watched Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at esplanade theatre this evening. it's an entertaining show, despite the fact that its storyline is so well known.

the story went as expected, of course with the happy ending. but I didn't know earlier that the king is actually not so keen in giving his son a ball. a little difference could be noted near the end of the play, when the palace people was looking for cinderella by asking every girl in the country to try the glass slippers on. when they arrived at cinderella's house, cinderella was not there as she sneaked out the night before to go back to the palace and meet the prince herself. the fairy godmother was there too, helping them along the way.

the act when the fairy godmother transformed the pumpkin into royal carriage was very well done. it was happening at the back of the curtain and the blinking lights made it look so magical. cinderella inspected the carriage and the horses - she moved to the other side of the carriage - within seconds she reappeared wearing a completely different gown and hairdo. we could not decide if she was really that quick or if it was someone else who looked exactly like her.

the properties on stage were nicely done, and the casts' costumes were superb! cinderella's gowns were quite predictable and a bit boring, but the rest of the casts wore colorful, impressive gowns.