Cinderella stories, including one with Cinderella, abound in our Musical Madness bracket

Peter D. Kramer
·6 min read

Round 1 of our Musical Madness tournament had Cinderella stories all over the place, including one that had a Cinderella advancing in one side of the bracket and falling in another.

No. 1 seeds fell in three of the four brackets:

  • In the Rodgers region, No. 1 seed “Into the Woods” ran out of midnights, falling to the No. 8 seed, the Shakespearean tag team of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Twelfth Night.” The bard duo racked up 58% of the votes in that matchup.

  • In the Miranda region, the Knights of the Round Table were bested by three fed-up office workers, as No. 1 “Spamalot” fell to No. 8 “9 to 5.” Their cup of ambition was stronger than Python's grail, garnering 66% to 34% of the votes.

  • In the Sondheim region, No. 1 “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” didn’t succeed in our bracket. The upstart No. 8 “Bat Boy” trounced the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, 85% to 15%.

  • Only “Something Rotten!” was feeling not rotten, holding serve as it beat “Fame,” which might live forever, but not for the remainder of our bracket challenge.

The tightest Round 1 race proved to be in the Menken region, where “Hello, Dolly!” fought off Dorothy and her friends in “The Wiz,” by a whisker-thin 50.76% to 49.24%.

How do I vote this week in Musical Madness Round 2?

On to Round 2, with voting open till 8 p.m. Thursday. You can vote in each of the 8 head-to-head matchups.(If the poll does not immediately load, refresh the page. The poll generally loads better on desktops and laptops rather than on mobile devices. Also, avoid using the Firefox browser.)

Here — region by region — are this week’s matchups.

Who will advance to the next round of the Hudson Valley Musical Madness Tournament? You get to decide.
Who will advance to the next round of the Hudson Valley Musical Madness Tournament? You get to decide.

RODGERS REGION

“Anastasia” (4) vs. “Love’s Labour’s Lost”/“Twelfth Night” (8)

The street-sweeping girl from St. Petersburg swept right past “Bye Bye Birdie” with 65% of the votes to face the tag team from Avon, “Love’s Labour’s Lost”/“Twelfth Night,” the giant killer that eliminated a musical where two giants are killed.

See the shows: While “Anastasia” has ended its lone run in the area, at Rye Neck last weekend, “Love’s Labour’s Lost” will be at New Rochelle, March 23-25, and “Twelfth Night” at Clarkstown North, March 16-18. “Birdie” comes to Pleasantville, March 10-12, 17-18, and to Sleepy Hollow, March 24-26. “Into the Woods” might be out of the bracket, but the Sondheim show goes on at Harrison, March 10-12, and Lakeland, April 21 and 22.

School of the Holy Child in Rye staged "Mean Girls," the Tina Fey musical, earlier this month.
School of the Holy Child in Rye staged "Mean Girls," the Tina Fey musical, earlier this month.

“Mean Girls” (2) vs. “The Little Mermaid” (3)

“Mean Girls” got the better of “High School Musical” last weekend, 69% to 31%, and Regina George and her Plastics now face the ultimate half-fish out of water, “The Little Mermaid.” Ariel sent those murdering girls from “Chicago” packing with a convincing 59% of the votes last week.

See the shows: “Mean Girls” ran at School of the Holy Child, March 3-4, but comes to Horace Greeley, March 23-25, and Edgemont, March 24-25. “High School Musical” plays Carmel, March 10-11, and Port Chester, March 23-26. “Chicago: Teen Edition” plays North Salem, March 10-12, and Dobbs Ferry, March 24-25. “The Little Mermaid” at Mount Vernon, May 18-21.

MIRANDA REGION

“Kiss Me Kate” (5) vs. “9 to 5” (8)

“Kiss Me Kate” took out “Shrek” and a wood full of disgruntled fairytale creatures (story of their life) with 63% of the votes cast. It takes on the “9 to 5,” which beat King Arthur. Good night, knights.

See the shows: “Kiss Me, Kate” at Ursuline, March 24-25. “9 to 5” at John Jay, March 23-25. “Spamalot” at Tappan Zee, March 17-19, and Eastchester, April 21-23. “Shrek” at Mahopac, April 27-29.

