International Flavor

Schlep not, globe-trotters.

Russia, Munich, Dublin, Jerusalem, Montreal, West Africa, Estonia and Broadway will all come to you. And Peanuts, too.

"We tried to get as much international flavor as we could," says Larry Henley, director of artistic programming and production at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and booker of the 2008-09 Performing Arts Center Season at the university. Symphonies, dancers and musicians from those far-flung points on the map comprise the season lineup, highlighted by concerts from a pair of celebrated Broadway performers of Puerto Rican/Filipino heritage, and a jazzy holiday nod to a classic American comic strip.

"They're appealing to a variety of audiences, we're not just doing highbrow," says Jeffrey Koep, dean of UNLV's College of Fine Arts. "If you took what's been offered in our performing arts center and you put it in Minneapolis or St. Louis or anywhere else, we measure right up with the best."

Monday is kickoff day, when the 5 Browns -- a classical piano group of five Houston-bred, Juilliard-trained siblings -- take the stage for the leadoff entry in the Charles Vanda Master series. "I've been chasing them for a few years," Henley says about the brother-sister-sister-brother-sister act known for roaming the ivories on popular classical tunes such as "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Flight of the Bumblebee," among others.

The series goes seriously international from there, with visits from the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 30), American violinist Joshua Bell (Jan. 29), the Russian National Ballet (Feb. 11), the Munich Symphony Orchestra (Feb. 22) and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (March 24).

Opening the season's New York Stage and Beyond series is a woman with precious little mantel space at home. Owner of Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards (for "West Side Story," "The Ritz," "The Electric Company Album" and appearances on "The Muppet Show" and "The Rockford Files," respectively), she's one of only nine performers to hit the four-bagger.

"What a resume -- she's not on TV, so that's why we were able to get her," Henley says about Rita Moreno (Oct. 3), the star whose last series, the Jimmy Smits drama "Cane," was a casualty of the writers' strike. And while younger concertgoers might not connect her back to "West Side Story," she's got contemporary credits with a cool cachet.

"They might know she was in 'Oz,' " Koep says -- referring to her role as a psychiatrist-nun on HBO's brutal, explicit and profane prison drama -- "for those of us who dared watch it."

Following in Moreno's imposing footsteps in the series will be the American Ballet Theatre II (Oct. 29), the Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa (Nov. 19), "Defying Gravity: The Music of Stephen Schwartz," honoring the "Godspell"/"Pippin"/"Wicked" composer (Jan. 31), The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (March 12) and "Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway" (April 25).

Climaxing the series will be theater dynamo Lea Salonga (May 1). "Oooh, Lea Salonga, I've been chasing her for four years," Henley says of Salonga, known for originating the lead role of Kim in "Miss Saigon" that earned her a Tony, being the first Asian to portray the pivotal supporting role of Eponine in "Les Miserables" on Broadway, and then switching to the role of Fantine for the show's revival. On film, Salonga lent her polished pipes to the singing parts of both Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin" and the title character in "Mulan."

"She still makes her home in the Philippines and other times she's doing Broadway, but she's touring the U.S. next year," Henley says. "We finally got lucky. She's absolutely phenomenal."

The season slate for the Classical Guitar series offers Scott Tennant (Sept. 13), the Montreal Guitar Trio (Nov. 4), Anabel Montesinos (Feb. 17), the Brasil Guitar Duo (March 17) and Roman Viazovskiy (April 23). "The guitar series is a neat one, even if it doesn't appeal to 2,000 people all the time," Koep says. "But people coming in for that are coming to see the best."

And for a good grief-stricken holiday, there's the piquant sounds of Peanuts from jazz musician David Benoit, blending Christmas evergreens with enduring themes of the cartoon specials by the late Vince Guaraldi (Dec. 6). "David Benoit is one of the greats of smooth jazz and he's normally an artist you're going to catch at a Boulder Station or Green Valley Ranch," Henley says. "But he's taken up the banner of the great Vince Guaraldi. There's a children's choir we're going to bring in to do the vocal parts."

Whether you're into Linus and Lucy, Rita and Lea, or Russia and Dublin, UNLV's global getaway is only a short schlep away.

Contact Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.