The meaningful medium

Elia Powers

Few mediums can match the ubiquity of television, but performer Bebe

Neuwirth prefers the quaintness of the theater.

“I’m a dancer,” said Neuwirth, 46. “That’s what I love more than

anything else. I’d rather be on stage than be anywhere else. It’s the

visceral experience of performing that draws me back.”

Still, it’s inevitable that many who attend Neuwirth’s concert

tonight at Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall

will recognize her from her recurring role on “Cheers.”

Neuwirth won two Emmy Awards in the early 1990s as psychologist

Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane. She made appearances on “Frasier,” a

“Cheers” spinoff, and is now acting in NBC’s “Law & Order: Trial By

Jury.”

But Neuwirth makes this clear to anyone who asks: Her television

career has always been secondary to her work on stage.

“People tend to know performers from television,” said Jerry

Mandel, president of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. “But

she’s really made a name for herself as a singer and dancer.”

Neuwirth will help bring Broadway to Orange County with a

“Spotlight Series” performance at the center. She said her set is

split evenly with music written by legendary German composer Kurt

Weill, (“The Threepenny Opera”) as well as John Kander and Fred Ebb

(“Cabaret,” “Chicago”).

She said she has performed this show three times before but has

never stepped on stage in Orange County.

Neuwirth grew up nearly 3,000 miles away in Princeton, N.J. She

began her performing career as a ballet dancer at age 5.

After spending one year in college, Neuwirth made her Broadway

debut in “A Chorus Line,” where she was an understudy.

She won her first of two Tony Awards in 1986 for a revival of

“Sweet Charity.” Her other came for her role as Velma Kelly in

“Chicago.”

Neuwirth incorporates dancing into her one-woman routine and said

she is selective about the songs she performs.

“It’s hard to make something ring true, and it’s hard to make the

choreography look good if it’s not meaningful to you,” she said.

Throughout her career, Neuwirth has found numerous Broadway

scripts that pass her test. Among her most notable shows are “Fosse,”

“Damn Yankees” and “Dancin’.”

When Mandel visited New York City a few months ago, he saw

Neuwirth perform her latest show, “Here Lies Jenny,” in a converted

zipper factory. The off-Broadway performance was also built around

the music of Weill.

Mandel said he was captivated by Neuwirth’s performance and wanted

to see her on stage in Orange County.

“Broadway is the most important type of show we do, and Bebe is

one of Broadway’s brightest starts,” Mandel said. “This is a chance

for her to do her favorite pieces, and that’s a rare opportunity.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

elia.powers@latimes.com.