IT WAS A NIGHT OF LEGENDS BOWL'S LATEST HALL OF FAME HONOREES GIVE SOMETHING BACK.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

As Patti LuPone ended her acceptance speech Friday night for her induction in Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, she rattled off the names of a number of music teachers who had helped her in her youth. It was in keeping with the theme of the evening, which was a gala fund-raiser for Music Matters, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music educational program for children around Southern California.

Nevertheless, it was fairly impressive that the 50-ish Broadway diva could remember all those names years later. It was not, however, as impressive as her performance of ``Don't Cry for Me, Argentina'' from ``Evita,'' for which LuPone won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical in 1980.

As the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under John Mauceri struck up the first few notes to the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice tune, LuPone - dressed in a simple floor-length black dress - suddenly seemed to embody the character of Eva Peron. As a Juilliard graduate, LuPone is more than a singer on stage; she knows how to command an audience's attention. Couple this with her fabulously big voice, and the effect is electrifying.

LuPone, however, was the last inductee, and her three-song performance helped cap off a fun evening. Also inducted were the Smothers Brothers, Nathan Lane and Roger Daltrey of the Who. Before the inductees took the stage, a montage of clips from the performers' careers were shown on the large screen above the stage. The Smothers Brothers' montage included scenes from their famed - and controversial - variety show of the late '60s. In one clip, Dick (he's the one who plays the bass) tells brother Tom that the U.S. government doesn't want Americans traveling abroad because it's too dangerous. Tom processes this for a beat and then turns to the camera and says, ``I guess that means all you boys in Vietnam can come on home.''

The Brothers, who took the stage after the introduction, have lost none of their cheekiness, and somehow the shtick of the overly serious Dick and the dumb but sly Tom still seems surprisingly fresh. Perhaps that's why character duos like Abbott and Costello and Martin and Lewis were common when the brothers started out; the comic landscape is overly populated by smug, shallow commentators today. The Smothers Brothers put their own stamp on the formula with their slightly absurdist but good-nature battling. At the end of the segment Friday, they had the audience not only laughing, but also singing the old folk chestnut ``Michael, Row the Boat Ashore'' and not even feeling silly doing it.

Daltrey, who was introduced by Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, proved he can still twirl the microphone as he, along with a bevy of backup singers and the orchestra, ripped through ``Pinball Wizard'' and ``See Me, Feel Me,'' both from the rock opera ``Tommy.'' Daltrey, too, lamented the state of music education, both in this country and in his native England. Before leaving the stage, the seemingly ageless Daltrey announced that the Who are not finished, and he and the remaining member of the band, guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, would be recording in the studio in October and back in L.A. to perform next year.

One inductee not on hand was Nathan Lane. The star of the Broadway production of ``The Producers'' was off in England on a movie shoot, but he did leave an amusing taped acceptance in which he thanked the Bowl for - after finding out he'd be unable to come - not taking the honor back and giving it to someone else - ``like Jason Alexander'' (who took over the Max Bialystock role from Lane for the L.A. production of ``The Producers'').

Also on the program was singing sensation Josh Groban. The 21-year-old baritone and Los Angeles native has the looks of a star, and certainly has a lovely voice. He was there to introduce the L.A.-area teachers being honored for Music Matters (their students wrote letters of recommendations), but Groban, a classical crossover artist, also sang three numbers, including Don McLean's sentimental ``Vincent (Starry, Starry Night).'' Groban is pleasant enough, but hardly dynamic, either in his vocals or stage presence. At such a young age, though, you hope he was taking notes when LuPone performed.

The night ended with a bang, as it often does at the Bowl in summer, with the fireworks - this time to orchestra's strong rendition of ``The Great Gate of Kiev'' from Mussorgsky's ``Pictures at an Exhibition.'' Although the loud pops and whistles overshadowed the music at times, the colorful pyrotechnics were a picturesque way to end the night.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Roger Daltrey of the Who, one of the inductees into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame, performs a medley from ``Tommy'' during ceremonies Friday night.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) Tom and Dick Smothers, inducted to the Hall of Fame for their long-running comedy and music partnership, embrace fellow honoree, Broadway legend Patti LuPone.