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DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Tony-Winning Actress Bernadette Peters
By Andrew Gans
02 May 2008
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Bernadette Peters in Gypsy
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| photo by Joan Marcus |
And, does Peters have a favorite role among her many superb stage outings? "I'm always lucky to say it's the one I'm doing at the time," she says, "but I have to say I did love doing Gypsy. It was a year of really doing a play with music. It's so well written, it's a privilege to be able to." When asked why so many actresses wish to star in the Stephen Sondheim-Jule Styne-Arthur Laurents musical, which is currently back on Broadway at the St. James Theatre with Tony winner Patti LuPone, Peters says, "I think it is the ultimate singing actress role, and every singing actress should play it! It's the Hamlet of musical theatre for a woman. It is written so well. The book really is a play. It's quite a journey."
"Sunday in the Park," Peters adds, "was also a wonderful journey, and I couldn't wait [each night] to get to sing 'Move On' because that song was the healing part. You go so deep and it's so upsetting — George and Dot [love each other, but] they can't be together — it's so sad. . . . Even watching the show [recently], that stayed with me for a day or two. But, as I was discussing with Jenna about doing the role, 'Move On' heals the whole thing. It is like a singing meditation."
[To order a copy of "Broadway Barks," click here. For more information about the charity Broadway Barks, visit www.broadwaybarks.com. For Bernadette Peters' concert schedule, go to www.bernadettepeters.com.]
DIVA TIDBITS
The original Off-Broadway cast of I Love You Because will reunite May 19 at the Cherry Lane Theatre for a one-night-only concert presentation of that Joshua Salzman-Ryan Cunningham musical. Farah Alvin, David A. Austin, Courtney Balan, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Colin Hanlon and Jordan Leeds will all be part of the 8 PM concert. The evening will feature musical direction by the show's composer, Salzman, and direction by its librettist-lyricist, Cunningham. The Cherry Lane Theatre is located in Manhattan at 38 Commerce Street. Tickets, priced $20, are available by visiting www.ILoveYouBecauseTheMusical.com.
Emerging musical theatre writers are celebrated by the York Theatre Company in its new NEO Spotlight Concert series, which will continue May 12 with Sailing Against the Current: Songs by Robert Bartley and Danny Whitman. The cast for the 7:30 PM concert will include Jenn Colella (Beebo Brinker Chronicles), Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy), Judith Moore (Sunday in the Park with George), Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid) and Kirsten Wyatt (Grease). Bartley will direct the evening with musical direction by Chris Tilley. The Theatre at Saint Peter's is located at 619 Lexington Avenue (on 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Tickets, priced $20, are available by visiting www.yorktheatre.org.
The songs of Georgia Stitt will be presented at Birdland during an evening simply titled Georgia Stitt & Friends. The May 26 concert at the famed jazz venue will feature the talents of composer Stitt as well as Kate Baldwin, Lauren Kennedy, Keith Byron Kirk, Jennifer Simard, Tony Holds and Elizabeth Salem. Show time is 7 PM. The singers will be backed by Victoria Paterson on violin and Randy Landau on bass. Cabaretgoers can expect to hear tunes from Stitt's CD "This Ordinary Thursday" as well as songs from her musicals The Water, Big Red Sun and Sing Me A Happy Song. Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. There is a $25 cover charge and a $10 food-drink minimum. Call (212) 581-3080 for reservations or visit www.birdlandjazz.com.
Five Tony Award-winning actors will perform in concert at the Music Center at Strathmore. The 2008-2009 Great American Song concert series at the North Bethesda, MD, venue will kick off Nov. 9 with a pairing of two two-time Tony winners, Christine Ebersole and James Naughton. Ebersole won her Tonys for her performances in Grey Gardens and the revival of 42nd Street; Naughton was honored for his work in City of Angels and the Chicago revival. Nine-time Tony winner Tommy Tune will be joined by the Manhattan Rhythm Kings for the Washington-area premiere of Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography. Tune will entertain Strathmore audiences Jan. 23 and 24, 2009. The New Year will also feature another two-time Tony winner, Bebe Neuwirth. Neuwirth — who nabbed Tonys for her performances in the revivals of Sweet Charity and Chicago — will take to the Strathmore stage April 2, 2009. And, the concert series will conclude April 18 and 19, 2009, with Bernadette Peters. Peters, a two-time Tony winner for her work in Annie Get Your Gun and Song and Dance, will perform songs from her acclaimed Broadway and recording career. The Music Center at Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda, MD. For tickets call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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Bernadette Peters and Kramer.
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| photo by Geoffrey Tischman |
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