THEATER REVIEW / ‘CINDERELLA’ : Score Doesn’t Fit : The fine staging, production and performers of this traditional charmer are spoiled by lackluster music.

There’s undeniable charm as PCPA Theaterfest opens its winter season with a colorful “Cinderella,” traditional holiday fare as agreeable family entertainment.

The staging is well-executed, the production values high, the performers likable and engaging.

But no amount of technical sophistication can overcome the surprisingly lackluster score, certainly one of the blandest in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon.

In a succession of rarely wavering cadences, the songs in “Cinderella” range from empty filler to downright irritants. More of the show’s emotional impact plays out in the straight dramatic sequences.

And that’s a real problem in a musical.

Fortunately, leads Kama Lee and Jeremy Mann are an appealing pair of lovers from opposite sides of the tracks in this archetypal rags-to-riches saga.

The perpetual target of abuse and exploitation from her stepmother and stepsisters, Lee’s Cinderella projects an untouchable innocence that makes us believe she’s worthy of a better hand than she’s been dealt (though whether she deserves an entire kingdom handed to her is debatable).

Mann’s Prince runs a convincing gamut of feeling as he finds the aching void in his life filled by Cinderella’s sparkling but all-too-brief appearance at the ball.

His resolve to stick to his romantic ideals and find the girl of his dreams--even if it means suspending the constitution for house-to-house searches--shows the kind of statesmanship that certainly qualifies him for national office.

Chatty and vivacious Kitty Balay makes the most of her plum Fairy Godmother role--her ironic running commentary is the show’s closest brush with reality as we know it.

And April Stewart and Rachel Kann as the awkward, obnoxious stepsisters are consistently amusing as they whirl around in their absurdly exaggerated and garishly decorated hoop skirts.

The befuddled sisters are more endearing klutzes than menacing villains, that only contributes to the lack of dramatic opposition that makes this a surprisingly limp version of the story.

A prologue set in the 19th century (introducing a traveling theater troupe who performs the Cinderella tale) will likely prove confusing for children, as it was for this reviewer. The biggest attention-getters for young and more mature viewers alike are the Fairy Godmother’s special effects--like making a mop twirl by itself and transforming a batch of rodents into Cinderella’s footmen.

Linking romance with magic and beauty is director Brad Carroll’s unifying approach to the piece.

I doubt this show could be done any better, but the case hasn’t fully been made for doing it at all.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Cinderella,” performed through Dec. 20 at the Allan Hancock College Marian Theatre in Santa Maria. Evening performances ($14 or $17) are at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; matinees ($14) are at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Running time is 2 hours, 10 minutes. For reservations or further information, call (800) 549-7272.