Thanks to Lisa for this article! A review from the Globe And Mail Been there, done that RAY CONLOGUE Thursday, February 1, 2001 Music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein Adapted for the stage by Tom Briggs Directed by Gabriel Barre Starring Eartha Kitt, Deborah Gibson, Paolo Montalban At the Pantages Theatre Rating: * Cinderella, a new stage version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's made-for-television musical, opened Tuesday at the Pantages in Toronto for a six-day run. It is one of the weirdest concoctions you could imagine, and not only because Eartha Kitt plays the fairy godmother and brass-piped popster Deborah Gibson plays Cinderella. Written in 1957, as America began to flirt with dressing itself up as Camelot, Cinderella fell perfectly into the sunny fairy tale spirit of the time. More than 100 million television viewers were enchanted by a young Julie Andrews trilling her way through Cinderella's enchanted romance, and a stage version was quickly created even though the show's book was always seen as uninspired. But at least the old stage show was the Richard Rodgers script. This one isn't: It's based on a 1997 Disney video version that marked a low point in the fad of trying to make old stories sound street smart. It's full of "suck it in, prince!" and "been there, done that," and most of the royal characters are made to talk like homeboys who have just knocked over an electronics store. Weirdly, the SFX people (the U.S. conglomerate that now owns the Pantages) have decided to use obtusely old-fashioned costumes and set decor. There seems to be a conservative public that wants to see Cinderella in balloon sleeves, be delighted by flash bulbs exploding in a heap of plastic pumpkins, and swoon over a castle with plastic windows and light bulbs inside. The castle sits on what looks like a wave of Styrofoam, and is glimpsed through a scrim curtain covered with flowery scrollwork that looks like a child's cut-out paper version of wrought-iron filigree. The playing style is broad, as in broad-as-a-barn-wall. The first cruel stepsister, Joy (Alexandra Kolb), is dressed to look as tall, skinny and blond as possible, with a vocal delivery built around a whinnying laugh seasoned with the occasional snort. The other, Grace (NaTasha Yvette Williams) is black and heavily built. This wouldn't normally be the first thing you'd mention about a performance, but here it's central to the concept: the cruel mother is always after her about her weight, and Grace's vocal delivery is straight Harlem. The stepmother is a guy (Everett Quinton), in red wig together with visible five o'clock shadow, which makes it clear that English pantomime is a major inspiration here. But there's also a dash of Lion King,with on-stage puppeteers waltzing little stick mice, birds and a cat around the scene. The puppets themselves, though, are very old-fashioned: They look like the animals in the Disney storybook version of Cinderella. It's all painfully calculated, and it's not surprising that the performers have difficulty generating charm and spontaneity. The most successful is Paolo Montalban as the prince: His strategy is to act like a well-mannered Yale undergrad who's wandered by accident into the chronic ward of a mental hospital. He sings with a pellucid sincerity that Rodgers and Hammerstein would have admired. Kudos also to Leslie Becker as the queen. Another anchor is Kitt, whose iconic status entitles her to camp up a role that was campy even in the original. She's the one who toys with Cinderella, pretending she can't do the magic; and she also makes an appearance at the ball, where she demonstrates that she can still hoof it like a chorus girl. She's having fun in an unself-conscious way, and in this setting it's much appreciated. Gibson's latest album is called Mind Your Own Business,and that's the pop attitude and delivery she brings to The Sweetest Sounds and In My Own Little Corner. Broadway tradition allows princesses a little brassiness, but only on condition they can do the sweetness thing too. Gibson never successfully changes register, emotionally or musically, and the effect is oppressive after a while. Cinderella plays at Toronto's Pantages Theatre through Sunday; for tickets: 416-872-2222.