Singers perform favorite things at Rodgers and Hammerstein concert

Had a way with ditties, didn't they?

Given the Sound of Music they produced, they've long been one of America's Favorite Things, along with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

"Whether it's 'South Pacific' or 'The Sound of Music,' it's just wonderful stuff," says Broadway performer Christiane Noll, one of three Great White Way staples Vegas-bound for Saturday's "The Best Sounds of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Broadway in Concert" at Artemus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"They're the godfathers of musical theater," says David Burnham, who teams with Noll and Leslie Kritzer for the tribute concert, an entry in UNLV's New York Stage and Beyond series.

"Never underestimate the power of Rodgers and Hammerstein," he says. "It's quality music that will never go out of style, like Mozart. It may not be mainstream all the time, but it will always be appreciated."

On the Broadway boards, Burnham has "Wicked" and "The Light in The Piazza" to his credit, while Noll has taken on "Jekyll & Hyde," "City of Angels" and "Ragtime." Following "Hairspray" and "Legally Blonde The Musical," Kritzer is slated for a Broadway return in March alongside Vanessa Williams and Barbara Cook in the new musical, "Sondheim on Sondheim."

They've all also appeared in legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein shows, given that no musical theater actor could dodge them -- or want to.

They just Cain't Say No.

Consider the classics that come sweepin' down the Ooooo-K-lahoma plain: "Carousel," "The King and I," "The Sound of Music," "Flower Drum Song," "State Fair," "Allegro" "Cinderella," "South Pacific" -- which staged a smashingly successful Broadway revival in 2008 -- and of course, "Oklahoma."

"One of the reasons it's enduring is because they're not all that difficult vocally -- it's easy to wrap your brains around this music, it's easy to listen to and sing," says Noll, who'll demonstrate Saturday that There's Nothing Like a Dame with a Rodgers and Hammerstein tune on Some Enchanted Evening.

"For a singer, it lets you showcase your voice in a beautiful way, a more legit kind of open sound. You've got to have the chops to sing Rodgers and Hammerstein," says Burnham, eager to Whistle a Happy Tune.

Tracing his introduction to musical theater back to the duo's dynamic work -- he was more or less Sixteen Going on 17 at the time -- Burnham couldn't get into woodshop class, so he headed to the school choir for a little Do-Re-Mi.

"I listened to these guys around me with tiny little voices, and I said to myself, 'I really want to sound like a GUY,' " Burnham recalls. "I bought a CD of John Raitt singing in the original Broadway cast of 'Carousel' and listened to it over and over and taught myself to sing by imitating him. Then I got Gordon MacRae singing in 'Carousel' and 'Oklahoma,' these great baritones, so it's a great connection to Rodgers and Hammerstein."

As a greatest-hits evening, performances such as Saturday's leave singers feeling Younger than Springtime.

"Concert work is a lovely gift," Noll says. "It's rarely in these shows that you have a bad song. It's not like, 'I'm going to try this one out and see how it plays.' Every single one is a winner, so you let the audience enjoy it with you."

Consider this scenario:

Your date is just Getting To Know You when you two arrive at UNLV Saturday in a Surrey with the Fringe on Top (well, maybe a Toyota). As the show begins, you cuddle and snuggle as the music works its magic, wondering if People Will Say We're in Love. That's because you are.

Convinced You'll Never Walk Alone anymore, you wake up Sunday, thinking Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'. Even in January, feels like June is Bustin' Out All Over, doesn't it?

Hello, Young Lovers.

Grab your sweetie and ask, simply: Shall We Dance?

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