Glass Slippers are SO Back! Cinderella on Broadway is a MUST see! @CinderellaBway #Cinderella

Theatre sign for The Broadway Theatre where Cinderella on Broadway is currently running

My mom has always been a huge theater buff, and through her I developed the same love of Broadway. I think it is one of the best parts about being a Native New Yorker. The first two plays I saw spoiled me, Peter Pan with Sandy Duncan and the original King and I starring Yul Brynner, both of those plays were amazing from every standpoint and gave the theatre a sort of magic that had been missing for me for quite awhile until Ghost on Broadway last year, this year Cinderella on Broadway brought back that magic for me, and I wanted to make sure I got my recap posted because I don't want you to miss this one!

Playbill for Rodger's + Hammerstein's Cinderella at Broadway Theatre

The Moms put together a totally fun night on Broadway for New York City Bloggers and their families and seeing the little girls dressed up in the lobby of The Broadway Theatre many in their little Cinderella dresses was so cute! Many of them admiring the touches and details of the other's outfits, we arrived to a lovely reception where we had time to talk and take a few photos before the Play began.

Ascending Butterfly at Broadway Theatre for Cinderella on Broadway Mamarazzi Event

Rodger's + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway starts with an overture that truly sets the pace for the show, it's a hint to the magic that is to come! With a nod to the tradition of musical theatre. There was already so much excitement and energy in the air that the overture just added to the strong energy you could feel in the crowd.

Ascending Butterfly at Broadway Theatre for Cinderella on Broadway Mamarazzi Event

About The Show:

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA has arrived on Broadway for the first time ever! Four-time Tony Award® nominee Douglas Carter Beane’s (Sister Act, Xanadu) delightfully romantic and hilarious take on the ultimate makeover story features all the classic elements you remember—the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more—plus some surprising new twists! Rediscover some of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago” in this outrageously fun Broadway musical for dreamers of all ages.

Right before the overture you are asked 'kindly turn off your phones and leave your worries and cares at the door', and for 2 hours and 20 minutes you get to do just that, leave your cares at the door and be immersed in a magical, musical, wondrous fairy tale come to life right before your eyes!

The Cast:

Cinderella is played by Laura Osnes, The Prince by Santino Fontana, Marie/The Fairy Godmother was played by Victoria Clark, Harriet Harris plays Madame/Cinderella's Stepmother, Ann Harada plays Cinderella's Step-Sister Charlotte, and Marla Mindelle plays Step-Sister Gabrielle, and Peter Bartlett plays Sebastian (yes my fellow One to Live lovers THAT Peter Bartlett, our beloved Nigel!), Greg Hildreth plays Jean-Michel and Phumzile Sojola plays Lord Pinkleton and is also the understudy for Sebastian.

After the performance a Questions and Answers Session was arranged with some of the members of the cast, here are my photos from the Q&A:

Questions and Answers Session with Cast members of Cinderella on Broadway

The Cast really had a great dynamic and rapport amongst each other!

Questions and Answers Session with Cast members of Cinderella on Broadway

The cast as well as the audience enjoying Harriet Harris answering one of the question asked by a child at the Q&A "How did it feel to have to be so mean to Cinderella?"

Harriet Harris plays Madame, Cinderella's Stepmother, she was a very good sport during the Questions and Answers!

You may remember Harriet from her television role on the hit TV series Frasier!

Left: Santino Fontana who plays The Prince and Right: Laura Osnes who plays the title role of Cinderella

We asked Santino who plays the Prince about his background with his musical training and he mentioned that he was a bit embarassed when he was younger and starting out but outgrew it and fully began to embrace his training.

Victoria Clark plays villager Marie as well as The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella on Broadway

And of course The Moms always put together thoughtful gift bags so you can have a fun memory of your experience! Here are the bags on display:

Gift Bags at Cinderella on Broadway Mamarazzi Event

Here is a close up shot of the bags (apparently people liked my vignette, because before I could get my camera out of my bag people took photos of my gift bags before I could! LOL)

The bags contained light snacks from Andean Dream (Gluten-Free and Vegan Quinoa Cookies), a foaming facial wash from Willa and something fun for the moms too, a cosmetic bag from Trish McEvoy with a wonderfully thoughtful note enclosed, that contained a lash treatment, long-wearing, upper-eye brightener/shadow primer, intense gel eye liner pencil and under-eye brightener/line filler - products that will keep your eyes shining after the clock strikes twelve! :-)

Super thoughtful, thanks to The Moms, Andean Dream, Willa, and Trish McEvoy to making an already magical experience that much more memorable!

