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By Andrew Gans
06 Oct 2004

Julie Andrews in "Cinderella"

The original 1957 television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" — starring Julie Andrews — will air on PBS stations across the country in December.

A spokesperson for PBS' "Great Performances" series confirmed to Playbill On-Line that the made-for-TV musical will be broadcast nationally Dec. 13. Those in the metropolitan area will see the acclaimed production a few days earlier: WNET/Thirteen will air the black-and-white "Cinderella" as part of its pledge drive on Dec. 5 from 8-9:30 PM ET. Check local listings for broadcast dates and times throughout the country.

Academy Award winner Andrews, who stars in the title role, will host the broadcast of the'50s musical. The program will also include interviews with three of the show's stars, who reminisce about the filming of "Cinderella": Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard and Edie Adams.

Directed by Ralph Nelson, the musical version of "Cinderella" — featuring a score by Rodgers and Hammerstein — originally aired on CBS March 31, 1957. The broadcast drew more than 107 million viewers. The cast featured Julie Andrews as Cinderella, Howard Lindsay as the King, Dorothy Stickney as the Queen, Ilka Chase as the Stepmother, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the Stepsisters, Edie Adams as the Fairy Godmother, Jon Cypher as Prince Christopher, Robert Penn as Town Crier, Alexander Clark as the Captain of the Guard, Iggie Wolfington as the Chef and David F. Perkins as the Court Tailor.

Lesley Ann Warren (1965) and pop singer Brandy (1997) starred as Cinderella in the subsequent TV versions.

Song titles from "Cinderella" include "The Prince Is Giving a Ball," "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "It's Possible," "Gavotte," "Ten Minutes Ago I Saw You," "Stepsisters' Lament," "Waltz for a Ball," "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?," "When You're Driving Through the Moonlight," "A Lovely Night" and "The Search."

Image Entertainment will also release "Cinderella" on VHS and DVD in December.

Jon Cypher in "Cinderella"

Keyword: Features/Location: All News Features Celebrity Buzz Writer: All Ackerman, Ari Allen, Morgan Blank, Matthew Bradley, Anne Buckley, Michael Ehren, Christine Gans, Andrew Gewirtzman, David Grode, Eric Haun, Harry Hernandez, Ernio Hetrick, Adam Hylton, Kevin Inverne, James Jones, Kenneth Kalafatas, Greg Khodosh, Ilya Lefkowitz, David Maher, Sam Marcus, Jason Mardenfeld, Sandra Mattison, Ben Mazzola, Karen Merlo, Melissa Nathan, John Noland, Nathan Nondorf, Tom Pincus-Roth, Zachary Rothstein, Mervyn Rudetsky, Seth Simonson, Robert Staff, Playbill Suskin, Steven Tallmer, Jerry Taylor, Gregg Trinh, Paul Viagas, Robert Wawrzynek, Andrew Windman, Matt Wong, Wayman