FAMILY : Sprinkling Act With a ‘Rainbow’ of Songs

He’s billed as “The Singing Ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,” but whether or not you catch him while the circus is in town this month, don’t miss Eric Michael Gillett on his first family album, “Sing a Rainbow.”

In addition to his regular circus gig, Gillett is a veteran of the musical stage and an award-winning cabaret artist who knows his way around a song. He brings his considerable talent to an eclectic selection of music for all ages in big-band, jazz and pop arrangements ranging from a sassy, Vegas-style jazz version of “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” and a gorgeous rendition of the title song arranged by keyboardist Steve Weingart, to the comical “When I See an Elephant Fly” from “Dumbo,” and a soulful, half a cappella “Distant Melody,” by Jule Styne and Comden & Green.

Instrumentation could go lighter on the synthesizers, but there’s no easy-listening blandness about Gillett’s muscular tenor, or his expressive, celebratory delivery.

* “Sing a Rainbow,” Elba Records, CD: $14.99; audiocassette: $9.99; (800) 955-ROSE.

Video Series: “Come Sing With Us,” an exuberant new video from Parachute Express, is one of 14 selections in Disney’s new “Bright Beginnings” preschooler home video series, set for release Aug. 11.

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Part staged concert and part music videos, the performance by the gifted musical trio--Janice Hubbard, Stephen Michael Schwartz and Donny Becker--features animated bits, a busy, colorful set, lots of audience shots, dancing and acrobatic kids. Thankfully, not lost in the mix is what ranks the group among the best in its field: top-notch original songs and remarkably smooth and sophisticated harmonies and rock rhythms.

The upbeat selections include such Parachute Express faves as “Smooth Movin’ Boogie Express,” “Happy to Be Here,” “Walkin’ in My Neighborhood” and “Polka Dots, Checks and Stripes.”

Other videos in the soon-to-be-released series include Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”; Eric Hill’s “Sweet Dreams, Spot”; “Mickey’s Fun Songs”; and titles from Jim Henson’s Preschool Collection’s “Mother Goose Stories” and “Yes, I Can” series and DIC Toon-Time Video’s “Rimba’s Island” and “Old MacDonald’s Sing-Along Farm.” Each comes with an activity booklet.

* “Come Sing With Us,” Buena Vista Home Video, $12.99.

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A Dark ‘Cinderella’: Amateur teen-age thespians in Cal State Northridge’s Teenage Drama Workshop are gamely tackling a much darker “Cinderella” than the usual Disney derivative. The adaptation by Jeffrey Levy is based on the Brothers Grimm version, where the “ashes girl” is much tormented by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters and the happily-ever-after ending is bloody.

The ambitious project features an original score by Lynn Anderson and the young amateurs perform under the guidance of professional director Doug Kaback. The show runs Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday and Aug. 10 at 2 p.m.; and Saturday and Aug. 11-12 at 11 a.m. It plays in repertory with “The Girl Who Married a Ghost,” a traditional story of the Pacific Northwest’s Nisqualli Indian nation. Tickets are $5. Information: (818) 885-2488.