Freedman, choreographer Rob Marshall, and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. In honor of the film's 20th anniversary, Shondaland spoke with 'Cinderella''s living cast and crew - including actors Brandy Norwood, Paolo Montalban, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, and Victor Garber along with executive producers Debra Martin Chase, Craig Zadan, and Neil Meron director Robert Iscove, writer Robert L. Whitney HoustonвЂ™s persistence had paid off, her dream of a multi-cultural 'Cinderella' production was realized, and its effect was achieved. And for a generation of young children of color, 'Cinderella' became an iconic memory of their childhoods, of seeing themselves in a black princess who could lock eyes and fall in love with a Filipino prince. The casting of this 'Cinderella' was historic and not without its detractors - not since 'The Wiz' had a production dared to imagine that a story so firmly fixed in the cultural zeitgeist could be seen as anything other than lily white. More than two decades later, Norwood and Houston's 'Cinderella,' which was first broadcast by ABC on November 2, 1997, went on to do the same thing for a whopping 23 million households (and an estimated 60 million viewers) in just one night. WarrenвЂ™s Cinderella became annual 'event watching' in many households, catching the eyes and imaginations of more of AmericaвЂ™s kids each time it aired. Lesley Ann WarrenвЂ™s portrayal of Cinderella was so successful that it was rebroadcast eight times, essentially once a year through February of 1974. In 1967, CBS reimagined the musical once again.

It starred a young Julie Andrews and was watched by over 107 million Americans. CBS first staged a live version of the 'Cinderella' musical in 1957. Silent film star Mary Pickford played the character in a 1914 movie, and in 1950, Walt Disney and his animators gave us their first animated interpretation of the tale. It, of course, went on to become one of The Brothers GrimmвЂ™s best known works, published in their 1812 fairytale collection. The story of a down-on-her-luck, fatherless girl saved from her wicked stepmother by a fairy godmother and a handsome prince goes back to 1634, when it was first published by Italian author Giambattista Basile.

Houston and her co-producers knew how important it was for each modern generation to have their own 'Cinderella' - and for many young black girls growing up in the 90s, Brandy was ours. Remaking 'Cinderella' had been on HoustonвЂ™s mind for years long before any footage was shot, before glass slippers were fitted, before anyone thought that Cinderella could have microbraids. Instead, the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning artist set out to make a diverse, multicultural 'Cinderella,' starring a young Brandy Norwood - who would become Disney's first black princess. When shooting began for Rodgers and HammersteinвЂ™s 'Cinderella' in July of 1997, the closest Disney had come to showcasing a black princess were the muses from 'Hercules.' In fact, it would be another 12 years before an (animated) black girl got the lead in 'The Princess and the Frog.' But megastar Whitney Houston didnвЂ™t want to wait.

A cinderella story cast