Bebe Neuwirth is one of those rare artists who has carved a special niche for herself in a remarkably wide-ranging career. Known best as Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane on "Cheers," but a Broadway star in her own right with a pair of Tonys to her credit, Neuwirth will bring that distinctive style to the PNC Pittsburgh Symphony Pops at Heinz Hall this weekend.

Maybe it's the voice -- crisp, deep and direct. Yes, there's a hovering hint of Lilith, but less so than the martini-dry psychiatrist who was briefly wed to Dr. Frasier Crane. And there's a lot more to know about this entertaining artist.

Born in Princeton, N.J., and the daughter of an artist and a mathematician, Neuwirth says that the doctor proclaimed, "She's a dancer. And I was in no position to argue."

She was on her way to becoming a ballerina when she saw "Pippin" at the age of 13. "It resonated with me," Neuwirth says in her droll accent. "I understood that choreography. I knew those steps. They were in my body and I could feel them."

She promptly added singing and theater to her schedule and took off for the Juilliard School after high school.

Neuwirth only lasted a year.

"It was not the place for me," she admits with no regrets.

But the Juilliard dropout almost immediately landed the role of Sheila in the national tour of "A Chorus Line." Yes, that's the wise-cracking, Broadway-weary show veteran and Neuwirth was only 19.

"There I was playing a 30-year old and no one knew," Neuwirth remarks. "In fact, someone said to my friend, who played Bobby, 'She's not 30.' " Her friend answered, "Yeah, you're right." And the guy responded, "She's got to be at least 32."

She met up with Bob Fosse briefly in the revival of "Little Me," which led to a role in his production of "Dancin.' "

Neuwirth had finally come home.

She would go on to work with Fosse in "Sweet Charity," for which she would garner her first Tony for the supporting role of Nicki. It would change her life, working with his "genius," learning how to work and how to make the choreography "clean."

Her dance career would stand her in good stead for television and movie work. "It's all the same," she asserts. "When I was 13, I played the Cat in 'Peter and the Wolf.' I performed it a lot -- that was acting. And as my acting teacher has said, 'It's all living truthfully from moment to moment under imaginary circumstances.' "

Perhaps Neuwirth's most popular role came when she went off to that Boston bar where everybody knew her name. "It was a great role in a great show," she begins. "And every single person who was in the show and writing it was incredibly talented. It was pretty much one of the best jobs a person could have in television."

But when "Cheers" director James Burrows wanted to parlay her into a regular on "Frasier," Neuwirth opted for guest spots to nourish her Broadway career. She received her second Tony for Velma in the revival of "Chicago," and recently could be seen playing Roxie.

The "Chicago" connection will continue here in Pittsburgh when Neuwirth brings her solo program to the Pops. Half of the program will be dedicated to the "Chicago's" premiere song team of Kandor & Ebb, who also wrote such hits as "Cabaret" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman." Neuwirth's conductor from the Broadway show, Leslie Stifelman, will lead the orchestra.

Kandor & Ebb will be paired with selections from Kurt Weill. It's a natural fit, considering the American team was influenced by the German composer of such works as "The Threepenny Opera," "Lost in the Stars," "Mahagonny" and "Knickerbocker Holiday."

Neuwirth speaks how "there's an honesty to them both and there's an irony. Some of the songs are very, very, very funny. It's also some of the most soul-stirring and beautiful music that I know. And I'd like to have the audiences discover that for themselves."