PhotosPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Cinderella With Not-So-Evil Stepsister Marla MindelleSpend an Easter Weekend two-show day at Broadway's Cinderella with Marla Mindelle, who plays stepsister Gabrielle. Join her for a tour of the show's backstage world and stick around as she celebrates with friends following a hard day's work.
By
Matthew Blank
April 09, 2013
"Thank you for looking through my Cinderella pics," said Mindelle. "At first I thought I might be too bossy, using the Playbill camera, but you'd be surprised what people will do to have their picture taken!"
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Cinderella With Not-So-Evil Stepsister Marla Mindelle
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Cinderella With Not-So-Evil Stepsister Marla Mindelle
Spend an Easter Weekend two-show day at Broadway's Cinderella with Marla Mindelle, who plays stepsister Gabrielle. Join her for a tour of the show's backstage world and stick around as she celebrates with friends following a hard day's work. Read the Playbill.com story.
58 PHOTOS
I usually wake up to these faces. This is Momo and Pete. Momo is a dog who acts like a baby, and Pete is a cat who acts like my girlfriend. She is obsessed with me.
Marla Mindelle
When they're not mauling me, they're good friends that love to sit on bags together.
Marla Mindelle
Pete lives for true intimacy.
Marla Mindelle
She even holds my hand as I check my emails in the morning.
Marla Mindelle
Not to be outdone, Momo tries to model ala Kate Winslet in "Titanic." But it just makes me uncomfortable.
Walking up to the theatre. I play stepsister Gabrielle, or as some people call me, "Pretzel Hair."
Marla Mindelle
Welcome to my dressing room!
Marla Mindelle
Here is Gabrielle's makeup plot. It consists mainly of pinks and purples.
Marla Mindelle
You can sort of see. I look like a cupcake.
Marla Mindelle
This is the cutest fan art. Manor Oaks elementary school sent me "Playbills" with their drawings of Gabrielle. Note the pretzel hair in every picture.
Marla Mindelle
I also received this sketch from a 10 year old Gabrielle drawing PRODIGY.
Marla Mindelle
Cinderella for Marriage Equality!
Marla Mindelle
Learning how to use this camera while my hairdresser, Tonya, pins my mic to my wig cap.
Marla Mindelle
Perhaps one of my favorite pictures ever. Something happened to the R on my nameplate resulting in my new stage name, "MAPLA MINDELLE."
Marla Mindelle
"Smash" star Ann Harada signs in and writes some warm wishes to Lucky Guy!
Marla Mindelle
This has nothing to do with my two-show day, but my sister and I are in an ugly child Instagram fight and I just took it to a new level. BOOM, LISA!
Marla Mindelle
And just to make sure my youngest sister, Olivia, does not feel left out...
Marla Mindelle
But look how far we've come!
Marla Mindelle
Anyway, back to the top of the show. Here I'm modeling my bathrobe and bloomers before we begin. As "Rupaul's Drag Race" would interpret, "I'm serving you cozy pre-show fish."
Marla Mindelle
Nick and Kendal fight over who's gonna ride our resident horse, Buttercup.
Marla Mindelle
Even when she's upside down and dressed like a page boy in a Susan Egan wig, Stephanie Gibson manages to look great. UGH.
Marla Mindelle
Laura Irion doing some pre-show stretches.
Marla Mindelle
In the first act, you can find me under the palace stairs playing Words With Friends. One could say this is "my own little corner."
Marla Mindelle
This continues in different and progressively larger costumes.
Marla Mindelle
Oh god, I disgust myself.
Marla Mindelle
This is our quick change booth. Our costumes are so huge they remain onstage. Oops, Laura, I'll come back when you're dressed.
Marla Mindelle
Preparing for the gavotte. Jill, Stephanie and Laura are giving you fairy tale ball gown realness.
Marla Mindelle
And I'm giving you... a striking resemblance to a praying mantis.
Marla Mindelle
This is our wishing well. I'm assuming Jill is wishing she will be able to remember the choreography for "Ten Minutes Ago."
Marla Mindelle
During Intermission, I decide to stop by Greg Hildreth's hipster Bachelor Pad. So far, I'm the only one who's visited.
Marla Mindelle
Vicki Clark's fairy godmother palace. I didn't realize fairy godmothers shopped at West Elm!
Marla Mindelle
Everyone always asks if the cast gets along. As you can tell, we love each other.
Marla Mindelle
Seriously, no one here is a diva.
