For the purposes of this award, the word "diva" is used in the classical sense, i.e., the divine, a goddess. For little short of heaven does justice to the exquisite Ms. Kuykendall. When she takes the stage, it's as if the sun has broken through a bank of storm clouds; there is light in her presence, her poise, her diamond-cut wit. Her voice is, in the lexicon of cognac, VSOP, and when she sings, she intoxicates you with the same smoky burn that you get from a snifter of fine brandy. Whether she's caressing Cole Porter in a cabaret ballad or ripping up the stage in a show such as Full Gallop, Kuykendall makes going to the theatre a visit to Paradise.
