody’s attention was when Andrew Lloyd Webber, the man who was vying to get his version of Cinderella onto the West End to the point of foregoing COVID-19 restrictions, ultimately referred to it as a “costly mistake” to the ire of cast members who rightfully did nothing to hide their disdain for the whole situation. To put it mildly, West End’s Cinderella was less of a Disney fairytale and more of a nightmarish Brothers Grimm tale.
Bad Cinderella indeed.
Bad Cinderella: A New Beginning?
After the disaster that was the West End Cinderella, I think it came to everyone’s surprise when Bad Cinderella would be going ahead on Broadway in 2023. Along with the new title came leading lady Linedy Genao, rewrites to the title song and another revamped logo. Given the quick turnaround time between the West End’s closure and the Broadway opening, I’m honestly concerned that unless Bad Cinderella has been through extensive retooling that goes deeper than surface level changes, then the critics are going to tear it to pieces.
With that in mind, I may as well express my own thoughts on the West End production I saw. Whether or not Bad Cinderella will fix my issues remains to be seen.
For a show claiming to be a “feminist” version of Cinderella (many of which have tried recently to mixed results), for it to have a plot that pits women against each other, demonises women who get plastic surgery and have a history of sex work, and features a “not like other girls” protagonist shows that the creative’s ideas of feminism were set firmly in the ’80s.
Some songs were easy on the ears, many felt too repetitive with awkward lyrics and a lack of structure while slowing the plot. I understood the intentions behind its messages over vanity in today’s image obsessed world and there was a nice nod to the LGBTQ+ community, the message felt muddled in its execution that wasn’t helped by the casting of conventionally attractive actors for the supposedly unattractive leads.
None of my problems with Cinderella were with the cast. They were all easily the best part of the show who gave 100,000% to material that wasn’t worth their time or talents. I’m so happy to see them thrive in other projects following Cinderella’s run and I wish them nothing but the best. After everything that has happened to them along with the crew and front of house, I cannot fully endorse Bad Cinderella.
In its defence, maybe Bad Cinderella will help the show finally figure out its identity versus the inbetween adult driven and family friendly audience the West End version tried and ultimately failed to appeal to and it can use its bad reputation to its advantage with a tongue-in-cheek approach. I also hope it has taught Andrew Lloyd Webber a hard lesson on treating the people who bring his projects to life with respect now that his past controversies have finally caught up with him after being seen as a revered British composer for decades. For now though, I’m holding my breath.
What are your thoughts on Bad Cinderella going to Broadway? Did you get to see the West End version? Be sure to comment below!
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