All she did was stand in front of a microphone for 75 minutes in a tight, black, unadorned strapless slip, and sing. But that was all the audience needed to be won over.

Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth isn't technically a first-rate vocalist, but she is a first-rate performer. She knows how to sell.

Her Saturday evening Artemus Ham Hall concert -- "Bebe Neuwirth Sings Weill and Kander & Ebb," part of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Performing Arts Center's New York Stage & Beyond program -- was a series of dramatic portraits, character sketches made real and poignant by the depth of the star's ability to get under the skin of lyrics.

She made standards like "Cabaret," and "Ring Them Bells" sound new by her ability to make us feel she is experiencing the story of the songs for the first time.

She can belt like a diva and then turn all soft and childlike on a dime. Her voice is expressive, throaty, authoritative. She's a tad Edith Piaf, a bit Lotte Lenya, and all Broadway Baby.

She didn't do much between-songs patter, but she nonetheless managed to establish a chummy rapport with her adoring audience.

After her first Kurt Weill number, she commented: "That's Weill. Everybody thought he was dark, German and vile." You could tell where the Weill fans were sitting by the pockets of laughter.

Although she's also known as a first-rate hoofer, she did no dancing. But her simple movements -- a flick of the head, a pelvic thrust, a pointing of a finger -- demonstrated her amazing body control. Those who know her only from her work in "Cheers" and the stage musical "Chicago" were likely taken aback by her wide-ranging talent.

Adding to the experience was a stage bulging with musicians, from the UNLV Jazz Ensemble, the UNLV Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, supplementing the work of Neuwirth's three-member band. The huge orchestra gave the songs a lush, rich sound that we seldom hear anymore in Vegas, especially in a solo concert.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.