Bernadette Peters - Ourselves ... as a Serious Cabaret Singer!
Bernadette Peters is the way many (most?) of us would like to imagine ourselves ... if we were able to step through that magical mirror into our other more theatrical and alternate careers ...
I saw her in concert in Sydney a few years back - and still have some of the glittering golden 'coins' she threw out into the audience in her opening song, 'Pennies from Heaven'.
She performed both the following and contrasting Stephen Sondheim pieces.
'Not A Day Goes By' from 'Merrily We Roll Along' ...
... where here she nearly looses to a degree that's almost uncomfortable, particularly at the end - but then maybe it's planned that big cos a live audience is not as close as the camera.
What do you think?
The other song is 'Hello Little Girl' from 'Into the Woods' - with Peters being less than a little wolf-ish ... to an innocent Red Riding Hood.
The lyrics are so incredibly witty and close to the bone I thought I'd put down the first verse and the last lines ...
Look at that flesh, pink and plump
Hello, little girl...
Tender and fresh, not one lump
Hello, little girl...
This one's especially lush,
Delicious... Mmm...
Hello, little girl, what's your rush?
You're missing all the flowers
The sun won't set for hours
Take your time ...
There's no possible way
To describe how what you feel
When you're talking to your meal!
... hope you're chuckling away!
So, are any of you guys Peters devotees?
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Absolutely, saw her in Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, and Song and Dance. She is truly wonderful. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeletehey anon
ReplyDeletelucky you to have seen in in so much
i was surprised by the impact she has in person from the stage - she filled the opera house hall here, working into every corner
her phrasing extracts the meaning of a lyric in a way that's particularly satisfying - not just musical singing
CYA!
nick
I know it's gay heresy, but you can keep Liza and Celine. Bernadette is THE BEST,
ReplyDeletehey alan
ReplyDeleteLiza and Celine who? (LOL)
cya
nick
Hi Nick, long time no silly comments from me ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and I definitely agree with Alan: She is The BEST. Only had the supreme pleasure of seeing her in Into The Woods but have been compiling quite a few DVDs and CDs of anything she has ever done/been in. Who be Liza? LOL, sorry. I just don't get it how Ute Lemper, say never really took off as a major gay icon (well she did with me). Anyway, where was I? 6am is a very confusing time for me. Oh right. Was about to say "kudos", so: Kudos! Intensely pleasuring post as far as both my ears and the organ between them is concerned ;)
TC!
hey pete
ReplyDeletebeen missing your 'silly comments' - and what does that say about me if they really were - i think (for the sake of our own mental health) we'd better take the position that we have sparkling wit and incisive penetrating intelligences - whatever the truth of the matter!
speaking of Liza (who?), she came here recently, somewhat in the form of a musical Jocelyn Wildenstein - people said it was scary stuff, and sad ... but mainly scary
the great thing about bernadette peters is that when she is performing you can luxuriate in the intelligent (and beautiful) things she does with a song - yum
and ute lempere was my instant icon after seeing her here - and then in paris in her one woman musical theatre piece at the theatre du chatelet
glad to hear pleasure is still sited in those two remarkable organs - and hope to get a responses from both again in the not too distant future
big kiss X
nick
I loved Bernadette when I first saw her (in movies, not in person) but have to admit I haven't thought about her for years. Thanks for this wonderful post! She does beautiful and fabulous things with songs.
ReplyDeletehey rick
ReplyDeletegood to hear from u
yeah, been a big fan of hers for so long too
cya
nick
She is a great entertainer, and I've always respected her talent. I've never seen her in person.
ReplyDeleteBut, I saw her some years ago on the celebrity edition of "Jeopardy!" the TV game show, and unfortunately, it is my duty to inform you that she's dumb as a post.
Yeah, I agree. Bernadette is the "Queen". Wit.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Bernadette Peters is truly great. Saw her in Sunday in the Park, Into the Woods, Gypsy, etc. All great performances. But I haven't seen a concert appearance! She hasn't done much lately. where did you find the video clips? Would love to see the whole show! This looks like the show that she did for GMHC in NY a number of years back.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting,
Randy NYC
hey randy
ReplyDeletei was wondering whether she'd been doing much lately - i suspected not as i'd heard of nothing
there's a guy MacMChicargo who puts a lot out on YouTube - almost the official bernadette peters site! his homepage there is http://www.youtube.com/user/EricMChicago
a lot of stuff comes from a british concert at the festival hall
the nice thing about concerts is the chat between songs - contextualizing and annecdoting (new word) them
and that she can cover a lot of musical territory in this format
but seeing her in a show would be great too!
best
nick
hey wit
ReplyDelete... and the empress and the czarina and and and !
best
nick
hey ken
ReplyDeletesome performers are great on DVD but not so much in person - and the reverse - bernadette peters did not disappoint live - came away with that glow that comes from really good music making and a lively and engaging and warm interaction with a decent human being
grab the opportunity if it comes you way - i'm sure you plan to
suspect i wouldn't be any more electrifying on 'Jeopardy!' but who knows! an off day? cos her interaction with an audience suggests more - even tho it's planned and so on
best
nick