I Wish...

I wrote a post last summer about "I Wish" songs and how I need to find mine again--you know, finding that dream that drives.

Oddly enough, my next role is a character whose first and last words of the show are "I wish.." I love that fact and have a hard time believing it is merely a coincidence.

So in several weeks I GET TO BE CINDERELLA! BAHHH!!!!

I've been dreaming of this for years. Truly. Here I am dressed as Cinderella (prior to meeting her fairy godmother) on my 10th birthday. James is supposed to be a Ninja Turtle if my memory serves me right. Either that or someone let their toddler into a can of green paint. Let's hope it's the former.

And this picture was doubled with another one(God Bless digital cameras), but I wanted to include this cake. My mom decorated it. She's such an artist and completely spoiled me. She always made birthdays special and they always had a theme. (Beauty & the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Nancy Drew, etc...)

If you look closely, you can even see the glass slipper on the cake. A nice touch.

So the honor of being Cinderella in "Into the Woods" means I get to wear a cinders dress, & TWO BALLGOWNS! ...Okay, I guess, one's a wedding dress, but still, TWO GORGEOUS DRESSES! Oh, and it won't be the complete experience without slippers as pure as gold. (It breaks the Disney tradition, which is somewhat of a relief because actual glass slippers sound quite dangerous.)

Plus, I will get to sing some of the most beautiful songs ever written for musical theatre. Music & Lyrics by the incomparable Steven Sondheim. The show is based on a book written by James Lapine who happens to share the same name with my brother. We've know of him for some time now, I just never thought that I would be able to perform in one of his shows.

Since I heard the good news, I've been researching the girl who is notorious for leaving behind her slipper. She has been portrayed in many ways. The character in this show is actually the closest to the original Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. It is a tad gory, I must say, but nearly accurate.

So here are a few of the role models.

A young Julie Andrews--the epitome of porcelain doll. She was Cinderella in the Rodgers and Hammerstein version. It aired on television on March 31st, 1957 and was witnessed by 107 million viewers.

Classic Disney. Probably my first introduction to the story and told in an unforgettable way. The mice weren't included in the original story, but their minute presence contributed to the success of this film in a huge way.

And really, has Disney ever been as magical as this?

I love that she is holding a peacock feather in this painting. I wish I knew more about this one.

This is Kim Crosby. I've been studying her probably most of all because she originated the role on Broadway. She actually resembles Rachel McAdams. Does anyone else see it? She has a gorgeous voice as well.

Drew Barrymore's interpretation of Danielle de Barbarac in "Ever After" refreshed the age old story. This Cinderella would read her father's favourite book "Utopia" beside the fire and often fall asleep in the cinders. She presented a character to young girls that was not the frail, trampled over herorine we had come to know, but a strong force not to be reckoned with.  I was the perfect age to see this movie with my best friends. Another 5 years and it wouldn't have made an affect on my life at all. 

 By the time I was in high school, Whitney Houston produced this version with R&B sensation Brandy as Cinderella...and Bernadette Peters as the Evil Stepmother. I need to see this one again.

This is McCaela Donovan. She portrayed Cinderella in a production of "Into the Woods" in Boston. Although I never saw it--she received great reviews and I was able to hear her on youtube. That would have been nearly impossible 10 years ago. Isn't technology fantastic. Yeah, but she's pretty incredible and definitely worth studying. 

It's been fun researching this. I just hope that we have a great rehearsal period and a great run. I can't even tell you how excited I am to be on stage with so many fellow actors I admire and a production dream team I can't wait to work with!