Faces to Watch in ’96 : The Year’s in Their Hands : Well, maybe not just theirs (notice we don’t list Jim Carrey). But these artists and entertainers--some you know, some you don’t--are most likely to make some kind of splash in ’96. Ready? Everybody into the pool. : THEATER : Larry Hart

Gospel singer Larry Hart will enter the L.A. theater scene this year with what could be a very big splash.

Michael Jackson is bankrolling Hart’s “Sisterella,” a musical dramatization of the Cinderella story set in turn-of-the-century New York, opening March 17 at Pasadena Playhouse. Hart wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics.

Hart has been in show business for 31 of his 33 years, first as a member of the Hart Family, with whom he recorded 26 gospel albums and two country albums that together sold more than 10 million copies. He earned four Grammy nominations in the ‘70s, winning a Grammy in 1978. Since then, he has written songs for singers ranging from Engelbert Humperdinck to Ozzy Osbourne.

If it works, “Sisterella” could not only provide a shot in the arm to the Pasadena Playhouse, but it could also become a role model for the long-sought but seldom-consummated marriage between musical theater and modern pop.