#1
Posted: 6/21/12 at 12:35am
I think Bernadette Peters has an odd relationship with the Tony Awards. To wit:
She has won two: for SONG AND DANCE and for the revival of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. While the win for SONG AND DANCE was richly deserved and widely predicted, was it not also felt at the time that voters were making up for her not winning for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, a role for which she was nominated, and for which she is more remembered today? And oddly, the role which she took after SONG AND DANCE, the Witch in INTO THE WOODS, gave her another role for which she is very well remembered, but for which she was not nominated at all.
Her win for AGYG was somewhat surprising, as she perhaps not ideally cast in the role, and, as it turns out, saw her replacement in the role, Reba McEntire, receive glowing notices and spark discussion of a Tony category for replacement performers. That situation was replicated when Bernadette replaced the Tony-winning Catherine Zeta-Jones in the revival of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, receiving even better notices than the Tony winner received.
Her other recent Broadway appearances, in the revivals of GYPSY and FOLLIES, saw her nominated for another Merman role for which she was cast against type, and then not nominated for a role in which she was somewhat ill-cast, but delivered a knock-out performance of the role's best-known song ("Losing My Mind").
Regarding her early work, she was not nominated for GEORGE M! (for which she is still well remembered), but was nominated for the revival of ON THE TOWN (for which she is not so well remembered). And at least she was nominated for MACK AND MABEL (well remembered, and perhaps should have won). And she was also nominated for THE GOODBYE GIRL later in her career, for which perhaps she should not have been.
It seems that since SITPWG (and arguably since MAM), she has been a Broadway star of the first rank. Roles were written for her, revivals were built around her, and shows stayed open because of her. And yet, looking at her career, Tony has been fickle. And this year, the Tonys presented her with the Isabelle Stevenson Award, for which she is imminently qualified (Broadway Barks) and highly praised. But aren't these sort of awards given to people who are almost done with their charitable acts? I'm sure that she is far from done!
So, in retrospect, she didn't win for her roles in MACK AND MABEL and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and wasn't even nominated for roles in GEORGE M!, INTO THE WOODS, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and FOLLIES, all of which are shows with which she will forever be identified. Her wins for SONG AND DANCE and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are somewhat asterisked, in my view, though she was certainly fine enough in both, and clearly a star. And her nominations for ON THE TOWN, THE GOODBYE GIRL and GYPSY do seem somewhat peculiar, given some of the reception those shows received.
Or am I wrong? Is this the experience of every big star?
I mean, everyone loves her. She's Bernadette Peters! But her relationship to the Tony Awards (or rather, their relationship to her) just strikes me as very odd. Thoughts?
She has won two: for SONG AND DANCE and for the revival of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. While the win for SONG AND DANCE was richly deserved and widely predicted, was it not also felt at the time that voters were making up for her not winning for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, a role for which she was nominated, and for which she is more remembered today? And oddly, the role which she took after SONG AND DANCE, the Witch in INTO THE WOODS, gave her another role for which she is very well remembered, but for which she was not nominated at all.
Her win for AGYG was somewhat surprising, as she perhaps not ideally cast in the role, and, as it turns out, saw her replacement in the role, Reba McEntire, receive glowing notices and spark discussion of a Tony category for replacement performers. That situation was replicated when Bernadette replaced the Tony-winning Catherine Zeta-Jones in the revival of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, receiving even better notices than the Tony winner received.
Her other recent Broadway appearances, in the revivals of GYPSY and FOLLIES, saw her nominated for another Merman role for which she was cast against type, and then not nominated for a role in which she was somewhat ill-cast, but delivered a knock-out performance of the role's best-known song ("Losing My Mind").
Regarding her early work, she was not nominated for GEORGE M! (for which she is still well remembered), but was nominated for the revival of ON THE TOWN (for which she is not so well remembered). And at least she was nominated for MACK AND MABEL (well remembered, and perhaps should have won). And she was also nominated for THE GOODBYE GIRL later in her career, for which perhaps she should not have been.
It seems that since SITPWG (and arguably since MAM), she has been a Broadway star of the first rank. Roles were written for her, revivals were built around her, and shows stayed open because of her. And yet, looking at her career, Tony has been fickle. And this year, the Tonys presented her with the Isabelle Stevenson Award, for which she is imminently qualified (Broadway Barks) and highly praised. But aren't these sort of awards given to people who are almost done with their charitable acts? I'm sure that she is far from done!
So, in retrospect, she didn't win for her roles in MACK AND MABEL and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and wasn't even nominated for roles in GEORGE M!, INTO THE WOODS, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and FOLLIES, all of which are shows with which she will forever be identified. Her wins for SONG AND DANCE and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are somewhat asterisked, in my view, though she was certainly fine enough in both, and clearly a star. And her nominations for ON THE TOWN, THE GOODBYE GIRL and GYPSY do seem somewhat peculiar, given some of the reception those shows received.
Or am I wrong? Is this the experience of every big star?
I mean, everyone loves her. She's Bernadette Peters! But her relationship to the Tony Awards (or rather, their relationship to her) just strikes me as very odd. Thoughts?
