Color Blind Casting Cinderella

By the time the film was greenlit by Disney for ABC, Houston felt that she had outgrown the title role, which she offered to Brandy instead. The decision to use a color-blind casting approach originated among the producers to reflect how society had evolved by the 1990s, with Brandy becoming the first black actress to portray Cinderella on screen. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) provides its audience with the classic tale of Cinderella, the beloved music of the titular duo, and a color-blind world where Prince Charming is Asian, the King and Queen are an interracial couple, and Cinderella is a dark-skinned, Black woman.

Yet, does this film's choice of color-blind casting have unintentional ramifications? My Cinderella. In this second of a 3-part series on diversity in Hollywood, Black industry insiders talk candidly about casting people of color in non. This afternoon, as part of our Black History Month film festival, we showed 1997's Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

The color-blind casting process led to a diverse finished product that our patrons really responded to. Librarian Krishna Grady introduced the film, and talked about the casting director and how producers set out to find the best person for each role, no matter their skin. Amidst the controversies surrounding recent productions like Bridgerton and the Queen Cleopatra documentary, the 1997 film Cinderella stands as a shining example of the power of color-blind casting.

Led by the talented Brandy, the film not only celebrated diversity and inclusion, but also captured the hearts of audiences worldwide. A discussion of the use of colorblind casting in Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1997 production of Cinderella by Stephanie Brownell and Emma Alexander. The producers wanted to use a "color-blind casting" approach, resulting in a black Cinderella (Brandy) and Fairy Godmother (Houston) as well as a Filipino prince (Paolo Montalban) with a black mother (Whoopi Goldberg) and a white father (Victor Garber).

Cinderella's stepfamily also has black and white members. In "Cinderella: The Reunion," a special edition of ABC's news magazine "20/20" that aired on Aug. 23, cast members recalled the novelty of colorblind casting, the use of extremely valuable (and genuine) jewels that had to be guarded on set, and the contributions they made to their now-iconic interpretations of the classic fairytale's characters.

EXCLUSIVE: Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1997 Cinderella Makes a Strong Case for Diverse-Not Color Blind-Casting Cinderella: The Reunion premieres Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 8p.m.ET. Color-blind casting is the practice of casting roles without regard to the actor's ethnicity or race.

[1] Alternative terms and similar practices include non-traditional casting, integrated casting, or blind casting, [a] which can involve casting without consideration of skin color, body shape, sex or gender. [citation needed].