A musical art gallery of Broadway composers

Christine Carrillo

As part of a musical salute to Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein

II and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Pacific Symphony Pops has

collaborated with a trio of Broadway stars for two nights of musical

revivals at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

With 11-year principal conductor Richard Kaufman at the helm, the

three well-versed soloists -- Doug LaBrecque, Jodi Benson and Ron

Raines -- combine forces to present the familiar songs of the famed

lyricists.

LaBrecque is known for his work in “The Phantom of the Opera,”

while Benson has been immortalized as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.”

Raines played the lead in a recent Broadway revival of “Showboat.”

“I think the singers are terrific,” said Kaufman, a Grammy

Award-winning conductor. “And the audience, for them it will be like

going to see 15 Broadway shows in one night.”

The concert, which has its last performance tonight, will also

celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rodgers, who was best

known for his collaborations with Hammerstein.

The trio will begin the tribute concert by singing selections from

a few of the American composers’ collaborative efforts, selections

from such musicals as “South Pacific,” “Oklahoma” and “The King and

I.”

“I think it’s been really a wonderful opportunity to sing their

music,” said LaBrecque, who was featured in Hammerstein’s 100th

birthday celebration. “You feel like you really delve into their

songs. The amount of care that they’ve taken with every lyric written

... it does evoke a kind of simpler time.”

With a career that began with a high school rendition of Rodgers

and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” LaBrecque never knew that his

musical talents would have granted him the success his career has had

thus far.

“It was just my little niche,” he said. “When I sang, people

seemed to appreciate it, and at that age, that’s all I needed.”

Just as Rodgers and Hammerstein kicked off his career, Andrew

Lloyd Webber has employed LaBrecque for a good portion of it. He

conquered the roles of the Phantom and Raoul in Webber’s “The Phantom

of the Opera.”

LaBrecque, who has starred in a number of other Broadway roles,

admits that this type of performance carries the challenge of

performing in character, but without props or costumes.

“You always have to be driven from the character -- that always

takes precedence,” LaBrecque said. “We all try very hard to imply the

character as we sing.”

But the soloists aren’t the only ones to face challenges.

“I think the orchestra responds as any fine ensemble does. They

take it off the page and play and do it with great passion,” Kaufman

said, adding that the 65-piece orchestra will only have a 2 1/2-hour

rehearsal with the trio.

“Hopefully it won’t be difficult,” he said. “Fortunately, the

musicians in this orchestra are really excellent.”

The tribute concert will also salute Webber’s contributions to

Broadway.

“It’s all different,” Kaufman said. “It’s kind of like going to an

art gallery with a lot of musical paintings.”