CLO Running Rodgers + Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’; Max Leake Plays Outdoor Show at Katz Plaza (Tues., 8/11/15)

The Cinderella story: too good to be true? Paige Faure reprises her Broadway title role at CLO.

1) Few people know that late in their partnership, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote a daring new musical interpretation of the Cinderella story. Truer to everyday reality, this version has Cinderella as the favored child who is both beautiful and privileged, while her dowdy stepsisters must scrub floors at minimum wage. The fairy godmother has been re-cast as a parole officer, and … Just kidding!

In fact, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is quite faithful to the original folk tale. The fabled duo first wrote the musical for TV in 1957, with Julie Andrews as Cinderella. Years later playwright Douglas Carter Beane rewrote the show’s book for Broadway, adding new wrinkles but not tinkering overmuch. Pittsburgh CLO presents this Cinderella with Paige Faure in the title role, which she also played last year in the Broadway production. 8 p.m. Opening night, continues through Sunday. Benedum Center, 237 7^th St., Cultural District. (MV)

2) BNY Mellon JazzLive Pittsburgh’s featured musician this evening is Max Leake, a pianist with a rich musical legacy including: working with classic R&B groups, playing the Catskills, cruise ships bands, and performing with other noted jazz performers, composing  and arranging for various productions and advertisements. 5 p.m. Agnes Katz Plaza,. Penn Ave and 7th St., Downtown Cultural District.

3) Shaun the Sheep Movie — From the studio that brought you Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run (Aardman Animations) comes Shaun the Sheep Movie. The film is based on the television series Shaun the Sheep and it features the clever, mischievous head of the flock, Shaun. One day he decides he needs a day off from all his labors on Mossy Bottom Farm and hatches a cunning plan that’ll help him get some rest. But his scheme go horribly awry and the next thing you know the entire flock ends up lost in the big city, chased by a nefarious worker from Animal Control who is determined to rid the city of sheep. Can Shaun save the flock and get everyone safely back to the farm? I’d say that the answer is probably never in doubt … there’s also no doubt that while Pixar and other computer animation styles have their plusses, nothing tops Aardman’s hand-made stop-motion animation for charm and ingenuity. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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