Laura Osnes would be the first to admit that the role of Cinderella fits her like, well, a glass slipper. Her loving and sweet personality, both onstage and off, coupled with an amazing voice, is just right for the fairy tale character at the center of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which opened on Broadway for the first time last March.

“It’s definitely close to my heart; I get to sing a gorgeous score, and the show is all about charity, generosity, and kindness,” she says. “There’s not much I have to emotionally prepare for. I don’t feel like I have to dig into the depths of my soul to play her. As an actress, you don’t always get to play something that fits you perfectly.”

Osnes and Fontana. Photo: Carol Rosegg

She adds: “It’s such a joy. I get to tell a story and play dress-up for my job.”

Each generation, it seems, gets its own Cinderella. At the Broadway Theatre, Osnes’s Cinderella, as scripted in a new book by Douglas Carter Beane, is spunky and politically aware; she is trying to persuade Prince Topher (the endearing Santino Fontana), her prince charming, to help his kingdom’s poorest people. But this wouldn’t be Cinderella if the prince weren’t scouring his realm to fit a famous glass slipper.

“Douglas’s script is great,” Osnes says. “I’m feeling like I’m getting to originate a role even though people have a preconceived notion about it. You think you know the story of Cinderella, but we’re going to surprise you. There’s a reason to tell the Cinderella story, and it’s not just out of homage.”

The production, directed by Mark Brokaw and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, has plenty of stage magic and wonderful Technicolor gowns (William Ivey Long won a Tony for them) — and sometimes the gowns are the subject of some dandy magic of their own.

In addition to Osnes, the cast features an amazing number of first-rate Broadway veterans: Rebecca Luker (the original Mrs. Banks in Broadway’s Mary Poppins) as the beggarwoman/fairy godmother; Tony winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Cinderella’s vain and pushy stepmother; Peter Bartlett (The Drowsy Chaperone) as the prince’s manipulative lord protector; and Ann Harada (Avenue Q) and Marla Mindelle (Sister Act) as Cinderella’s stepsisters.

And then there is the music; the handiwork of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II is clear from the opening notes.

Harriet Harris, Ann Harada, Marla Mindelle and Laura Osnes. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

“I really love, ‘Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?,’” Osnes says, referring to an enchanting duet she sings with Fontana towards the end of Act II. “I get to stand and sing and I don’t have to run around and be athletic. I love the song, the dress, and the moment Santino and I are having.”

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella originated in 1957 as a musical on CBS starring Julie Andrews. For the legends behind Oklahoma!, The King and I, The Sound of Music, and South Pacific, debuting a new show on television was unusual. But rather than leaping quickly to Broadway, it stuck to television. Lesley Ann Warren starred in a 1965 remake, which was followed by the 1997 version with Brandy and Whitney Houston.

Laura Osnes and female ensemble. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

In its long overdue Broadway debut, it’s not surprising that Cinderella is drawing a wide range of fans, from princess wannabes seeing it for the first time (and don’t rule out the boys — the first scene alone involves slaying a dragon), to grandmothers who watched Julie Andrews in black-and-white 56 years ago.

At the stage door, Osnes is reminded each night of how she, along with dozens of other theatregoers, once waited for stars to emerge after their shows. As for her Prince Charming of choice back then: “I have to say Matthew Morrison, in Hairspray, stands out for me,” she says. “I think I fell in love.”

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella is playing at the Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway @ 53rd St. For tickets, call 212-239-6200 or click here.