Bebe brings Broadway to UNLV

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

It's no secret that Bebe Neuwirth, the raven-haired Velma from the Broadway revival of "Chicago," and the notoriously acerbic Lilith from "Cheers," feels most at home onstage.

She has two Tonys. She has done Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, symphonic concerts and most recently "Here Lies Jenny."

The last, described as a musical-noir production, features a broken woman in a dead-end bar recalling her loves and losses in songs by late German composer Kurt Weill, who wrote opera and the scores for several noted Broadway musicals during the first half of the 20th century.

On Saturday Neuwirth will be in Las Vegas to perform "Bebe Sings Weill and Kander and Ebb" as part of UNLV's "New York Stage & Beyond Series."

The performance stitches together the works of Weill, as well as hits from "Chicago," "Cabaret" and other works by the writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb.

On Tuesday, Neuwirth took a few minutes to talk with the Sun via telephone from New York City.

I understand there will be no dancing in this show.

There will be no dancing (laughs).

Is that odd for you?

It's like having your cake and not eating it. But dancing doesn't lend itself to these venues - though I have danced onstage at Carnegie Hall.

What can we expect to see?

Different moments, different stories, some of them are funny, poignant, sad and sexy, and there's social commentary. A lot of the songs have stories.

Do you talk to the audience?

Very little. I would love to just perform the songs. I'm not really that comfortable talking with the audience. I'm not comfortable talking about myself.

You prefer to be in character?

Yes. And once the song starts I'm pretty much playing the character.

Weill's music can be pretty intense. Is the tenor of Saturday's show fairly heavy?

I wouldn't say it's any one thing. There are certainly some funny songs. There are a lot of songs from "Chicago."

Weill's music is described as dark. How would you describe it?

A lot of people get the impression that Kurt Weill is heavy, dark and complicated. I don't get that. I think it's incredibly romantic. Whoever is writing the lyrics, they write the truth and that's what I'm interested in. At the same time, the Weill music is gorgeous, heartbreaking and beautiful.

Instead of the tarted-up version of heartbreak, this is real heartbreak. This is the truth. It's not like, "Oh my, that girl is in so much pain. Someone help her."

Television has such a wide audience. Are you annoyed or flattered that you still get asked about Lilith?

All of the above. I appreciated it. I love the character. I loved playing her. My experience of the character is not everyone's experience. So it's a little jarring. But I love that I got to play her and that people love her.

How did you feel about the cancellation of "Law & Order: Trial by Jury"? (She starred in the short-lived show.)

It's just silly. One of my first thoughts was, there's 200 union jobs gone from New York City. It didn't make any sense. It got great reviews. But that's showbiz.

You were in "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" with Jerry Orbach before he died. He was an old Broadway hoofer. Did you share Broadway stories?

Yes, we did, and I saw him do "Chicago." He's the sexiest man I've ever seen on the stage.

Neuwirth will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Artemus Ham Hall. Tickets are $45, $60 and $90. Call 895-2787.