cinderella, then and now

The kid and I saw Cinderella this weekend.

Waiting for the show to start

It was her second Broadway musical - we saw Shrek the Musical about six years ago on a Thanksgiving trip to NY. This show was lots of fun, a revival of a revival, with a few contemporary and feminist spins to the age-old fairy tale.

Paige Faure and Andy Jones

Kecia Lewis and Paige Faure, photos from Playbill, by Carol Rosegg

I didn't realize that Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was originally written for television, as a vehicle for Julie Andrews. I saw the 1965 version of the musical on TV when I was a kid in the '70s, with Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella. As we watched the Broadway tour version the other day I was amazed at how many of the songs had stayed with me: "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible; It's Possible," "Stepsisters' Lament," and especially "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"

I'm not sure how much of an impression it made on the kid. She really liked it, especially Kecia Lewis as the Fairy Godmother, but she was a little frustrated that she couldn't see the actors' faces very clearly from where we were sitting. We were't in the nosebleed seats, but it was still a bit of a distance. I guess I may have had a more intimate experience, all those years ago, with the television close-ups and all. But there is something about live theater. The singing gives me goosebumps. You can't really beat that.

not a cinderella story

A story that as been all over the internet is haunting me. Baraa Melhem, a 20 year-old Palestinian girl was locked in her bathroom or other small rooms by her father for ten years. An Associated Press story, "Palestinian woman escapes father's dark captivity," by Diaa Hadid, catalogued the atrocities Baraa was forced to endure at the hands of her father Hassan Melhem and her stepmother, including beatings, threatens of rape and impregnation, and starvation. The pair also gave her a razor blade, encouraging her to kill herself.

AP Photo by Maya Levin

"She survived the ordeal by listening to the radio, dreaming of seeing sunshine again and finding small pleasure in an apple she was fed each day."

Baraa's aunt finally alerted police and she was freed last Saturday. She is now living with her mother, who had tried to see her over the years since she had divorced Baraa's father. He always denied her access to the girl, and was told her daughter wasn't available. It is wonderful that this young woman is finally free, but it is also so tragic to think of a future that may be just as scarred as her childhood.

"When asked if she hoped to marry, Melhem was visibly upset. 'If the violence I experienced was between a father and a daughter, what happens between a man and a wife? No, I never want to marry,' she said."

Baraa's story also bears disturbing similarities to the a story we have all grown up with, the Cinderella fairytale. Her father and stepmother kept her dressed in rags and would only let her out of the small bathroom at night — to clean the house.

There is a ray of hope. Baraa seems to have kept her mind active while listening to radio programs, many of them about mental health. It's hard to imagine how starved her mind must be, as she has not been in school since she was ten years old.

"Although she has nothing more than an elementary school education, she said she hopes to study psychology and one day treat people who had similar fates."

Hopefully she will be able to attend school and see the sun and eat candy and indulge in all of the day-to-day things that she wasn't able to enjoy during her years of captivity and that children all take for granted. I also hope that after the shock value of what happened to Baraa passes, the story isn't lost. I'd like to be able to keep up with her story. I'm curious as to how Palestinian law will treat her horrible father and stepmother. I'd like to know how Baraa does in the future. If she is able to reach out to others successfully. That would be the real happy ending.

the twelve months

My daughter discovered an animation series at the library, featuring beautifully animated Russian folk and fairytales. Mikhail Barishnikov's Stories from my Childhood features some traditional and familiar fairy tale characters, like Cinderella and Pinocchio, while also telling Russian tales not as familiar to an America audience, such as the wonderful Twelve Months.

This is part one. The rest of the fairy tale can be watched on YouTube.

From imdb: The Twelve Months On the last day of the old year, an old man tells orphan Christina about the unhappy girl queen. Spoiled by her power, she commands winter to leave and her subjects to bring her flowers. Christina's cruel guardian commands her to go to the cold forest in a snowstorm to find the flowers. She meets the Twelve Months in a forest, and April causes snowdrops to grow for her to pick, and gives her a ring so she can call for their help if needed. When she refuses to show the Queen the Twelve Months' hidden lake, the Queen casts away Christina's ring, and the Twelve Months help the queen see her behavior was wrong.

The style of this animation is very painterly. It also reminds me of 1930s -era children's book illustration. Each tale has a unique look. I can't think of a better way to welcome a new year than with this gentle tale full of nature magic. Plus, it's fun to safely and vicariously enjoy the snow.

Related articles

• Why fairy tales are immortal (theglobeandmail.com)
• A Sweeping Brush (wfmu.org)