Hamlisch Will Guide Symphony

You might say Marvin Hamlisch had the day of his life back in 1974.

On that day, he won three Oscars: for Best Song (“The Way We Were”), Best Score (“The Way We Were”) and Best Adaptation (“The Sting”).

And if that weren’t enough, he also has had plenty of other days-of-a-lifetime:

The day in 1965 when he was barely 21 and his song “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” became a hit for Lesley Gore.

The day in 1975 when his musical, “A Chorus Line,” won the Pulitzer Prize.

The day in 1991 when his classical symphonic suite, “Anatomy of Peace,” debuted.

The day in 1994 when he won two Emmys for “Barbra Streisand: The Concert.”

With so many highlights, it’s hard to pick the best, but he had no trouble picking the most fulfilling of his many pursuits.

“Writing for Broadway, definitely,” Hamlisch said by phone from New York. “What makes it gratifying is that it’s a lot of hard work, but great camaraderie. If it’s working right, it’s exciting because you’re all in it together. It’s kind of like a dream - your dream.”

For him, the finest example of this was “A Chorus Line,” which cemented his place as one of America’s top composers.

He aims to recapture that feeling with his next project, which he said he hopes will be the toast of Broadway two years from now. He declined to give the name of the show, or even the plot line.

“I don’t like to talk about it,” he said. “If you talk about it and it never happens, you just want to shoot yourself. Everybody says, ‘I read about that show. What happened?’ “

As for his movie soundtrack career, he said he has curtailed it because he doesn’t find it as satisfying.

“So kill me,” said Hamlisch. “I just don’t like it as much.”

On the other hand, he has been spending a surprising amount of time in front of the cameras, although he laughs at the notion that he’s an actor. He was on an episode of “The Nanny” recently, and he was a guest on “Politically Incorrect” with Bill Maher. Soon after his Spokane performance, he’ll be heading to Hollywood to do “Caroline in the City.”

“I’m being a guest star on it, believe it or not,” he said with a laugh. “Just doing a little cameo.”

A great deal of his time these days is devoted to doing pops concerts, like the one in Spokane on Saturday. He is the principal pops conductor for both the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He does about 40 to 50 pops concerts a year, all around the country.

“I have enough air mileage to go back and forth so many times around the world, it’s ridiculous,” he said.

Sometimes, he does solo shows, but he especially enjoys working with an orchestra. He is, after all, a classically trained Juilliard graduate.

In this SuperPops concert, he will do music from “A Chorus Line” as well as many of his other well-known compositions from movies and the stage.

But he will also do music from other composers, including salutes to Gene Kelly and Barbra Streisand. He will bring along a vocalist to perform some of these songs.

“We also do some funny stuff, particularly a section called ‘Rent a Composer’ where I take ideas and titles from the audience and write songs on the spot,” said Hamlisch. “We have a good time.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo