Product Description

1921. Sir James Matthew, Baronet Barrie a Scottish journalist, playwright, and children's book writer who became world famous with his play and story about Peter Pan, the boy who lived in Never Land, had a war with Captain Hook, and would not grow up. Barrie's play, A Kiss for Cinderella, is about Jane, a poor London domestic who cares for four tiny orphans during the dark days of WWI. The economic squalor and emotional deprivation of her existence is alleviated only by the richness of her imagination. Jane lives in her own fantasy world. She is really Cinderella, and she knows that someday her invitation to the Prince's ball will come. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2954179 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Glass Slippers
J.M. Barrie's "A Kiss for Cinderella" opened on Broadway in December 1916 and ran for 152 performances through May 1917. Maude Adams (clearly different from Maud Adams from the James Bond film "Octopussy") played the lead as Miss Thing. The play was revived in March 1942 at the Music Box Theatre with Luise Rainer who had won Best Actress Oscars for "The Great Ziegfeld" in 1936 and "The Good Earth" in 1937 as Miss Thing.

The first of three acts follows Miss Thing or Cinderella, who is a domestic that works for Mr. Bodie. The play is set during wartime with Germany. Cinderella lacks education, but is immensely practical and efficient with household tasks. We discover that she has a mysterious penchant for lifting boards and taking them away for her own usage, which brings an inquiry from the police.

The second act takes us to Cinderella's flat. She has many ideas about herself that parallel the story of Cinderella, such as a special pair of glass slippers and an unusual amount of attention paid to her feet. The boxes use becomes apparent as we learn that Cinderella has fondness for wartime orphans who need care. The policeman follows her to her flat and becomes invited for tea and a celebration. In Cinderella's mind as she sits outside her flat in the cold, her fairy godmother appears. We are treated to the lavish spectacle of a ball complete with a prince who looks a lot like the policeman.

The third act opens at the country practice of Dr. Bodie, Mr. Bodie's sister. After almost freezing, Cinderella is taken there for recuperation. Cinderella has a special rapport with all the recuperating soldiers and the nursing staff. The story ends with her real-life Prince Charming, aka the policeman, proposing to the frail Cinderella.

Barrie's play is an interesting script that uses the fairy tale as a starting point. It's light romantic fantasy. Staging would be fairly complex with four different sets and a large cast. I enjoyed reading the play; although it would be difficult to produce, perhaps not worth the bang for the buck. Enjoy!