I got to nab a photo of the family of one half of the dynamic duo! Here is Melissa Gerstein and her family:

Melissa Gerstein of The Moms and her family at the Cinderella on Broadway Mamarazzi Event

Aren't these his and hers souvenir tshirts cute?

His and Hers Souvenir Tshirts from Rogers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre

My Take:

Left: Mama Butterfly Right: Ascending Butterfly enjoying a Magical  Night at the Cinderella on Broadway New York City Mamarazzi Event! 

Cinderella on Broadway is a truly magical theatrical event, it brings back the roots of what made theatre magical for me right from the begining. They pull of costume changes right before your very eyes that are truly amazing, when the pumpkin turns into the coach I'll bet you could watch it literally a hundred times and not see how it is really pulled off. It's magical for the adults as well as the children! 

This is a MUST see!

Get Social With It:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @CinderellaBway on Twitter

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Cinderella The Musical on Facebook

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @andeandream on Twitter

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Andean Dream on Facebook

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @WillaSkincare on Twitter

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Willa Skin Care on Facebook

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Trish McEvoy on Facebook

And don't forget to tell them you saw them Featured on Ascending Butterfly! Of course we will also be putting these photos on our Pinterest page as well.

Fan of the Week:

If you get picked as Fan of the Week, don't forget to come back here and let us know! 

Do you have a magical Theatre moment that you'd like to Share? Tell us About it!

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FTC Disclosure: Our tickets to the show and gift bags were provided courtesy of The Moms, however NO monetary compensation has been received for our recap coverage and all opinions are 100% my own.

Win a Weekend Getaway in Boston!

Win a Trip to Beantown!

Our good friends at Kettle Cuisine are hosting a really fun and easy contest for a chance to win a weekend getaway in Boston this Spring.  Here’s a  link where you can learn more (www.facebook.com/kettlecuisine).  The Kettle Cuisine team has also created this short video to show you how easy it is to win http://youtu.be/ySqQ4G8_uqY.  All you have to do is take a picture with any of their soup packages in a fun, interesting or every day location and post it to their facebook page.  Then you just get as many of your friends as possible to vote for your picture.  The great news is you win an amazing giftpack, just for entering. The contest is only open for a very limited time so check it out as soon as you can and come back here and post the link to your entry after you enter so the Ascending Butterfly Community can vote for you!

Contest Instructions: Snap a 'soupah' photo of a Kettle Cuisine package in fun, interesting or everyday places for a chance to win a fun filled weekend getaway to Kettle Cuisine's hometown, Boston, MA. To enter, upload your photo to their facebook page (press where it says 'soupah snapshots' on the left hand side, it's 3 down from where the picture is) between January 10, 2012 and January 31, 2012 and tell all of your friends to vote for your submission by liking your photo! (Make sure they vote early and often!) Voting will be open through February 14, 2012. Online votes will determine the top five finalists and a team of soupah smart expert judges will choose the winner.

Prize Details: Win a weekend getaway for 2 to historic Boston, Massachusetts to experience the best the city has to offer. The prize includes: Red Sox tickets (right field box seats! We’re talking 6th or 7th rows back in the ballpark!), dinner for 2 at one of the city’s finest restaurants, a ride through the city with the original Boston Duck Tours, and hotel and travel accommodations. It gets even better because everyone is a winner!  All entrants will receive an official Kettle Cuisine lunch bag! Remember: Only persons who are at least 18 years of age can enter.       

Personal Recos on Places to See and Things to Do: I absolutely LOVE Boston, and I greatly encourage you to enter this contest, you'll love visiting Boston, it's a super fun city with so much to do. Take a New England Aquarium whale watching tour while you are there, eat at Legal Seafood and you have to hang out at Jillians at least once while you are there! If you decide to visit the House of Blues out there, just don't take any pictures on the inside, they are pretty adamant and quite rude about it. Improv Boston is fun (especially with a group). The Cheers Bar is also a must visit, there are two locations. I'm not sure which hotel is part of the prize package, but I greatly enjoy The Lenox when I visit Boston. Remember these are all my personal recommendations of places to go while you are there, these are NOT part of the prize package being offered in this contest.

Souper Considerate!

OK a little pun intended here. But I just wanted to take a moment to personally thank Kettle Cuisine for a recent gesture that truly touched my heart.

When they read about my recent nightmare hospital stay, they sent me a care package box filled with assorted soups! It meant so much to me that they would take the time to do something so thoughtful, and because Kettle Cuisine soups are Gluten Free I knew there would be no conflict with my post hospital dietary restrictions.

