Hollywood’s Bowl of Fame

The idea of a Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame may have seemed to be yet another excuse for a self-congratulatory awards show when it was launched in 2000. But in retrospect, with talent ranging from Garth Brooks and John Williams to Stevie Wonder, Marilyn Horne, Monty Python’s Eric Idle and John and Bonnie Raitt already inducted, it has turned out to be a better than anticipated way to celebrate the venue’s impressive diversity.

And as Friday night’s third annual Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame event illustrated, it’s also an excellent excuse to present a crackling good evening of first-rate entertainment.

With Randy Newman, Kathleen Battle, Bernadette Peters and the late George Harrison as the 2002 inductees, and Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, there was every reason to expect that the quality level would be high.

The essence of that quality was immediately established by the arrival of soprano Battle--elegantly introduced by actor Anthony Hopkins--singing a program clearly certifying her extraordinary vocal mastery. Smoothly negotiating the intricate musical challenges of Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim,” she shifted to a lyrical rendering of “Summertime” enhanced by her ravishing tone and concluded with the classic spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Between numbers, Janet Jackson introduced a set of film clips displaying brief views of Battle in action.

Newman received a whimsical introduction from animation director John Lasseter, who brought along a video clip of characters from the film “Toy Story” praising the new inductee. Newman’s capacity to be simultaneously humorous, touching and ironic was present everywhere, from the Coplandesque score for “The Natural” (performed gracefully under his baton by the Philharmonic) to the fuzzy warmth of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and the sardonic boosterism of “I Love L.A.”

The most touching portion of the evening was the Harrison tribute and induction, handled by Monty Python’s Eric Idle. Speaking with great warmth about his close friend, Idle introduced a video clip displaying Harrison in his many phases, from youthful Beatle to mature solo artist. Climaxing the segment, singer-keyboardist Billy Preston and a chorus of vocalists sang Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” without quite managing to capture the soaring soulfulness of Harrison’s original version.

Peters was introduced by Joel Grey, who used the assignment as an opportunity to offer an a cappella number of his own. When Peters finally arrived, stalking the stage like a true Broadway diva, she offered a somewhat mannered rendering of “Some Enchanted Evening” and a bland reading of the bland Richard Rodgers song “Something Good.” She finally hit her full stride with “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” transforming the “South Pacific” guy’s classic into a sleek and sensual female anthem.

The exceedingly full evening also included amusing passages by humorist Fred Willard and actor Eric McCormack and a performance of “Ode to Joy” by young musicians acknowledging the program’s dedication to the Philharmonic Assn.’s educational outreach program “Music Matters.”

The festivities were bookended with performances by the philharmonic and Salonen of segments from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” Suites and the torrid final movement of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony.