Character guide
Cinderella
from Into the Woods
Cinderella is one of several fairy-tale protagonists whose wishes collide in Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim's 1987 musical.
- Show
- Into the Woods
- Broadway premiere
- 1987
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Stephen Sondheim
Cinderella on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 2014 Disney film
Anna Kendrick played Cinderella in Disney's 2014 film, while Kim Crosby originated the role on Broadway in 1987. Kendrick keeps Cinderella's big solo, On the Steps of the Palace, and her prince is played by Chris Pine.
The film trims the world around her. Ever After and the Agony reprise were among the stage songs cut, along with No More and Maybe They're Magic, and the stage Narrator was dropped, with the Baker telling the story instead. The film also spares Rapunzel, who on stage is killed by the Giant.
Who is Cinderella?
This Cinderella begins as the familiar figure of folklore, longing to attend the festival and escape her cruel stepfamily, but Into the Woods pushes her past the traditional happy ending into the messier consequences of getting what you wish for. She is thoughtful and increasingly self-aware, questioning whether the life she dreamed of is the life she actually wants.
Her story intersects with the Baker, the Witch, and the other fairy-tale characters whose separate wishes tangle together in the woods, making her both an individual protagonist and part of a larger ensemble tapestry.
Cinderella's role in Into the Woods
Cinderella is a lead role that requires a strong, clear soprano capable of handling Sondheim's intricate melodic lines and rhythmic complexity. The part also demands genuine acting range, since she moves from wistful yearning in the first act to hard-won wisdom and grief in the second.
It is a role that rewards performers who can find nuance in a character often flattened into a simple fairy-tale figure elsewhere.
Why Cinderella resonates
By subverting the classic fairy tale, this Cinderella feels more human than her storybook counterpart. Audiences connect with her uncertainty about whether her wish was truly the right one, a question far more relatable than a simple happily ever after.
Cinderella: frequently asked questions
What show is Cinderella from?
This version of Cinderella is a lead character in Into the Woods, which opened in 1987.
Is Cinderella a lead or supporting role?
She is a lead role, one of the central fairy-tale characters whose stories intertwine in the show.
Who wrote the music for Into the Woods?
Stephen Sondheim composed the music and wrote the lyrics for Into the Woods.
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