Thanks to Lisa for this article! A review from NY NewsDay Meadow Has Lark Playing Cinderella And for Sigler, the role is a wish come true by Steve Parks Staff Writer 'I THINK I'M a lot more like Cinderella than Meadow," says Jamie- Lynn Sigler. Meadow, of course, would be Meadow Soprano, daughter of Tony and Carmela in the hot-hot HBO series "The Sopranos." And Cinderella is well- known, even to those without cable. Sigler, the actress from Jericho who turns 20 later this month, plays them both. The third season of "The Sopranos" continues with another new episode Sunday night. Meanwhile, at Madison Square Garden Theatre, Sigler opens tonight in the title role of the Rogers and Hammerstein retelling of "Cinderella." Sigler, who answers to Jamie- though she gets stopped on the street "all the time," she says, by people shouting, "Meadow!"-may be excused for mistaking her life for that of a fairy tale princess. "Meadow's another sort of princess," says Sigler in a phone interview from Fort Lauderdale, where she had been touring in "Cinderella." As for identifying with Cinderella, well, Sigler never rode to a ball in a magic pumpkin before. But so far her dreams have come true. Not that she ever dreamed of playing aborn-to-the- mob spoiled brat. But Sigler has dreamed of a show-business career since her first appearance on stage in another Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "The Sound of Music" at age 9. She played little Marta von Trapp at the former Plaza Playhouse in Old Bethpage, now known as Cultural Arts Playhouse. "I'm happy, absolutely, to be back in theater," says Sigler. "I get to play a completely different character. It's hard to convince people sometimes that I'm really not Meadow." Not that she's complaining. Without her "Sopranos" breakthrough, Sigler admits, she probably wouldn't have the opportunity to play "Cinderella" on a national tour that brings her home to New York through May 13. "I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed," says the young actress, who now has her own apartment in Manhattan. She's also looking forward to playing Cinderella in front of family and friends, she says, adding that she's the only Sigler who's ever had a career in show business. Her father, Steve, is president of the Men's Senior Baseball League, and her mother, Connie, is a homemaker. Besides filming 13 episodes of "The Sopranos" each of the last three years, Sigler also graduated from Jericho High School-"I'm glad I got to go to my senior prom and finish school with my friends"-and began undergraduate studies at New York University. (She's put college on hold for now because of her "crazed" schedule.) Before "The Sopranos," Sigler was a regular on stage, appearing in lead roles in several shows at Cultural Arts Playhouse, from "The Diary of Anne Frank" to "The Wiz"; as "Annie" in summer stock; and on national tour in a musical version of "It's a Wonderful Life." When the offer to play Cinderella came her way this winter, she jumped at the chance, though it meant she'd have only two days off after wrapping up the last "Sopranos" episode in February. It also meant having to juggle plans for her first CD. (She's recording an as-yet untitled collection of Latin/R&B songs for release in the fall, after filming starts for the fourth season of "The Sopranos.") "It took some adjustment, going on tour with a musical after all this time," Sigler says. "I wasn't used to projecting after so much work in TV. There's an attitude adjustment, too, going from Meadow to Cinderella." It helped to have different faces around. Not that Sigler doesn't get along with her fellow "Sopranos" cast members. She and her TV mom, Edie Falco, took to each other right away, trading stories about Long Island theater gigs. Falco, who's from Northport, started out at Arena Players in East Farmingdale, where her mother, Jane Anderson, still performs occasionally. Lorraine Bracco, who plays Tony Soprano's shrink, is from Westbury. "I think our Long Island accents helped," says Sigler, noting series creator David Chase's penchant for New York-New Jersey authenticity in the show. In "Cinderella," Sigler gets to work for the first time with Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. Playing the romantic lead opposite Paolo Montalban hasn't been so bad, either. Voted among the "50 Most Beautiful People" in 1998 by People magazine, Montalban "makes a perfect Prince Charming," Sigler says. Meadow should be so lucky. WHERE & WHEN "Cinderella," the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, opens 7:30 tonight at Madison Square Garden Theatre, where it runs through May 13. For tickets ($27.50-$75), call 212- 307- 4111 or visit the Garden or Radio City box offices.