Cinderella, starring Tina Bursill as the stepmother, is coming to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre

There have been a few Covid-induced false starts the upcoming production of Cinderella, so Tina Bursill and her stage stepdaughters can’t wait have fun being mean.

It feels good to be bad – and Tina Bursill, Matilda Moran and Bianca Bruce can’t wait to be really good at being bad in Cinderella.

The trio play Cinderella’s evil stepmother and stepsisters in the Tony Award-winning production coming to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in October after a season in ­Melbourne.

Matilda Moran, Tina Bursill and Bianca Bruce will play Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

There have been a few Covid-induced false starts for the show, so Tina Bursill and her stage stepdaughters Matilda Moran and Bianca Bruce can’t wait to be mean in this Rodgers And Hammerstein production of Cinderella.

“Cinderella has been a part of all of our lives, irrespective of generations … it’s the joy and the fantasy that we still have, it never changes,” Bursill, of Prisoner and Doctor Doctor fame, said after meeting her castmates for the first time this week.

“There’s just something steadfast about fairytales and storytelling such as this and I’m really excited about this show.

“It’s been a long time coming and the fact that it will finally see the light of day is hugely exciting.

“What a great opportunity for everybody to come and dust off those little Covid mothballs and enjoy being transported somewhere else.”

The show combines the story’s classic elements, including the famed glass slippers, along with some surprising twists.

And Bursill, who is in mid-renovation after her Sydney home recently flooded, would like the help of a fairy godmother.

“It’s a bit like building a fairy tale right now … I’ll have a new house, new bathroom and a new kit­chen – not a pumpkin though,” she laughed.

For Moran, being in Cinderella is a dream come true.

“It’s such a special show to me. Growing up I was the classic kid ­obsessed with Disney princesses and loved wearing a ballgown out, really inappropriately to Coles, so getting to wear one every day for work is an absolute dream,” said the 28-year-old, who has already been performing in musicals for two decades.

A WAAPA graduate, she has played Fantine in Les Misérables, Kate in Titanic: The Musical and Patty Simcox in The Original Grease.

“It’s been a pretty rough two years in lots of different ways, ­especially for our industry, so to be part of this show that is such a ­fantasy and beautiful world is very exciting,” she said.

“Gabrielle is just such a cracker of a character, so I can’t wait to get to live in her shoes every night.”

Her stepsister Charlotte will be played by 33-year-old Bianca Bruce.

“This has definitely always been the goal for me,” she said.

“It’s amazing to be at this point where we can actually get back together and get on stage and also be in such an incredible musical, with such a beautiful score,” she said.

www.cinderellamusical.com.au