Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much delayed Cinderella has been hailed as triumph by critics with the impresario saying he could not quite believe it had finally made it to the stage.
The show, dubbed a modern feminist take on the classic fairytale, was meant to open a month ago but was hit by delays caused by Covid protocols that threatened its future.
Speaking to the audience before the show on Wednesday night, Lloyd Webber said: “I’m pinching myself – I can’t quite believe we’re here” and vowed that “short of a passing asteroid hitting us” the show would go on.
The musical, written by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell and starring Carrie Hope Fletcher in the title role, wowed the critics.
The Evening Standard’s Nick Curtis gave it four stars saying the “sassy, sarky” show was worth the wait.
Writing in The Daily Mail, Patrick Marmion said the modern fairytale was “a sharp poke in the eye to the Disney idea of feminine virtue”.
He praised the “joyously vulgar” and “endlessly camp” production which he called “a glitterball hit”.
The Guardian’s Chris Wiegand said the much delayed show was “worth the wait” and said Fennell brought “heart” and “barbed wit” to the story.
He said: “It adds up to not so much a ball as a blast: terrifically OTT and silly but warm and inclusive, with relatable, down-to-earth heroes and pertinent points about our quest for perfection and our expectations of each other and ourselves.”
The show also got four stars from The Telegraph whose critic, Marianka Swain, said it was “easily one of Lloyd Webber’s most entertaining musicals – a family-friendly extravaganza, with larger-than-life characters that make up for our lost pantomime season in 2020”.
