Scenery is star of 'Cinderella,' though acting, music shine, too

By Marion Garmel

Indianapolis Star

January 10, 2001

It isn't the glories of Rodgers and Hammerstein's music, it's
the lights and the colors and the costumes that make the touring
version of Cinderella sparkle.

Opening Tuesday night at Clowes Hall to run through Sunday on
the Indianapolis Broadway Series, this is a little bit of heaven
dropped down to earth.

From the opening lines of Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother --
"Once upon a time, in a land far away" -- as she stands in a
circle of gold behind a grill-like fence, you know this is a
fairy tale.

The kingdom of the prince, whose parents want to marry him off,
is as opulent and colorful as an Oriental mosaic. The tree at
which Cinderella speaks to her long-dead mother shimmers with
leaves of stained glass blue. Everything glitters like a box
full of jewels. And that's just the scenery.

This is a stage adaptation, by Tom Briggs, of the colorful
version of Cinderella that starred Brandy and Whitney Houston on
The Wonderful World of Disney.

Even the prince is the same. Paolo Montalban uses his
beautifully tender voice and gentle innocence to make this the
most romantic prince in Cinderella history. And Debbie Gibson,
despite a tendency to overdo the vibrato, is a beautiful waif of
a Cinderella, her long black hair standing out against the white
rags she is forced to wear.

The magic starts as soon as Gibson and Montalban begin to sing
the same song separately as they dream of what is to come in the
opening sequence.

The musical is full of romantic songs, including The Sweetest
Sounds, In My Own Little Corner and Do I Love You Because You're
Beautiful? But the best is still Eartha Kitt singing Impossible,
the song that people come out singing at intermission.

Kitt, as the Fairy Godmother, has found a perfect role: As
sturdy and rooted as a tree, she guides the dreamy girl, who
might have been her daughter, into claiming her rightful place
in the world.

This is a multicolored cast, as bright and varied as the gem-
like quality of the production as a whole.

Every part is well played, from Victor Trent Cook as the suave
steward, Lionel, to Everett Quinton as the wicked stepmother,
Leslie Becker as the Queen and Ken Prymus as the roly-poly King,
whose clothes no longer fit.

As the comic stepdaughters, Natasha Yvette Williams is a Mack
truck of a Grace and Alexandra Kolb lets out peals of squeaky
laughter as Joy.

Even the animals are inspired, copied no doubt from The Lion
King, with puppeteers guiding four white mice, a cat and
floating white bird as they lead Cinderella to her future.



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Contact Marion Garmel at (317) 444-6078 or via e-mail at
[email protected]


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