Symphony honors legends of Broadway

The Spokane Symphony’s SuperPops concert on Saturday features a pair of seasoned stage vocalists, along with the symphony’s exuberant resident conductor, Morihiko Nakahara.

Yet the real stars of this show are two men who slipped into Broadway legend long ago: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

This composer/lyricist team is one of the main reasons that the era from about 1943 to the 1960s is referred to today as Broadway’s Golden Era.

They wrote the scores to many of the best-known musicals of all time, beginning with “Oklahoma!” in 1943, through “South Pacific” in 1949 and ending with “The Sound of Music” in 1960.

This “Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration” will consist of R&H tunes, and nothing but.

It will begin with the 53-piece orchestra playing “The Carousel Waltz.” Then guest vocalists Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler will take the stage with the symphony.

Hansen played Magnolia in the London revival of “Show Boat” and has appeared in many national tours. Chandler appeared in “The Scarlet Pimpernel” on Broadway and has toured as Raoul in “The Phantom of the Opera.”

They’ll sing – sometimes in duet, sometimes solo – a total of 18 songs from the best known Rodgers and Hammerstein shows.

Here are some of the tunes you can expect to hear:

• From “The King and I” – “Hello Young Lovers,” “I Have Dreamed” and “We Kiss in Shadows.”

• From “Carousel” – “June is Busting Out All Over,” “If I Loved You,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Soliloquy.”

• From “State Fair” – “It’s a Grand Night for Singing.”

• From “Oklahoma!” – “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Surrey With a Fringe on the Top,” “Out of My Dreams,” “People Will Say We’re In Love” and “Oklahoma!”

• From “South Pacific” – “A Wonderful Guy” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

• From “The Sound of Music” – “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”