Teen pop sensation turned Broadway actress Deborah Gibson has some big glass slippers to fill in the lead role of Cinderella. The part of the neglected young woman who meets her prince and lives happily ever after in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s made-for-television musical adaptation of the fairy tale has been played by Julie Andrews (in the 1950s), Lesley Anne Warren (in the 1960s) and Whitney Houston (in the 1990s). Now being performed live, on stage, for the first time, Gibson steps into the role with ease of someone slipping into the glass slippers made especially for her by her fairy godmother (played by none other than Eartha Kitt).

Gregg Shapiro: In preparation for your role as Cinderella, were you able to view either the Julie Andrews or Lesley Anne Warren versions?

Deborah Gibson: I have seen the Julie Andrews version. I purposely didn’t go and watch it again. I’ve never done that whenever I’ve done a show. I played Fanny Brice, and the last thing I’d wanted to do was do a cheap Barbra Streisand impersonation (laughs). I purposely just kept that as a memory (laughs). I wanted to start from scratch.

GS: Do you have a favorite number in this production of Cinderella?

DG: I love performing “In My Own Little Corner.” We have puppets and puppeteers in this production. It’s me and the four mice and the dove and the cat, really just playing make believe. That’s something that I absolutely can relate to. When I was a kid I was a big dreamer (laughs). That really is my five minutes on stage to let people into that part of who Cinderella is and who I really am. It’s a number that I grew up singing for auditions as a kid, also. So I would say that’s a favorite.

GS: W.C. Fields once said something about not working with animals.

DG: Animals or children (laughs).

GS: In Cinderella, you work with animal puppets.

DG: I love it (laughs). I welcome being upstaged by the puppets, if I am indeed upstaged by the puppets. I think it adds this magical element and they’re really touching. They take on these human attributes so I’m not really a believer in that. Especially since I was a child in theater, so if I lived by that role I never would have worked as a kid (laughs).

GS: What has your experience been like working with Eartha Kitt?

DG: I adore her! She celebrated her 74th birthday last night. We had a big party for her. I said to her the other day, “I want to be just like you when I grow up.” She said, “Well, the key is not to grow up!” (laughs). She’s really remarkable. There are 74-year-old women who can’t get out of bed, and here she is working out two hours a day, doing eight shows a week. She’s an inspiration. She’s taken what’s unique about herself and made a career of it. She really is a diva, respectfully. Not in the attitude-y sense of the word. She really takes the stage, commands an audience. She’s a kind woman and she’s fun and very childlike.

GS: Since both Julie Andrews and Lesley Anne Warren have played Cinderella in the past, and both women were in Victor/Victoria, I was wondering if you have any plans to play Victor/Victoria?

DG: To be honest, that’s not one of my dream roles (laughs). I do however want to play Maria von Trapp, even though I don’t think that Lesley Anne Warren ever played her.

GS: Is there a musical role that would be a dream come true for you?

DG: There are several. I’d love to play Sally Bowles in Cabaret, I’d love to play Velma Kelly in Chicago. I’d love to play Maria von Trapp and Peter Pan, actually. I saw Sandy Duncan do that when I was eight. As you can see, I have extremes in my personality (laughs). The ultimate would be to create a new role.

GS: I know that you are active in Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefits. Can you please say something about that?

DG: Every time I’ve performed on Broadway, it’s just amazing how the Broadway community rallies for people who are living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. I just think that everyone, especially in show business, has been affected personally, at some point or another, and I feel like it’s our responsibility as a community to raise awareness and we have the ultimate thing—we have a stage to stand on and talk to people about it. With all the information that’s out there, there are still people that might come to the theater that aren’t familiar with the organization, and maybe they’ll take it a step further. It’s kind of like a domino effect. I’ve done the “Broadway Bares” performance in the past. Every show I’ve been in has done collections and cabaret performances, and stuff like that.

GS: What can you tell me about your forthcoming album?

DG: It’s called M.Y.O.B., which stands for Mind Your Own Business (laughs). First of all, in a literal sense, I run my own label, and take care of my own business affairs along with my mom, who I fondly refer to as my “momager.” The Mom/ Manager. It’s my own brand of sophisticated pop, a hybrid of styles. Within pop music there are so many styles and on this album there’s a lot more live percussion, a lot more acoustic guitar than in the past. When people think ’80s, they think keyboard programming, and there are elements of that, but it really encompasses a lot more stylistically. The other thing I wanted to say about the title is that when you start out as a teen performer it seems as if people have a perception of where they think you should be in your adult years. People will look me in the face and say, “What do you mean you’ve never tried drugs?” and “What do you mean you’re not angst ridden and you don’t want to be Alanis Morrissette?” It’s like, you know what? You haven’t been living in my skin 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This album is a reflection of who I am at age 30.

GS: Is there anything Debbie Gibson did that Deborah Gibson regrets?

DG: Not a thing (laughs). Not a blessed thing.