'Cinderella' targets Broadway

Beane Goodman A new version of Rodgers and Hammerstein tuner "Cinderella" is targeting a Broadway run, skedding a spring workshop staging ahead of a proposed Rialto berth in the 2012-13 season.Scribe Douglas Carter Beane ("Xanadu," "The Little Dog Laughed"), whose musical "Lysistrata Jones" opens next week on Broadway, writes the all-new book, which incorporates the familiar fairy tale elements but gives the tale a girl-power twist. Robyn Goodman ("Avenue Q," "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo") and her shingle Aged in Woods Prods. will produce.Penned for TV, the 1957 "Cinderella" has never played Broadway, although legit adaptations began hitting stages soon after bow of TV tuner, which starred Julie Andrews. Subsequent tube incarnations include a 1965 version toplined by Lesley Ann Warren and a 1997 adaptation that starred Brandy.A City Opera version most recently played Gotham in 2004, while another adaptation -- with a book assembled from multiple versions of the musical -- is playing at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater.Because the original clocked in at less than 80 minutes, most newer versions interpolate other songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog. The latest version does the same, although some of them are songs that were cut from other tuners, including the opening number, according to Goodman.Production targets the all-ages crowd that has helped propel shows such as "The Lion King" to B.O. success, with the producer describing Beane's adaptation as a balance between kid-friendly fairytale trappings and a smart, satirical tone.Producers are gearing up for a developmental workshop staging in April. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com