Night Watch / Tom Scanlon
The ageless, purr-fect Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt, Catwoman extraordinaire and "interpreter of songs," comes to Jazz Alley Tuesday-May 23.

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Eartha Kitt is:

A) A respected jazz singer;

B) The object of your fantasies while watching "Batman" reruns;

C) A surprisingly in-demand stage actor;

D) Bitter about being typecast as Catwoman;

E) 77 years old.

If you answered B), prepare to blush, because E) is true. Not that her age is keeping the feisty Kitt from being C). She recently acted on Broadway in the star-studded "Nine." (Hollywood Reporter: "The indomitable Kitt is a delight ... the seventysomething performer's energy and appearance completely belie her age, and her rendition of the song 'Folies Bergeres,' complete with audience interaction, is a delight.")

After recent roles in the movies "Holes" and "Anything but Love," she's coming soon in the indie film "On the One" and has been named to the cast of the big-budget animated flick "Instant Karma." Now she says she hopes to be cast in the touring version of "Wicked."

If you answered A), prepare to be scolded by Kitt, even though she is headlining at Jazz Alley Tuesday through May 23 ($29.50-$33.50, www.jazzalley.com). After purring her way through a phone interview (she lives in Connecticut), a question about a certain acting role's impact on her career as a jazz singer prompts her to snap like a cat shooting out its claws: "I'm not a jazz singer — I'm an interpreter of songs ... "

Kitt's recording career is highlighted by "Love For Sale," "I Want to Be Evil," "Santa Baby" and "Old Fashioned Girl."
 
She considers herself an entertainer and acts even as she sings. "Acting has to be the foundation. You can have the prettiest voice in the world but not be able to interpret a song."

Unlike, say, James "Scotty" Doohan, or even Adam "Batman" West, who has been reduced to trading on his long-ago fame in off-peak TV commercials, Kitt has had a varied and fulfilling career; she's even written not one but three (!) autobiographies. And you're dead wrong if you selected D). "Catwoman is the best thing I ever did. It helped me a lot — it kept my name alive. Who talks about Catwoman without talking about Eartha Kitt?"

She certainly has a point, there. Almost every story about the coming summer movie "Catwoman" — starring Halle Berry — mentions Kitt, perhaps the best-remembered of the three TV Catwomen.

• Lucia — just Lucia, thank you — is hoping to become the Eartha Kitt of industrial rock. Formerly with Drill, the New York native moved to Seattle last year to join Sascha Konietzko's KMFDM. Lucia (pronounced "loo-CHEE-aa") has recorded a splendid solo album, "From the Land of Volcanos." She'll have a "listening party" (as opposed to a real concert) 7 p.m. Monday at the Mirabeau Room (free).

• Hammerbox was going to be the next big band to come out of Seattle, circa 1993. The power-pop band signed to a big label, but didn't sell much and was dropped. Powerhouse singer Carrie Akre went on to have some success with Goodness, then a solo career. Hammerbox reunites for a show at 9 tonight at EMP's Sky Church ($15). Also on the bill is Sean Nelson, who himself had a taste of the big time with Harvey Danger.

• Creeper Lagoon singer Ian Sefchick brings his new project, On the Speakers, to the Crocodile at 9 p.m. Wednesday ($10), with the French Kicks.

• Numark, co-DJ/producer of the talented L.A. hip-hop crew Jurassic 5, plays from his solo CD at Chop Suey on Thursday, with support from fellow J5-er Chali 2na.

• Swedish alt-rockers the Cardigans come on over for their first U.S. tour in five years, playing Neumo's at 9 p.m. Thursday ($15). After solo projects, the band has come together for "Long Gone Before Daylight."

• Ontario's Luther Wright and the Wrongs, best known for a bluegrass version of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," pick into the Hideaway at 10 p.m. Saturday ($10).

Tom Scanlon: tscanlon@seattletimes.com