Fran Drescher Joins L.A. Cast of 'Cinderella'

Paige Faure and Andy Huntington Jones in the national tour of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, new book by Douglas Carter Beane and original book by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Mark Brokaw and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” will be presented March 17 through April 26, 2015, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. For tickets and information, please visit CenterTheatreGroup.org or call (213) 972-4400.  Photo by Carol Rosegg. 

Two-time Emmy Award-winner and Golden Globe-nominee Fran Drescher joins the cast of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” for the Los Angeles engagement of the 2013 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical.  Drescher will reprise the role of the wicked stepmother, Madame, a role she played in 2014, making her Broadway debut.  

           From the creators of “South Pacific” and “The Sound of Music,” “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” begins performances on March 17, opens Wednesday, March 18 and continues through April 26, 2015, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. 
           “Cinderella” has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a new book by Douglas Carter Beane and original book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is directed by Mark Brokaw and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. Music adaptation, supervision and arrangements are by David Chase and orchestrations are by Danny Troob. 

           Beloved by millions as “The Nanny” on the long-running CBS TV comedy, Fran Drescher received two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe nominations for the series, which she also created, wrote, directed and executive produced.  Most recently, she starred in TV Land’s sitcom “Happily Divorced” as Fran, a Los Angeles florist whose 18-year marriage ends after her husband announces he’s gay, yet they continue to live together under the same roof.  Her numerous film credits include “This is Spinal Tap”(for which she won Esquire Magazine’s “Five Minute Oscar”); “The Beautician and the Beast,” which she also executive produced; and countless films with the likes of Robin Williams and Tim Robbins (“The Cadillac Man”), Dan Aykroyd and Billy Crystal, and with such directors as Rob Reiner, Milos Forman (“Ragtime”) and Francis Ford Coppola.  She is no stranger to the stage, having made her debut in the Pasadena Playhouse world premiere of Ronald Ribman’s “Rug Merchants of Chaos”; she has appeared off-Broadway in Neil LaBute’s “Some Girl(s),” “The Exonerated” and Nora Ephron’s “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.”  Her Broadway appearance in “Cinderella” was originally scheduled for a limited run, but her engagement was extended three times. She also performed in a special production of “Camelot” at Lincoln Center.