Nearly 25 years after coming together to create magic in Cinderella, Brandy and Paolo Montalban reconnected in New York. Attending an event honoring, television producer Debra Martin Chase and playwright Lynn Nottage, the two met backstage and recorded a video. In the 45-second clip, the two embrace each other as Chase hops in to gush over the cinematic duo.
“We are here to celebrate Debra Martin Chase," Montalban said.
"They look amazing and are so lovely. And most importantly such lovely people. I’m so proud of you as people. Really, I’m so proud of you as human beings," Chase hops in.
“Thank you for supporting us and cultivating us," Montalban responds.
The two originally connected in 1997 for a television production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. With a budget of $12 million, legends like Whitney Houston and Whoopi Goldberg and the power of ABC, the two emerging stars earned seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three NAACP Image Awards. Following Cinderella, Brandy went on to drop six more albums, lead three more world tours and star in Queens. Meanwhile, Montalban appeared in Just Wright, The Blacklist, Madam Secretary and Law & Order.
"My childhood dreams were to be a singer, touch as many people as I could, and to meet Whitney Houston, just meet her,” she told People.
“So to meet her, hang out with her and sing with her, it was unbelievable. For her to cast me in such a role, the first Black princess, I don’t know the words to really describe what that feels like."
The production's lead executive produce, Debra Martin Chase, also continued to work in film and television. Leading up to this week's event, Chase worked on The Cheetah Girls, The Princess Diaries, Just Wright and Harriet. Today, Chase's legacy continues with The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah.
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