Article from The Dallas Morning News Thanks to Dan for this information! Sigler leaves area role 'Cinderella' actress cites health problems 07/10/2001 By Tom Sime / The Dallas Morning News Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the Sopranos co-star who has played the title role in the Cinderella tour opening Tuesday at Fair Park Music Hall, has dropped out of the production. Health problems were the reason given for her departure by a tour representative. The role will be played in Dallas by Ms. Sigler's understudy, Jessica Rush. The tour's headliner is Eartha Kitt, who plays the fairy godmother. Ms. Sigler, 20, had problems with vocal strain on previous tour dates and had canceled radio and television interviews, apparently to rest her voice. The company had a week off before the Dallas opening. But tour representatives announced Monday that Ms. Sigler would not return. Deborah Gibson, who played Cinderella from the beginning of the tour last November until Ms. Sigler took over in February, will resume the role by July 24 when the musical opens in Houston. Ms. Gibson had already planned to step back in because Ms. Sigler wanted to finish an album and shoot a film by October, when she resumes work as Meadow Soprano on the HBO series. Ms. Gibson gained fame in the late 1980s as teen pop star Debbie Gibson, and has since become a noted stage performer. She may take over in Dallas during the second week of the run, which ends July 22. "She gets in next week to rehearse," said Ms. Rush, who is one of three understudies for the Cinderella part. For now, Ms. Rush, a Texas native, will fill those glass slippers. The 20-year-old actress spent part of her childhood in Grand Prairie and studied acting at the Dallas Theater Center. Her father, Ken Rush, is a former Dallas actor who appeared on area stages during the 1980s. "I've only been on three times in the eight months we've been on the road," Ms. Rush said Monday. "The chance to settle into the role will be nice." She said she hadn't noticed any difficulty with Ms. Sigler's voice. "All I know is she was having some medical problems," she said. The other times Ms. Rush filled in, Ms. Sigler "just called in. She didn't give a reason, and we don't go into that. She just called me and said I was on." Ticket-holders who want a refund should call the Dallas Summer Musicals box office at 214-691-7200.