Oh, look who lost her glass shoe? It's Cinderella!

We all know there are several versions of Cinderella. There’s Brothers Grimm’s version, which may be a little too gruesome for my young life of 23 years old. Then there’s Disney version, the romanticized cartoon that every girl wishes she’d be a star in. Then there’s my favorite, the 1997 musical of Rodger's and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

On Rotten Tomatoes, about 74% of people liked this movie.

This play is the only play that Rodger’s and Hammerstein had produced to be televised, which held one of the largest audience views with 107 million viewers in 1957.

Of course, their Cinderella lead was the one and only 21-year-old Julie Andrews (this woman is everything!).

This classic movie made its debut in 1997 based on an older version of the Rodger and Hammerstein’s musical from 1957. This time, it is performed with a diverse cast with the following stars: Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Paolo Montalban, Victor Garber, Veanne Cox, Jason Alexander and Natalie Desselle.

I think this movie is a classic that should not be overlooked. Many people have tried to discredit the movie because of the casting. Questions that have been asked are: how does a Caucasian man and an African American woman have an Asian child? How does the evil stepmother have one African American child and a Caucasian child?

And just like that we’re set back to the fifties.

We live in a fully diverse world that somehow seems to be set back by the color of someone’s skin. Though most people look to a person’s personality and actions to determine who they are, there is still a percentage that uses skin color to stereotype and judge. I’m willing to bet that the cast was picked to make this movie amazing because of how talented they were and the skills they have.

Look at it differently. Let’s say each character told their story because Cinderella is Cinderella’s story, not the Prince’s, not the stepmother’s, or anyone else’s.

Maybe the King (Victor Garber) and the Queen (Whoopi Goldberg) have been trying for years to have children to take over the kingdom, but no luck.

So, as an alternative, they decided to adopt children and ultimately fell in love with their son, Prince Christopher (Paolo Montalban)? And they’ve been living their happily ever after.

Or maybe the Stepmother (Bernadette Peters) had been through three marriages which have failed each time. Maybe she had one child by one man, who was murdered and decided to move on to the next. The second father happened to have left her for being spoiled. Then whoops, she marries Cinderella’s father and he dies, forcing her to adopt Cinderella.

And it is possible. But no matter how you look at it, it is a diverse movie with a great, talented cast. Cinderella may not be the best princess story, but this movie was made to break the color barriers and it did exactly that. So shout out to the director who made it happen!