Mazzie and Danieley Add Voice to Pops

Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, stepping out of their Broadway roles in "Spamalot" and "Curtains" for a few days, are lending their voices to the Boston Pops now through July 1 at Symphony Hall. The real-life couple are joining conductor Keith Lockhart and the 122-year-old Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in paying "A Tribute to Oscar and Tony" as the celebrated "America's Orchestra" warms up for its July 4^th spectacular at the Hatch Shell on the banks of the Charles River.

Offering a slightly different program each evening, the Pops on Thursday night opened with a special PopSearch showdown between the 2007 finalists Lydia Herrell, Maria Perry and Gisela Johnson. Herrell sang a soulful version of the R&B hit "At Last," Perry opted for the Sondheim classic "Not While I'm Around" from "Sweeney Todd," and Johnson bravely belted out "And I Am Telling You I'm not Going" from "Dreamgirls," bringing the house down with her stirring rendition. During an intermission, audience votes were tallied along with votes from Pops website visitors, Pops management, a panel of celebrity judges that included Mazzie and Danieley, and Lockhart himself. Complete with contestant hand-holding and a drum roll, the announcement was made at the top of Act II. The winner, who will receive a $5000 cash prize and perform with the Pops on the Fourth of July and on tour this summer, is... Quincy, Massachusetts native Maria Perry. Boston now has an idol all its own.

Moving to the main event of the program, the Pops began its tribute to Oscar-winning movies and Tony-winning musicals with the thunderous prelude to "Ben-Hur." Next was Mazzie reprising her version of "So in Love" from the 1999 revival of "Kiss Me, Kate." While showcasing Mazzie's lovely soprano, the number felt somehow under interpreted. As with Danieley's tentative "I Have Dreamed" and "The Sound of Music," the orchestra seemed to be leading rather than following the singers.

Such was not the case with the loving duet "Move On" from "Sunday in the Park with George." Here Mazzie and Danieley brought both beautiful voice and thoughtful expression to each of Sondheim's haunting notes and words. When they sang the final lines, "We will always belong together, move on," their passion was palpable. Also a highlight was Mazzie's "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from "Sunset Boulevard." The rich orchestral strings nicely complemented her lush and powerful mezzo soprano which Mazzie used to embrace the lyrics as her memories of her glory days on the silver screen came to life before our eyes.

The evening was an odd mix with the Pops orchestra letting loose on the booming main title from "Lawrence of Arabia" and later getting nostalgically romantic with the main title from "My Fair Lady." Then came a magnificent, darkly arranged "Chim Chim-Cheree" from "Mary Poppins" which sounded more consistent with the current Broadway production than the 1964 movie. Next was Mazzie and Danieley's closing duet, the balcony scene from "West Side Story," featuring a brief reprise of "Maria" leading into the soaring "Tonight." Unfortunately, the number never really took wing, primarily because it seemed to be a bit out of the couple's comfortable vocal range. They also surprisingly lacked the passionate chemistry you would expect from the husband and wife team who gave us the delightful "Opposite You" album. Perhaps the orchestra's tempo again forced the couple to follow instead of lead, thus restricting their ability to interpret the song as freely as they would have liked.

The rest of the program belonged to Lockhart and his swinging band. They kicked things into high gear with the overture from "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" only to then get everyone in Symphony Hall bouncing with a terrifically jazzy, jitterbug arrangement of "42^nd Street." You could almost see the boys in zoot suits flipping their bobby-soxed partners over their heads and around their hips. The orchestra even sneaked a few measures from "Another Openin' Another Show" and "Too Darn Hot" into the mix.

This finale demanded an encore, and the Pops delivered its signature Fourth of July crowd pleaser in true patriotic style. As the orchestra joyously played "The Stars and Stripes Forever," the American flag was unfurled and red, white and blue lights projected stars across the proscenium. The audience clapped along and rose to its feet.

As Tommy Tune once sang in the Broadway musical "Seesaw," it's not where you start, it's where you finish. Well, the Boston Pops' "A Tribute to Oscar and Tony" may have taken a while to get there, but it certainly finished with a bang.

For performance schedule and tickets, call 617-266-2378 or visit www.bso.org.

PHOTO

Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra