''Sisterella'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

, presented and produced by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

with

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

in association with

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

. Music, lyrics and book are by Larry Hart. The original choreographer was

Ramon Del Barrio Ramon Del Barrio (née Ramon G. del Barrio, May 9, 1964 in New York); also known as Raymond Del Barrio, is an American performer, choreographer, dancer and singer. Career Barrio has worked as a director and a choreographer for an American boy ...

. The musical has been described as a "spoofy Cinderella-based African-American musical." It was originally planned for a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

run in the fall of 1997. The show sold out its March to April 1996 original run at the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

in Pasadena, California. It toured the United States, Europe and Australia. Hart created the book and the music with the reader workshops at the New York's Musical Theatre Works, which did the workshops on Disney's ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''.

Plot summary

The show is an original musical based on the tale of

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

Cast

Yvette Cason Yvette Cason is an American television, theatre, and film actress, and a former Miss Black America from Washington, D.C. Career Cason was an understudy for the character of Effie White in the original 1981 Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', 1985 ...

as Dahlia in the original production,

Tina Cross Tina Marie Cross (born 27 January 1959) is a New Zealand singer. She sang the winning entry in the 1979 Pacific Song Contest, and was the lead vocalist of synthpop band, Koo De Tah, whose single " Too Young for Promises" was a top ten hit in Au ...

in the 1998 run * Jimmie Wilson as Prince Jean-Luc in the original production, Donny Rae Evins in the 1998 run * Wanda Houston as Magnolia *

Rain Pryor Rain Pryor (born July 16, 1969) is an American actress. Her television credits include sitcoms ''Head of the Class'' and '' Rude Awakening''. She is the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor. Early life Pryor was born in Los Angeles, California, t ...

as Chrysanthemum, Billie Stapleton in the 1998 run * Gregory McKinnon as King * Della Miles as Ella * Jim Ryan as Lord Monty Grubman in the original run,

Red Symons Redmond Symons (born 13 June 1949) is an Australian musician and television and radio personality. He was the lead guitarist in the band Skyhooks, the snide judge of 'Red Faces' (a segment of the long-running variety show '' Hey Hey It's Satur ...

in the 1998 run *

Richard O'Brien Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...

as Dr. Cranium * Jody Keith Barrie as Dr. Goniff * Larry Hart as Indursky

References

{{reflist Musicals based on Cinderella African-American musicals American musicals Musicals based on works by Charles Perrault 1996 musicals