Musical Gift of Pops for Upbeat Dad

Open any department store circular and there is the idealized dad. He is in his late 20s, has a square jaw, a nice watch and loves baseball. Dad looks good in walking shorts and collects neckties.

Poor dad. Trapped in this box of modern masculinity, the only appropriate gifts for him seem a little dull: square green bottles of cologne, executive pen sets, a six-pack of tube socks.

Sure, some dads might fit this mold, but think of all the different kinds of men out there who are feted on this day.

We are thinking of a colleague whose first child, due any minute now, will likely learn to tap dance before learning to throw a knuckle ball. Or another whose greatest pride in his bilingual toddler seems to be the boy’s strumming abilities on a toy guitar.

The question is, what to do for these average dads on a day when it seems as if everyone else is at the ballpark sweating in matching baseball caps?

And we are thinking . . . show tunes. Yeah, show tunes, performed by the Long Beach Chamber Chorale in its annual Father’s Day POPS concert on the broad green lawn of the Long Beach Museum of Art this evening.

The music, in this case, does not mean an endless rendition of Broadway musical medleys. The lineup here includes the more beat-heavy songs of Hollywood movies like “Sister Act,” plus selections from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”

For show-tune purists, the chorale also will perform a medley from Broadway’s “Guys and Dolls,” selections from “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter and, of course, the ubiquitous “West Side Story” hits such as “Tonight, Tonight,” “Maria,” and “I Feel Pretty.” Now there’s a Father’s Day song.

This is one of three Chamber Chorale concerts during the year, and the only one in which popular tunes are performed rather than classical fare.

Most songs are performed by the entire 40-member chorale, but the audience also will meet two smaller groups of chorus members--four members each and gender-segregated--who form the Off Beats and the She Beats. The media representative describes these two groups as “like rock bands,” but that could be an exaggeration.

The audience is encouraged to bring picnics, blankets, sand chairs and relax next to the sculpture garden, on the lawn above Long Beach’s weakly lapping surf. Bring a thermos of coffee or, better yet, take advantage of one of the museum’s newest improvements: the on-site coffee house Chatz, which roasts its own beans and makes a mean cappuccino.

So it isn’t baseball and beer. But is dad any less of a man if he likes show tunes and latte? We think not.

The Chamber Chorale performs “A Tribute to the Hollywood Musical” at 5 p.m. today at the Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Tickets are $10 and $5 for children younger than 12.

Information: (310) 984-8407.