

Decades before Black Girl Magic became a phrase and a way for Black women and girls across the world to conjure our inner alchemy, in 1997 ABC aired Cinderella the musical starring two of the biggest acts in music at the time: R&B princess Brandy Norwood and the late great Whitney Houston.
Tonight, in celebration of the musical’s 25th anniversary, ABC is airing a reunion special featuring cast members Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, Paolo Montalban, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, and Veanne Cox. (Natalie Desselle, who starred as Cinderella's step-sister Minerva, passed away from cancer in 2020.)
We’re all familiar with the story of Cinderella: a girl who is orphaned after her father passes away and is left in the custody of her cruel and wicked evil stepmother and step sisters. The story has been given countless reimaginings and retellings, but according to the film’s producers the 1997’s Roger and Hammerstein's version came to life after Whitney had expressed interest in doing a musical.
“We’d had a call from Nicole David, Whitney’s longtime agent at WME, who’d said, "Whitney watched ‘Gypsy’ and she wants to do one. What ideas do you have?" For whatever reason, I pitched her "Cinderella,” executive producer Neil Meron said in an interview with Shondaland.
Once she got on board with the film, Whitney knew she wanted Brandy to play the titular princess. “Brandy was definitely handpicked by me,” she says in an old behind the scenes interview. “I definitely wanted her to be Cinderella.”
Despite tepid reviews at the time, Cinderella’s legacy continues to grow stronger over time. From the colorblind casting to the lavish costumes and the music that could only be brought to life by the voices of Whitney, Brandy, and the other talented performers like Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, Cinderella was an event unlike anything that had been seen on broadcast television.
I couldn’t have been more than ten years old when I first came across a VHS tape of the film at a flea market years after the film’s original release. I had already long been enamored by Brandy thanks to the many reruns of her hit sitcom Moeshathat I would watch over and over again to the point of near exhaustion. I would similarly exhaust my copy of Cinderella, with my incessant rewatches, singing along to the iconic song Brandy and Whitney sang together "Impossible," as the Fairy Godmother magically transformed Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown and mice into horses and a pumpkin into a carriage.
As time goes on, my appreciation for Cinderella grows. At the height of her fame when she had the opportunity to take any role she wanted, Whitney decided she wanted to gift Black girls everywhere the chance to see themselves as magical princesses.
There’s something particularly beautiful about allowing a young Black woman to assume the role of one of the most iconic figures in fairy tales; to assume the role of a character that is lured by a loving maternal figure out her life of misery and abuse, into a life of love and extravagance, allowing little Black girls to see that we could not only be royalty but that there could also be a beautiful life on the other side of trauma.
Twenty five years after Cinderella’s release, there’s a reason why we believe that truly nothing is impossible.
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage