Cinderella Welcomes Keke Palmer & Sherri Shepherd, Broadway's Newest Princess and Stepmother

Broadway is set for a “lovely night” indeed as two screen stars make their Broadway debut in Cinderella. Small screen faves/daytime talk show hosts Keke Palmer and Sherri Shepherd step into the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical beginning September 9 as Ella and Madame, respectively. Palmer inherits the glass slippers from Paige Faure and Shepherd assumes the role of the wicked stepmother from Nancy Opel.

Palmer’s film and TV credits include Animal, Masters of Sex, The Trip to Bountiful, Akeelah and the Bee, Joyful Noise, The Cleaner, True Jackson, VP and 90210. Her debut album So Uncool was released by Atlantic Records in 2007. In June, Palmer became the youngest talk show host at the age of 20 with BET’s Just Keke.

Shepherd returns to the stage after starring in Love, Loss and what I Wore off-Broadway. In addition to The View, for which she shared a Daytime Emmy win with her co-hosts, Shepherd has appeared on TV in Dancing with the Stars, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother and her sitcom, Sherri. Her film credits include Precious and Top Five.

Directed by Mark Brokaw, the production brings to the Broadway stage for the first time the tuner that originally aired as a TV special in 1957, starring Oscar winner Julie Andrews. This Cinderella features a completely re-imagined book by Douglas Carter Beane and additional Rodgers and Hammerstein songs originally composed for other musicals. In addition to Palmer and Shepherd, the cast also includes Joe Carroll as Prince Topher, Tony winner Victoria Clark as Marie, Ann Harada as Charlotte, Stephanie Gibson as Gabrielle, Todd Buonopane as Jean-Michel, Peter Bartlett as Sebastian and Phumzile Sojola as Lord Pinkleton.

The clock strikes midnight for Cinderella on January 3, 2015, when it takes its final bow at the Broadway Theatre.