I tried:

Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans - A slow simmered Angus Beef Chili with a blend of Southwestern spices, red beans, ripe tomatoes, peppers and spicy green chilies.

New England Clam Chowder - Fresh Light Cream from local New England Dairies, hand shucked clams, sauteed onions and potatoes.

Southwestern Chicken and Corn Chowder - Fire grilled all natural chicken, hand-chopped fresh red and green peppers, corn chowder infused with cayenne and Southwestern Spices.

Thai Curry Chicken Soup - All natural chicken, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, bell peppers, brown rice combined with aromatic green curry, lemongrass and coconut milk in made from scratch chicken stock gives you a great Southeast Asian Flavor.

My Take:

I have tried pretty much all of Kettle Cuisine's Soups and haven't found one I don't like yet! I love that they are Gluten Free, combine all natural ingredients, come in perfectly portioned sizes, and are fast and easy to re-heat. It gives you the taste of a slow simmered soup, warm and satisfying in no time at all! The soups are also a good source of Fiber and Iron as well as protein. They are good for you, yet taste good too! And if you don't have any bread restrictions, then accompany your soup with a nice crusty bread for a great lunch or dinner.

I love the facebook contest they are currently running, a chance to visit Kettle Cuisine's hometown for the grand prize winner, and everyone gets a lunch bag to tote your Kettle Cuisine Soups to work in style!

And any company with a heart is one that will always have my loyalty, I totally appreciate the care box of love they sent me just to let me know that they were there for me!

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FTC Disclosure: I received a box of assorted Kettle Cuisine Soup to help facilitate this review. All Opinions are 100% my own. I really do love the City of Boston, and think the person who wins this contest will be very happy! I also love Kettle Cuisine Soups!

Kettle Cuisine Review and Giveaway!

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Kettle Cuisine, We look forward to working with you again! The winners have been notified and upon confirmation his/her follower name(s) will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are still some great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!
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Today's Butterfly Sponsored By:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The North East has been pelted with snow this winter. And the weatherman is saying there will be more snow this week! I'm getting pretty snowed out and a bit stir crazy to be honest with you, but one thing still holds true for me, nothing is better when it's cold outside than a warm bowl of soup! Nothing says comforting to me more, and there is definitely nothing that I want to eat more when I have a cold or the flu.

I recently had the opportunity to try what I'd like to call a 'hot bowl of comfort' from Kettle Cuisine. Two hot bowls of comfort actually!

I sampled the 'Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans' and the 'New England Clam Chowder' and they were absolutely perfect on a cold winter's Day. There are ten chef-inspired varieties that are all natural and all gluten free. The savory soups, hearty chilis, and rich chowders are available in convenient, single serving bowls and can be found in your grocer's natural food freezer. They arrived in an insulated box packed with dry ice, these are in no way like the canned soups you are used to.

New England Clam Chowder

Equal parts rich and satisfying, Kettle Cuisine's New England Clam Chowder starts with fresh light cream from local New England dairies, then we add hand-shucked clams, perfectly sautéed onions, and potatoes peeled just moments before cooking.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High in Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin A
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 15g Protein

Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans

Kettle Cuisine's slow-simmered Angus beef with a blend of Southwestern spices, red beans, ripe tomatoes, hand-chopped peppers and spicy green chilies for a chili as hearty as it is wholesome.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High Fiber
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin C
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 22g Protein

They were both fresh and very tasty. The chowder wasn't as thick as I am used to in a traditional clam chowder, but I expected that as these are specially prepared with gluten free, dairy free diets in mind. The clams were fresh and there was tons of potato in it, it was hearty even though it wasn't thick. The Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans was my favorite of the two. It was amazingly hearty and very satisfying!

WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Kettle Cuisine would like to provide 3 winners with the opportunity to become official Taste Testers! The Grand Prize winner will receive their choice of soup shipped directly to their home and two runners up will each receive one free coupon AND a $1.00 off coupon as well . (Don't you just ♥ Kettle Cuisine?)

How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Kettle Cuisine and pick another soup (other than the two being reviewed!) that you like and leave the LINK to that soup in your comment entry! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com, If it is visible in your profile, just say so, that's OK!). Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older.

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Wednesday, March 03, 2010 until Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your Twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this: Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - #ascendingbutterfly + @kettlecuisine Soup #Giveaways! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #win here - http://tinyurl.com/ygogz2g

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here).

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Kettle Cuisine (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @kettlecuisine on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Ning Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW METHOD OF EXTRA CREDIT, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review and the sponsor is also fulfilling product to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of my experiences with this product. All product provided by Kohnstamm Communications on behalf of Kettle Cuisine.