Article from THE OREGONIAN
Thanks to Dan for this information!

An Eartha-shaking version of 'Cinderella' 

As the fairy godmother, Eartha Kitt lights up the classical 
musical 

Friday, June 22, 2001

By HOLLY JOHNSON, special to The Oregonian 

Seeing Eartha Kitt do her sexy godmother -- the low range of her 
voice in snazzy form and
that wonderful stage presence as powerful as ever -- is just one 
of the highlights of Rodgers
and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," a touring company that garnered 
some positive reviews
when it was originally performed in New York. 

The scenic design by James Youmans harks back to the Walt Disney 
cartoon version a
little, but it's better, much richer. A mythical kingdom with 
slanting rooftops and a round
moon (that later becomes a clock face when Cinderella's zero hour 
strikes) folds into a
home with a hearth where our heroine waits for her miracle in the 
shape of a fairy
godmother, sans tutu and wand, encased in a sparkling, form-
fitting gown. 

During her transformation scene, colored lights from above flash 
brilliantly, a pile of
pumpkins glow like lanterns and the stage is awash in visual 
magic just before Cinderella
(played by "Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler) appears in her 
white, glittery gown. 

The engaging score features such vintage selections as "The 
Sweetest Sounds," a
repeated duet first performed with charm by Sigler and Paolo 
Montalban as the Prince (or
Chris, as he is called here, perhaps to bring him a certain 
contemporary identity). The
other well-known piece is "In My Own Little Corner," a Cinderella 
solo that Lesley Ann
Warren made popular in a 1960s made-for-television version of the 
musical. 

Sigler's delivery is delicate but comes across with appropriate 
wistfulness. Her audience, a
gaggle of mice and a cat named Charles, are stick puppets 
cleverly handled and voiced
by cast members in uniform clothing designed to make them melt 
into the scenery. 

But Eartha Kitt, with her radiant powerful presence, creates the 
strongest image of the
evening. When she tells Cinderella to believe in herself, there's 
a note of authority that
rings back over the five decades that Kitt has been performing. 
For those of us who have
been fans of hers over the years, it's a treat to see her again. 

I expected more humor from the stepmother character, here 
performed by a man, Everett
Quinton, with a fitting precision. Stepsisters Grace (NaTasha 
Yvette Williams) and Joy
(Alexandra Kolb) would have been funnier also as men, but these 
two had a few stellar
moments each. Otherwise, their overblown performances seemed 
culled from a children's
television show -- which "Cinderella" in this version was, 
initially, I suppose. 

A portion of the language in this version is updated to the 
present, so you really don't flinch
when you hear one irritated stepsister announce to the other, 
"Sister, you're working my last
good nerve." 

There's a large cartoon element to this production, not only with 
the sets but also with the
bright, colorful costumes by Pamela Scofield. Cartoon movement 
also makes up much of
the wonderful, sometimes goofy choreography by Ken Roberson. 

The show is designed primarily for kids, but if you like Rodgers 
and Hammerstein, you won't
be disappointed.