Marla Mindelle
Linda's cleavage causes different and bizarre reactions between Branch and Kendal.
Marla Mindelle
Cody is warming for the pursuit. I tried to get a jumping candid but failed every time. So... this is right before he jumped.
Marla Mindelle
...and right when he landed.
Marla Mindelle
Branch, Nick, Peter and Kevin pose as a medieval boy band.
Marla Mindelle
In the second act, the ensemble has some downtime on their hands. So... the middle ages meets a Macbook Pro.
Marla Mindelle
I finally change into Gabrielle's peasant look, by far my favorite costume. I wish I had this whimsical nymph hair in real life.
Marla Mindelle
Personally, I think Greg in love with me. But that's just between ALL OF US.
Marla Mindelle
After our love scene, we congregate by our snack corner. It's a 5th grader's dream and great for anyone looking to break their diet.
Marla Mindelle
As the bows start, Laura sits on the steps until it's her turn to take the stage.
Marla Mindelle
Dinner! Kidding. But I usually do stop by Crumbs in between shows to get a cupcake. Bad, bad habit.
Marla Mindelle
Ohhhhh, Mapla.
Marla Mindelle
The show is done and now I'm at Jake Wilson and Dani Spieler's apartment. Get this. I left ONE SHOE at a restaurant months ago and Alysha Umphress was nice enough to give it back. One could say it's a... Cinderella Story.
Marla Mindelle
This is Dani Spieler's wig station, that most drag queens would be proud of. It's AT LEAST 90 dollars worth of wigs.
Marla Mindelle
Alysha, Jake, Dani and I are going to a musical improv show so we wear Dani's wigs to get into the KOOKY spirit!
Marla Mindelle
On the way to see our friend, Danny Visconti, sing with his musical improv group, "Fancy Mantlepiece."
Marla Mindelle
They were amazing! Now we're celebrating at Mono and Mono in the East Village.
Marla Mindelle
This is our waitress, Judy, letting us pick presents out of Easter Eggs!
Marla Mindelle
Oh god, oh god, what present am I gonna get?
Marla Mindelle
...Pepper...Shots??
Marla Mindelle
Alysha picked....
Marla Mindelle
INFUSED SAMPLERRRR!!!!
Marla Mindelle
Happy Korean Easter!
Marla Mindelle
Thanks for EVERYTHING, Judy.
Marla Mindelle
The end!
Marla Mindelle
Back at home. Pete and I are getting ready for bed. Goodnight! Come see us in Cinderella at the Broadway Theatre!
The singing actress was most recently seen as Sister Mary Roberts in Sister Act on Broadway. Other theatre work includes Lincoln Center Theater's South Pacific, the first national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Paper Mill, Philadelphia Theatre Company), The Wild Party (New Repertory Theatre) and Songs for a New World (Princeton Opera).
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 songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, as well as songs 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?"
Audiences will also hear the Rodgers and Hammerstein score anew thanks to David Chase (How to Succeed, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Flower Drum Song), who has re-arranged the material since it was first heard nearly 60 years ago. Chase also serves as musical adapter and supervisor on the production.
The property's closest brush with Broadway was a national tour that played The Theatre at Madison Square Garden in 2001. It starred Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother and Jamie-Lynn Sigler in the title role. That production drew on several versions of Cinderella, including the original 1957 teleplay and the 1997 "Wonderful World of Disney" version.
Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes (Bonnie & Clyde, South Pacific) and Santino Fontana (Billy Elliot, Importance of Being Earnest) star as Cinderella and the Prince, respectively.
The cast also boasts Tony Award winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Cinderella's Stepmother, Madame; Tony winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza, Sister Act) as the Fairy Godmother, Marie; Peter Bartlett (A Free Man of Color, The Frogs) as Sebastian, the Prime Minister; Ann Harada (Avenue Q, "Smash") as stepsister Charlotte; Marla Mindelle (Sister Act) as stepsister Gabrielle; and Greg Hildreth (Peter and the Starcatcher) as the rebel Jean-Michel.
It is produced by Robyn Goodman, Jill Furman, Stephen Kocis, Edward Walson, Venetian Glass Productions, The Araca Group, Roy Furman, Luigi Caiola & Rose Caiola, 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.
Cinderella has choreography by Josh Rhodes. Andy Einhorn is music director and conductor. Scenic design is by Anna Louizos, costume design is by William Ivey Long, lighting design is by Ken Posner and sound design is by Nevin Steinberg.
