Kennedy Center stages grand entrance for '07

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It's reputed to be the second most familiar New Year's Eve song after Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne," maybe because it poses the question on the mind of every would-be swain: Will you be with me to meet the future? They'll be singing it, along with Burns' nostalgic air, at what may be the hottest ticket in town: New Year's Eve at the Kennedy Center, a musical cornucopia of jazz, classical, standards, old favorites and singalong topped off with Grand Foyer dancing that's open as well to ticket holders to the Opera House's current production, "The Light in the Piazza," and the Theater Lab's long-running "Shear Madness," who are invited to join the Grand Foyer party after their shows break.

The champagne-and-confetti extravaganza for some 3,000 expected revelers is fueled by music -- in some cases a very special kind of music.

"The music is all about expectations -- what people love to hear -- and having them fulfilled," says Murry Sidlin, who will conduct members of the National Symphony Orchestra in the title program, "New Year's Eve at the Kennedy Center," in the Concert Hall.

"So we try for balance: Handel, Ravel, Stravinsky, but also Gershwin and more jazzy flavored pieces."

Party with a difference

"It's just another New Year's Eve, another night like all the rest," Barry Manilow has been singing for almost 30 years. For most, it comes down to a few traditions: Blow out the credit card on an over-the-top dinner for two. Gather with friends or associates for a house or hotel party. Head for Times Square or Las Vegas — or watch their teeming crowds at home on television.

The Kennedy Center celebration takes all the elements of those good times — food, drink, music, confetti, funny hats, noisemakers, dancing and implied romance — and adds two elements: a spectacular view of the Potomac if the weather is good, and performance, heavy on style and tradition, with a flavor reminiscent of upscale clubs and classic ballrooms.

So, if you can snag a ticket, take in "A Jazz New Year's Eve," with pianist-vocalist Freddy Cole and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band for two shows in the Terrace Theater.

Or drop in on Mr. Sidlin's showcase of classical music with members of the NSO in the Concert Hall.

The two sides of this musical coin will again be addressed at the post-concert celebration in the Grand Foyer, that stretch of red-carpeted road leading off to the Center's three main performing halls, the Eisenhower Theater, the Opera House and the Concert Hall.