Article from Seattle Post Intelligencer Thanks to Dan for this information! 'Cinderella' casts a magic spell over young wannabes Thursday, June 14, 2001 By MARY R. MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER Eartha Kitt has been slinking across theater and cabaret stages and growling out her songs for nearly 50 years. Kitt, who's playing Cinderella's fairy godmother at the Paramount Theatre, is as sassy as ever. In fact, she is the main draw for "Cinderella," a 1957Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical originally made for television and later adapted for the stage by Tom Briggs. The sultry songstress still dresses in skintight lamé gowns slit up the length of her sinewy legs. She is aslikely as ever to growl and purr when she's happy. Adding to the fun of this "Cinderella" tour is the magic spell it casts over young theatergoers. Small Cinderellas, many in princess gowns and tiaras and some holding magic wands, sit on laps or kneel on seats in the audience. These young Cinderella groupies are not disappointed. They giggle as the puppet cat and mice frolic with Cinderella, and they gasp when they see Cinderella turn from a grimy urchin into a ravishing princess in a silver-white gown. Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Cinderella is a bit of a disappointment. She lacks the stage presence to really wow an audience in a large auditorium. To succeed on the big stage, she needs to project more and to maintain a more princesslike posture, especially at the ball. Sigler plays Meadow Soprano on HBO's "The Sopranos." She may be finding it difficult to switch from playing to the intimate eye of the TV camera to performing on a large stage. Paolo Montalban as the prince is graceful and golden-voiced. In his first scene, which features the prince and Cinderella in a duet of the show's best-known song, "The Sweetest Sounds," he establishes himself as the embodiment of princeliness with a strong, sweet voice to boot. Direction by Gabriel Barre, choreography by Ken Roberson and scenic design by James Youmans all strive to please all the princesses in the audience. Fantasy sets are soaked with purples, oranges, pinks and blues. Laser lightning flashes on the gold-filigreed carriage that carries Cinderella to the ball. "Cinderella's" adaptation from TV to stage lacks the grand, lush scoring of "Oklahoma!," "South Pacific" and other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. It also lacks one-hit-after-another tunes and lyrics that have kept people humming and singing their tunes for more than a half-century.