Friday evening's Milwaukee Symphony Pops concert, titled "Bravo Broadway", put some of the best of Broadway on Uihlein Hall's stage.

Conductor Andrews Sill and the MSO were joined by soprano Jan Horvath, tenor Doug LaBrecque and baritone Douglas Webster. All three performers boast substantial theatrical credits, including roles in such Broadway hits as "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Misérables".

Among the evening's selections were Wildhorn's "This is the Moment" from "Jekyll and Hyde", Bernstein's "Tonight" from "West Side Story", Porter's "Begin the Beguine", and Hamlisch's "One Singular Sensation" from "A Chorus Line".

The evening's show-stopper was Webster's powerful delivery of Schönberg's "Bring Him Home" from "Les Misérables". A communicative singer with a wide range, tremendous control, and a powerful sound, Webster won the undivided attention of the 2,000-plus audience with his poignant interpretation.

LaBrecque's rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Music of the Night" was another high spot. He moved fluidly between absolute whispers and a pointed, urgent sound. His complete ease with the music, and lack of concern over its technical difficultires, put the dramatic power of the song at center stage.

Horvath has the range to handle such numbers as Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from "Evita" and "All I Ask Of You" from "Phantom". Unfortunately, in Friday's performance a tendency to undershoot pitches kept these and other numbers from being completely successful. Her strongest selection of the evening was Sondheim's "Broadway Baby".

Even the best of tunes don't stand up well in awkward arrangements. Several of the evening's selections were muddled by ungainly arrangements that made vocal trios out of solo songs. The arrangements lacked the continuity and power of the songs in their original form. The insertion of odd little vocalise sections into some of these numbers did nothing to help. The least successful moment of the evening was a very weak insertion of local interest into "Willkommen" from Kander and Ebb's "Cabaret". The composer and lyricist definitely did not pen lyrics about the Packers, Brewers, et al. The pair should receive an apology for this tampering.

Sill and the orchestra gave crisp, colorful readings of the overture from "Gypsy" and selections from "Ragtime". The intricate overture to Bernstein's "Candide" was not as cleanly executed.