Fabulous four to take the stage

Jennifer K Mahal

It’s four for the price of one. Actually, “The Fabulous Ladies of Song

at Christmas” tonight at Orange Coast College is five for the price of

one, since comedian John Wing is the emcee.

The show, put together by manager Terry Hill, brings together

performers Anna Maria Alberghetti, Gloria Loring, Marilyn King (of King

Sisters fame) and Roberta Linn (the original Lawrence Welk Champagne

Lady) for a diverse program of songs and Christmas carols.

Each powerhouse singer will perform for about 20 minutes. All four

will come together at the end with a Christmas medley, which will be

rehearsed for the first time Saturday afternoon, said Loring.

Loring is best known for her 6 1/2-year stint as Liz Chandler on “Days

of Our Lives” and for co-writing the theme songs for “The Facts of Life”

and “Diff’rent Strokes.”

The singer-songwriter said she is looking forward to working with

Alberghetti, King and Linn.

“It’s wonderful to work with other performers because most often, when

you work, you never get to see anyone else,” the singer-songwriter said

from her Lake Arrowhead home. “I would love to stand in the wings and see

the other women perform, and see what they bring to the audience and who

they are. I find that fascinating.”

For her 20 minutes, Loring, 53, said she plans to perform songs from

her eight compact discs and a Christmas song -- “I Always Will” -- she

wrote for son Robin, 23, a few years ago. (A song for her other son,

Brennan, 25, is on her latest album, “Turn the Page.”)

Loring -- who started singing professionally at 14 -- said she enjoys

singing songs that express people’s deepest emotions, whether they’re fun

or touching. Her favorite Christmas carol is “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

“We always started church services with it,” Loring said. “That song,

to this day, I get very choked up.”

Alberghetti’s favorite carol is more secular. The Italian-born singer

who won a Tony Award for her role in “Carnival” names “The Christmas

Song” as the song of the season, although she favors “Oh Holy Night” on

an artistic level.

“I fell in love the first time I heard [‘The Christmas Song’]. It’s so

musical and so simple in its message,” Alberghetti, 64, said from her Bel

Air home. “It just touches me.”

Alberghetti said her program will consist of traditional Italian songs

like “Sorrento,” Broadway tunes and one contemporary number.

The actress-singer, who started performing at age 6, said right now is

the most exciting time in her life.

“Women are always so afraid of getting older,” the mother of two grown

daughters said. “I wouldn’t trade being any age, other than the one I am

right now.”

In the past year, she has acted in two movies, gone to Europe three

times, sung to standing ovations for “99% of the time” and worked on

cruise ships, trips she turned into vacations.

“What more could I ask,” Alberghetti said.

FYI

WHAT: “The Fabulous Ladies of Song at Christmas”

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theater, 2701 Fairview

Road, Costa Mesa

COST: $21-$27

CALL: (714) 432-5880