At age 21, Palmer is the youngest actress to portray Cinderella on Broadway. She succeeds Paige Faure in the role. Laura Osnes earned a Tony Award nomination for originating the role on Broadway.
Palmer's talk show "Just Keke" premiered in June on BET and covers topics ranging from pop culture and social issues to relationships, fashion and celebrity interviews. Her credits also include "Animal," Showtime's "Masters of Sex," Lifetime's "The Trip to Bountiful," "Akeelah and the Bee," "Ice Age: Continental Drift," "Joyful Noise," "Shrink," "The Longshots," "The Cleaner," Nickelodeon's "True Jackson, VP," "90210," "Cold Case," "Law & Order: SVU," "ER," the DirecTV miniseries "Full Circle" and Lifetime's TLC biopic "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story."
Shepherd, who succeeds Nancy Opel as Madame, is also known for her work as Angie Jordan on "30 Rock," as well as her Lifetime series "Sherri." Her screen work also includes "How I Met Your Mother," "Dancing with the Stars," "Less Than Perfect," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Abducted," "Precious" and "Beauty Shop." Shepard was also seen in the Off-Broadway run of Love, Loss and What I Wore.
Read the Playbill.com feature: A Whole New "Ball" Game: Keke Palmer and Sherri Shepherd Make Historic Broadway Debuts in Cinderella Cinderella also features Joe Carroll as Prince Topher, Ann Harada as stepsister Charlotte, Stephanie Gibson as stepsister Gabrielle, Peter Bartlett as Sebastian, Prince Topher's mentor and Lord Chancellor, Todd Buonopane as the rebel Jean-Michel and Phumzile Sojola as Lord Pinkleton.
Directed by Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, Cry-Baby), the new production of Cinderella began Broadway previews Jan. 25, 2013, and officially opened March 3. The musical has songs by lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and composer Richard Rodgers. The production will end its run Jan. 3, 2015.
Cinderella, which premiered as a 1957 television film starring Julie Andrews in the title role, has been updated for contemporary audiences with a new book by four-time Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane (The Nance, Sister Act, Xanadu, Lysistrata Jones, The Little Dog Laughed).
His treatment recharts the journey of the classic tale in a new way. Retaining all classic elements of the fairytale, Beane and the creative team offer audiences a fresh take that gives the female heroine a stronger point of view.
The new production incorporates rarely-heard songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, including "Loved and Learned," "Now Is the Time," "Me, Who Am I?" and "The Music in You." Also featured are standards from the original television version, including "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible," "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"
Cinderella is produced by Robyn Goodman, Jill Furman, Stephen Kocis, Edward Walson, Venetian Glass Productions, The Araca Group, Luigi Caiola & Rose Caiola, Roy Furman, Walt Grossman, Peter May/Sanford Robertson, Glass Slipper Productions/Eric Schmidt, Ted Liebowitz/James Spry, Blanket Fort Productions and is produced in association with Center Theatre Group. Charles Salameno is associate producer.
Visit CinderellaOnBroadway.com.