“Jersey Boys” (2) vs. “In the Heights” (3)

Those boys from Jersey advanced over “Oklahoma,” with 52% of the votes cast, and will face “In the Heights,” the story of patience, faith and a life-changing lottery ticket. The Lin-Manuel Miranda show beat “Footloose, with 66% of the vote.

See the shows: “Jersey Boys” at Stepinac, April 28-29; May 4, 6, 7. “In the Heights” at North Rockland, March 10-11 and 16-18, and at Peekskill, April 20-22. “Footloose” has played Mamaroneck and Rye and comes to Ardsley, March 10-11 and Ramapo, March 24-26. “Oklahoma” plays Haldane, March 17-19.

Corey Schiz as Nick Bottom sings about how much he hates Shakespeare in a rehearsal for "Something Rotten!" at Blind Brook High School. Performances of the new musical are at 7 p.m., March 9, 10, 11. $18; $15 seniors and children under 12. At www.showtix4u.com.
Corey Schiz as Nick Bottom sings about how much he hates Shakespeare in a rehearsal for "Something Rotten!" at Blind Brook High School. Performances of the new musical are at 7 p.m., March 9, 10, 11. $18; $15 seniors and children under 12. At www.showtix4u.com.

MENKEN REGION

“Something Rotten!” (1) vs. “Matilda” (4)

“Something Rotten!” was the only No. 1 seed to advance, toppling “Fame,” with 53% of the vote. It faces “Matilda,” which had an easier time with “The Lightning Thief,” with 67% of the vote.

See the shows: “Something Rotten!” plays Blind Brook, March 9-11, Hastings, April 21-23, and Putnam Valley, April 28-30. “Matilda” plays Valhalla, March 10-11, and Walter Panas, April 14-15. “The Lightning Thief” plays Briarcliff, March 10-12. “Fame” plays Woodlands, March 17-19.

“Hello, Dolly!” (2) vs. “Legally Blonde” (3)

No. 2 seed “Hello, Dolly!” pulled off a nail-biter last week against “The Wiz,” and faces “Legally Blonde,” which cruised over “Freaky Friday,” with 71% of the votes.

See the shows. Unfortunately, “Hello, Dolly!” played its only local stop in Bronxville in February. “Legally Blonde” is at Albertus Magnus, March 24-26. “The Wiz” plays Spring Valley, March 30-31 and April 1, and at Sacred Heart in Yonkers, March 31, April 1-2. “Freaky Friday” plays Byram Hills, March 9-11.)

SONDHEIM REGION

“Cinderella” (4) vs. “Bat Boy” (8)

The Sondheim Cinderella didn’t advance in “Into the Woods,” but the Rodgers & Hammerstein Cinderella is still dancing, after toppling “Mamma Mia!” with 60% of the votes. She faces a formidable half-bat-half boy who may be ugly, but he showed those wicket sellers a thing or two last week, as “Bat Boy” trounced “How to Succeed,” with 85% of the votes.

See the shows: “Cinderella” at Nanuet, March 10-11. “Bat Boy” plays Pelham, March 24-26. “How to Succeed” plays Ossining, March 23-25. “Mamma Mia!” played White Plains in February and comes to Hendrick Hudson, March 17-19.

“Little Shop of Horrors” (2) vs. “The Wedding Singer” (6)

“Little Shop of Horrors” had 76% of the votes in a matchup with “Once Upon a Mattress” and suddenly Seymour is headed to Round 2 of our Musical Madness tournament, to face “The Wedding Singer.” That musical topped a Disney juggernaut, “Beauty & the Beast,” with 54% of the vote, to advance to Round 2.

See the shows: “Little Shop” plays Nyack, March 17-18, 24-25. “The Wedding Singer” plays Somers, March 24-26. “Beauty & the Beast” plays Tuckahoe, March 9-11. “Once Upon a Mattress” plays Irvington, March 10-12, and Suffern, March 23-25.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: High school musical bracket has plenty of Cinderella stories