HOUSTON – The Houston Symphony Pops has announced its 1998 - 1999 season and Broadway comprises nearly half of the nine engagements. Though Tony Bennett, Burt Bacharach and Johnny Mathis will also be crooning for all their worth, the song in the Pops' heart clearly belongs to the Great White Way.

The composer of A Chorus Line ,They're Playing Our Song and Smile, Marvin Hamlisch opens the Pops season September 4,- 6. Next on the bill is another nod to Broadway: November 13 -15, "A Tribute to Gershwin." On the 100th anniversary of brother George's birth, Houston Symphony Pops will prove they've got rhythm.

January 2- 4, 1999, native Texan and Tommy Tune dancing partner Sandy Duncan returns home. Her husband Don Correia joins her, as does entertainer Guy Stroman.

And if Houstonians still haven't figured it out, February 18- 21 will be known as "Bravo Broadway!" The likes of Doug LaBrecque, Keith Buterbaugh, and Tony Award nominee Jodi Benson will perform highlights from classic musicals of yesterday and popular shows of today. Benson, by the way, is already on her way to Houston via Theatre Under The Stars: this summer, from June 30 - July 12, she narrates Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. David Osmond assumes the title role, a part he recently understudied for his uncle Donny in a limited tour. Five of David's six brothers, who regularly appear at the Osmond Family Theater in Branson, Missouri, comprise half of the fraternal order.

For information on the 1998 - 1999 season of The Houston Symphony-Exxon Pops, call (713) 224-7575 By Peter Szatmary
Texas Correspondent