Dubbed "The Last Leading Man" by The New York Times, Brian Stokes Mitchell has been long established as one of Broadway's leading lights. But when the Tony Award-winning baritone performs this Saturday at a gala for the new Moonlight Amphitheatre stagehouse in Vista, two members of the audience will be remembering him from long before he arrived on the Great White Way.

Stokes (as he likes to be called) grew up in San Diego and got his start in theater at the Casa del Prado Theater in Balboa Park, where at age 14 he played Conrad Birdie in San Diego Junior Theatre's production of "Bye Bye Birdie" in 1971. Directing him in his stage debut were Cardiff residents Don and Bonnie Ward, who ran Junior Theater back in those days and have since directed and choreographed many shows at the Moonlight Amphitheatre.

"I call them my theater parents," Stokes said, in a telephone interview last week from his home in New York. "They were instrumental for me in becoming what I am today. Don gave me my first role. I'd never done a musical before that. I still remember thinking how important it was to me to get that role, and then when I got it, I was so excited. It meant so much to me that they took that chance on me."

Don Ward said when he first put Stokes onstage, he was "totally green," but he learned the ropes fast.

"He was always musically gifted," Ward said. "It was his musical abilities that attracted Bonnie and I to him. He also had this incredible attitude, he was easy to work with and he had no ego. He was an amazing kid."

The Wards will be among the 1,000 celebrants gathered Saturday when Stokes takes the stage at the Moonlight's curtain-raising gala, which was organized to celebrate the completion of the theater's new 12,000-square-foot stagehouse. Paid for through a taxpayer-sponsored sales tax increase, the new building includes a 60-vertical-foot flyloft, automated rigging, men's and women's dressing rooms, rehearsal and storage rooms, an automated costume conveyor, a 9-foot-deep orchestra pit, a laundry room and an overhead sound/lighting canopy that extends over the first five rows of the audience seating area. Other improvements are a new south entrance and box office, additional rest-rooms, twice as many picnic tables, new walkways and a freshly landscaped upper lawn that provides better seating and sight lines for patrons.

Saturday's gala is limited to just 1,000 ticket-buyers and cocktail attire is requested. The program will open with a reception at 6:30 p.m. featuring hors d'oeuvres and desserts, and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

Stokes, 51, said he considers it a great honor that he was chosen to "consecrate" the new stage at the Moonlight, especially since he has such warm memories of his theater days in San Diego.

His father, George Mitchell, a former Tuskegee Airman, was an electronics engineer who worked for the Navy. With his wife, Lillian Stokes, and their four children, they spent many years on Navy bases in Guam and the Philippines. The family settled in San Diego in the early 1970s, and the Mitchell boys began performing.

Stokes said his older brothers, George and John, began performing with San Diego Junior Theatre, but he preferred to stay in the pit, playing trombone and piano. Then, when the role of Conrad Birdie came along, Stokes said he leaped at the opportunity to audition. From there, the Wards cast him as Curly in "Oklahoma!" and many other roles followed.

Stokes joined the Wards' The Bright Side youth song-and-dance troupe and became a regular star both in San Diego Junior Theatre and later at the Starlight Theatre in Balboa Park. His professional stage debut came in 1974 in a production of "Godspell" at the Old Globe.

Stokes went on to work in regional theater as an actor and composer, and then spent most of the late '70s and early '80s in Hollywood, where he spent seven years playing Dr. "Jackpot" Jackson on the series "Trapper John M.D.," did voice-over work, composed for television and made numerous guest appearances on other TV shows (including later runs on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "Frasier").

He arrived on Broadway in 1988, when he made his debut in "Mail," and quickly established himself as one of New York's top go-to leading men, earning Tony nominations for his roles in "Ragtime," "Man of La Mancha," "King Hedley II" and "Kiss Me Kate" (for which he won the Tony and Drama Desk awards).

In 1994, he married fellow Broadway actor Allyson Tucker, and five years ago they welcomed their son, Ellington. Stokes said it was fatherhood that led him to change the direction of his career from theater to concert artist.

"When you're doing eight shows a week, you don't have much of a personal life," Stokes said. "He's in school now, and if I was still performing (in theater), his schedule would be opposite mine. He gets home from school when I'd be leaving for work, and because I was up late every night, I'd be asleep when he went to school. I wanted to be able to put him to bed more than one or two nights a week. I wanted to see him."

Stokes is now much in demand as a concert artist, performing around the country doing Broadway galas, cabaret shows, symphony recitals, annual Hollywood Bowl concerts and a dozen or so trips to Carnegie Hall.

"I've been really fortunate that my concert career has taken off hugely," he said. "I can make a living, I enjoy performing in front of a live audience and I can do something different every time. Sometimes I'm with a quartet, sometimes I'm solo, sometimes with a symphony, and I get to go to different cities and meet different people. It's perfect for me."

He's now at work on a CD of Broadway songs and standards, which is much like the program he'll sing this Saturday at the Moonlight.

"I will probably sing some songs from some of the shows I've been associated with, like 'Man of La Mancha,' 'Kiss Me Kate' and 'South Pacific.' I like to do a variety of songs and mix it up," he said.

One of the songs he plans to perform on Saturday is "I Was Here" by "Ragtime" composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, from their 1997 musical "The Glorious Ones." Stokes said he was scheduled to record the song with an orchestra this past Tuesday to raise money for the Actors Fund, a charity for which he serves as president.

The song will also be used to market a book he's contributing to called "Lights on Broadway." It's an A-to-Z encyclopedia of Broadway history for middle school-age students by author Harriet Ziefert and illustrator Elliott Kreloff. Stokes said he was asked to write the introduction for the book, but he became so engrossed in researching the subject, he jumped in and began writing chapters and volunteering his singing services, too.

On top of that, Stokes said he's working with producer Richard J. Alexander to put together a Broadway-themed television show for PBS or HBO.

Even though he's got a busy calendar, Stokes said he always tries to add a few days into his travel schedule whenever he's on the West Coast to make a stop in San Diego, where his father, now 89, still lives (he's expected to attend Saturday's concert). Stokes said he's also excited at the opportunity to visit with the Wards after the show.

Ward said the family has remained very close with Stokes over the years (Stokes even served as an usher at the wedding of their son, Kelly, a veteran television writer and director who's best known for playing the role of Putzie in the film "Grease").

"On the night he won his Tony for 'Kiss Me Kate' he called us and thanked us for giving him his start," Don Ward said. "And when he was starring in 'Man of La Mancha,' he got us opening night tickets and flew us out."

Stokes said he's especially looking forward to performing outdoors in a hometown amphitheater that doesn't have jumbo jets flying overhead (like the Starlight Bowl in San Diego).

"I love being outside, and I love the fresh air. There in Vista, you're a little inland so the ocean air mixes with the desert air," he said. "I love seeing the stars, and I love being around my friends and family. I can't wait to get there."

Moonlight Gala Celebration starring Brian Stokes Mitchell

When: 6:30 p.m. reception; 8 p.m. concert Saturday

Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, Vale Terrace Drive, Vista

Tickets: $50

Info: 760-724-2110

Web: www.moonlightstage.com