Patti LaBelle was a diva in the best sense Friday night at the Madame Walker Theatre Center, where she sang mightily thanks to talent, experience and a flair for the big occasion.

The event definitely qualified as big, as it marked the 80th anniversary of the building's opening for business on Indiana Avenue.

LaBelle paused to pay tribute to hair-care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, who died in 1919 -- eight years before her planned movie house for the city's black community came to be.

The singer questioned why Hollywood hasn't done more with Walker's rags-to-riches story, and LaBelle offered to portray Walker in a biopic.

Drama is fertile ground for R&B icon LaBelle, who stretched a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" several octaves and kicked off her purple high-heel shoes along the way. LaBelle made listeners share her pain as she emphasized the song's complaint of "Why can't I?"

But "Rainbow's" stunt vocals seemed to be a parlor trick compared to the deeper emotions of "Walk Around Heaven," a tune that appeared on LaBelle's 2006 album "The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle."

Looking forward to a peaceful afterlife, she dedicated the song to her three sisters who died of cancer before they reached the age of 44. Mid-song mentions were reserved for Luther Vandross, James Brown, Gerald Levert, Luciano Pavarotti and, in a gesture of true kindness, Anna Nicole Smith.

At the cozy Walker performance hall adorned with sphinx sculptures on both sides of the stage, LaBelle presented a show focused on singing. Only a pianist and three backing vocalists joined her onstage, and recorded instrumental tracks made small intrusions before LaBelle banished them for the night.

In this stripped-down context, LaBelle sometimes held her microphone away and allowed her commanding voice to fill the room without amplification.

The Walker resembled another hallowed hall of entertainment -- Harlem's Apollo Theater -- during a rendition of "Lady Marmalade." When LaBelle called for male audience members who could sing, four instantaneously leaped to the stage.

Two displayed skills worthy of surviving amateur night at the Apollo, and LaBelle clearly enjoyed their efforts.

Despite LaBelle's generous spirit and high-watt star power, her performance began too late and ended too quickly.

The sold-out audience waited on hosts from local media outlets to read outdated biographies of LaBelle and opening acts Kirk Whalum and Wayman Tisdale (managing to mispronounce the names of both Whalum and Tisdale).

When saxophone player Whalum and bass player Tisdale performed, they made strong and energetic cases for checking out their full-length shows tonight at the Walker.

Unfortunately, the contemporary jazzmen overstayed their welcome on Friday and left LaBelle an abbreviated time slot at the top of the bill.