Cinderella: The Musical
Gillian Lynne Theatre, London

 
THIS is a romance not of Cinderella and Prince Charming, but of Cinderella and Sebastian, the younger and much less manly brother of the heir to the throne.

Both reviled outsiders, the pair have for years been meeting clandestinely as friends in the glade outside their perfect medieval town, each harbouring a secret love they’re afraid to bring into the open. 

With the disappearance of Prince Charming, however, their sweet, supportive relationship is strained to breaking point as plans are made to marry off the new heir apparent to the highest bidder.

Crafted by Emerald Farrell, who’s written in recent times for Killing Eve and The Crown, it’s an imaginative take on an old story and a suitably whimsical base for a classic, no-expense-spared West End extravaganza that’s graced with sumptuous costumes and a bewitching fairytale set, both designed by Gabriela Tylesova.

Carrie Hope Fletcher’s appealingly “bad” Cinderella, defiant rather than compliant in gothic black lace and DMs, is an excellent foil for the equally disaffected but rather more timid Sebastian, played on this night by understudy Michael Hamway, whose inspired performance must have put him in line for the main role at some point in the future.
 
Add to the scene a rather spooky, strangely malignant godmother (Gloria Onitiri) and a surprise twist that’s difficult to see coming, and you’ve got a contemporary, gently alternative update of the traditional tale.  
 
There’s more conventionality, however, in the slightly overwrought and pantomime-like representations of the queen and stepmother (Rebecca Trehearn and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt respectively), while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s songs rarely depart from the norm.  
 
Once again the maestro has come up with a raft of music that’s memorable at first hearing, including Sebastian’s Only You, Lonely You, (the subject of prolonged applause for Hamway’s marvellous rendition) and I Know You, a spikily humorous duet between queen and stepmother that showcases librettist David Zippel’s lyrical wit.  
 
While this much-delayed world premiere production never quite reaches the emotional, feelgood heights of musical theatre at its best – it lacks elements of poignancy and pathos that would have elevated it to that status –  it’s nonetheless another in a long line of Lloyd Webber triumphs – and will no doubt run and run.

 Until October 24, box office: +44 (0) 20 7087 7750 / https://lwtheatres.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne/