The next time your boss shows up with smiles and a sheet cake to thank you for all your hard work, you might want to sit that person down and share the tale of real-estate mogul Don Tarbell. “Thanks for the cake,” you could say casually between bites. “I heard that when Don Tarbell wanted to thank his employees, he flew the Rockettes to Orange County to reproduce their Radio City Music Hall holiday spectacular.” Or you could shoot for a subtler message: “I like this cake,” you could say. “Of course, I like Brian Stokes Mitchell even better. He's that Tony Award-winning Broadway actor who Don Tarbell flew in from New York City to sing 'The Impossible Dream' to his employees. I heard some of them openly wept.”

Then again, you could just be blunt. “Sheet cake is disgusting. Why can't you cough up a day off with a 54-piece world-class orchestra? That's what Don Tarbell did.”

The patriarch of the largest family-owned real-estate company in Southern California rented the Pond on Thursday to throw 3,000 of his employees an awards party. Of course, Southern California's real-estate blitz might have something to do with the extravaganza. Debbie Stine, marketing vice president for Tarbell, said 2004 was the “best year, profit-wise” since the company started in 1926. The value of all home sales in Orange County was $29.4 billion in 2004, according to market tracker DataQuick. But then Tarbell began topping himself even before last year. Two years ago he flew in “Riverdance.” It was a year ago that Tarbell began bringing together a circle of entertainment giants to turn some ideas floating in his head into the production that unfolded Thursday.

Among those who signed on: Five-time Emmy Award winner Mark Watters, who has conducted orchestras for such affairs as the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Academy Awards; Michael Curry, designer of puppetry and costumes for the Broadway production of “The Lion King”; and Bruce Michael, creative director of the Radio City Rockettes. Rockettes auditioned for Tarbell's show. So did top musicians in Los Angeles plus dozens of actors, dancers, back-up choruses and circus performers. Tarbell ran newspaper ads and raised billboards advertising the show. About the only thing different from this and any other musical was that Tarbell didn't sell tickets. And opening night was also closing night.

Invited guests included his company's 3,000 real-estate agents plus 1,000 youth leaders (flown in by Tarbell from across the country) of the nonprofit Christian group Young Life, of which he is a major supporter. The price tag on the party is not up for discussion. “It's a lot of money; let's put it that way,' Stine said, chuckling. Two things drive Tarbell, who at 74 is a grandfather of three. First, he said, he wants to show his employees how much he thinks of them. Second, his wife, Betsy, told the crowd after the show, her husband is enthralled with show business. “I am living with a dreamer,” she said.