On Theater:

Fans of “Cats,” “Evita,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Phantom of the Opera” have their opportunity to revel in highlights from these and other shows by visiting the Orange County Performing Arts Center until Sunday.

“The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” is offering some of Broadway’s most memorable music, performed by a robust orchestra and six of the most accomplished solo artists ever gathered on the same stage. Each could headline a Webber show (and most have), and together they approach magnificence.

In this touring show, director Tom Kosis has chosen not only the standouts from the English composer’s musical repertoire, but also a few you’ve probably never heard of (“Song and Dance,” “The Beautiful Game,” “The Woman in White”), which enhance the evening with their freshness.

After the orchestra, under the direction of Edward G. Robinson (no, not that one, movie fans), warms up the crowd with a selection from “Cats,” two of the soloists offer a harbinger of the vocal power to come as Kathy Voytko sings “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and Kevin Kern counters with a shudder-inducing “Gethsemane.”

Howard McGillin follows with a poignant “Close Every Door” from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and, after the three aforementioned unfamiliar selections, Voytko returns with a heart-rending “Memory” from “Cats.”

While the first act is an eclectic mixture of the familiar and the unrecognizable, the second act spotlights the cream of the composer’s crop. In “Sunset Boulevard” (for my money, the best of Webber’s bunch), McGillin drills the jaded hero’s point home in the title number, while Voytko beautifully belts out the faded actress’ plaintive “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”

Laurie Gayle Stephenson steps into Eva Peron’s shoes in the “Evita” segment with the now-classic “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” while David Josefsberg commands the stage with the cynical “And the Money Kept Rolling In,” and the ebullient Deone Zanotto raises the tempo with a sizzling “Buenos Aires.”

Naturally, “The Phantom of the Opera” arrives as the grand finale, with McGillin and Stephenson beautifully rendering the title number. Stephenson teams with Kern for the romantic ballad “All I Ask of You,” while McGillin closes the show with the seductive “Music of the Night” in a role he performed more than 2,500 times on Broadway.

While Webber’s music is justly celebrated, audiences should remember that others wrote the lyrics, such as Tim Rice (“Superstar,” “Joseph,” “Evita”), Charles Hart (“Phantom”) and the team of Don Black and Christopher Hampton (“Sunset Boulevard”). Unlike Stephen Sondheim, who works both sides of the musical street, Webber only composes the music, brilliant as it is.

“The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” remains at the center this weekend only, and fans of his musicals should seize on the opportunity to enjoy the composer’s greatest hits presented by six superb voices and an elegant orchestra.

If You Go

What: “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa

When: 7 :30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $20 to $80

Call: (714) 556-2787

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.