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And to me, that kind of ownership means that it's the 'Cinderella' that spoke to them the most. MONTALBAN: I guess I could say maybe The New York Times got it wrong because I have people who say that this is their 'Cinderella,' and it's the only 'Cinderella' that they'll acknowledge. And on social media today, there has been so much buzz of people excited to see this reunion.

SUMMERS: A New York Times review had some praise, but it said - and I'm quoting here - 'this is a cobbled-together 'Cinderella' for the moment, not the ages.' SUMMERS: Now, there was not social media at the time, but there was some artistic criticism that happened during the premiere. You can see examples of it in other period-type dramas that have nontraditional casting like 'Bridgerton.' Or you have people of color playing traditionally Caucasian characters in history in, say, 'Hamilton,' right? So I think that that proof of concept that we did back in 1997 has permeated throughout the industry in a very positive way. MONTALBAN: I would say 25 years later, the industry definitely has caught up.

Twenty-five years later, has the industry caught up? You mentioned that you thought that society was ready for that but that the industry wasn't. SUMMERS: I mean, the magic of something like this is the idea that it doesn't matter what color you are. At least I can say that from my end, I brought up how I actually thought the industry wasn't ready for our colorblind casting a version of 'Cinderella' but how society was because the response to it was one of overwhelming acceptance and gratitude. Do y'all discuss that at all in the reunion special? SUMMERS: You and the cast experienced something that happens a lot today, and that's criticism, if not outright outrage, over actors of color playing characters who had previously been portrayed as white. So our singing styles became closer to each other's. And our music director, Paul Bogaev, smartly had Brandy pretend like she was an opera singer, and he had me pretend like I was George Michael. What was really interesting about the singing aspect or the singing chemistry is that Brandy was coming from a pop artist background, and I was coming from a Broadway musical background. She made my job, if I even want to call it that, incredibly easy. But I guess that's what chemistry is about, right? You feel like you've known each other all your lives, and so it was incredibly easy. MONTALBAN: Well, it felt like working with one of your best friends even though we weren't actually close friends, you know, to begin with. SUMMERS: Now, you and Brandy had chemistry not just as on-screen actors but also as singers. MONTALBAN: (As Prince Christopher) Beg your pardon? I believe the first scene was when I bump into Cinderella in the market square. So they had me sing '10 Minutes Ago' and 'Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?' And we also did a couple of scenes. Now, when you were auditioning for this, was there a particular song from the musical that you had to sing? SUMMERS: And this was no small production, as we were saying.

And when I auditioned with Brandy, that's when I realized that it was probably going to be something bigger than that. I thought it was going to be for a small public access channel. PAOLO MONTALBAN: Well, actually, not much was going through my head because I didn't really actually know what the scope of the production was going to be. And I asked him what went through his head when he first learned that he'd landed the role. I spoke with Paolo earlier this week about the history that he had a part in making as a Filipino prince courting a Black princess. He joined the rest of the cast for a 25th anniversary reunion special that's airing next week on ABC. That includes actor Paolo Montalban, who starred opposite Brandy as the charming Prince Christopher.

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The late, legendary Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother, alongside a notably diverse cast of Broadway recording and TV talent. NORWOOD: (Singing) Impossible, impossible. SUMMERS: Disney produced an adaptation of 'Rodgers And Hammerstein's Cinderella.' It started Grammy winner Brandy in the title role. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, 'RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA')īRANDY NORWOOD: (As Cinderella, singing) Impossible. Twenty-five years ago, a classic fairy tale became a very modern TV event.