BP in Song and Dance...

[bwguyhottie]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:54pm

so after reading that Margo Channing felt that BP gave an amazing vocal peformance in S and Dance...I downloaded "unexpected song" to my itunes.

wow.

I have always been a fan of ms. peters, but before it always that she 'acted through song', this is the most, i guess..."pleasant" i hae herad her voice.

did anyone see the show. what was it about?

[eyeonbroadway]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 5:28pm

Not sure from your post whether you liked Unexpected Song with BP or not... Personally, I think the Song and Dance cast recording of her Unexpected Song is awful...maybe because it's one of my favorite songs and she sounded so tired and shrill on it. I love the rest of the cast recording, though, and, if you've read anything that Margo had to say about it, BP's actual performance was amazing. I never saw the show, but I believe the name comes from the fact that the first act was all sung and the second act was all danced. You get no sense of what the second act was about from the cast recording, but the first act is about an English girl who comes to America to be with a guy she met and to ultimately get her green card and design hats. The show depicts her move from guy to guy and her gradual change from being "used" to being a "user". It's all Bernadette and you must hear this recording to appreciate what she can bring to a role.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 5:35pm

s and d is two acts: one song, one dance (surprise surprise)... the first is a one woman show about an english girl who moves to america and all her forays in the new country... the second act is a ballet (i'm not sure about what since i didn't see it performed)... andrew lloyd webber rewrote some of the first act and produced a new version of just that called "tell me on a sunday" last year in london... it got rave reviews, as did peters in the original... i hope that helps some...

[bwguyhottie]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 5:41pm

i loved it so much...

i've heard parts of tell me on a sunday and loved that as well

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 9:31pm

I believe that "Tell Me On A Sunday" came first and then ALW expanded it into "Song & Dance"

[Glebb]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 12:07am

I saw the original Broadway cast of SONG AND DANCE. I think Peter Martins (Artistic Director of New York City Ballet) did the choreography for Act II. Also I think a young Scott Wise, fresh out of the Joffrey School was one of the dancer/gymnasts.

It was many moons ago that I saw SONG AND DANCE, but if I remember correctly it was my opinion that Ms. Peters was having difficulties. She was hitting all the notes and she was powerful but I remember thinking her voice didn't sound well.

Naturally I loved her any how.

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 12:33am

Naturally.

[Glebb]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 12:34am

:)

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:52am

I've never understood why BP in Song and Dance is so popular. The accent in partiuclar is appalling, and her singing voice sounds a bit tired. I have to say that I never saw her in the show and have no problems with her on other recordings, but apart from the amazing last track (which IMO is stunning), I never listen to the CD

If you want a good recording of Song and Dance, get the Original London cast - it was recorded live on the opening night and has the original lead Marti Webb who is excellent. It also has the second act on a second disk, which was expanded from the original Variations album. The only downside is it was produced before Unexpected Song was put into the show, so that melody is used for a much weaker finale song 'When you want to fall in love'.

[lvpblues]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 4:53am

The recording of Unexpected Song on the OBC is rather pallid. I much prefer listening to her live performance of the song in "Hey, Mr. Producer". Better sung and nothing shrill.

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 5:12am

i guess me and bwayguyhottie are the only ones that really love bernadette's rendition of "unexpected song" on the OBC of "Song and Dance". i think she did an amazing job.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 8:30am

Thisshow was when Ms. Peters'infamous vocal problems first became apparent. Forbidden Broadway parodied her with the song "See Me On A Monday" because if you came later in the week, her voice would be shot.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 9:55am

I have a question. I know the Live London recording with Marti Webb (Brilliant, I tell you. Brilliant) is called SONG AND DANCE because it combined Webber's TELL ME ON A SUNDAY (First Act) and his VARIATIONS (Second Act). But, the show that BP did was just TELL ME ON A SUDAY, right? Was there a "Dance" portion?

[moljul]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 10:45am

Yes the Bernadette Peters version of Song and Dance did include a "Dance" portion. "Song" was the first act which was Bernadette all alone playing the role of Emma. "Dance" was the second act which was the story of Joe (one of Emma's boyfriends from the first act whom you never saw in the first act) and how he dealt with losing her and realizing he wanted her back. Bernadette came back toward the end of the 2nd act and you see the reconcilation of Emma and Joe.

The cast album is not the greatest production. Yes, Bernadette sounds a bit tired as she apparently recorded the entire album in one day on her only day of vocal rest from the show. The show itself is an amazing feat for any actress and I think deservedly won Bernadette her first Tony. The range of emotions that the actress must go through and then just the feat of singing for an hour (there are really no spoken lines), well from that perspective, its a great album to listen to. It's too bad that they weren't able to split the recording up over a few days to get a better vocal representation of what she did on stage.

That being said the recording quality of the album is also poor. The sound levels are constantly changing so much that the listener has to constantly adjust the volume of the Cd player. When I originally heard the album I also thought Bernadette had a terrible diction problem. It took several listening to understand some lines and I never really got others. Then I was able to watch the Lincoln Center Collections tape and realized the diction problem was actually the quality of the recording. On the video she had perfect diction and all sorts of "mystery phrases" became clear. It's just a real shame they didn't put more into this album on so many levels.

If you ever get a chance to watch the tape of it, I definitely recommend it. You will without a doubt come away with an admiration for Miss Peters abilities as an actress and probably a better appreciation for the show. It's not the best thing Lloyd Webber wrote and has a very distinctive 80s feel but there are several really lovely songs. And the last part of Act I when Joe leaves Emma - well its a site to behold. Bernadette gets a brief curtain call at the end of act one though when the curtain rises she is still bawling her eyes out.

[QueenS]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 10:58am

S&D was such an amazing show to see onstage. The first act was so captivating, not only due to BP's vocals which were flawless the night I saw it, but due to her strength as an actress. What she pulled of was quite exemplary. Though she is the only person on stage, she "shares" the stage with other characters. By intermission, I was stunned that through her "interaction" with those characters, she brought them to life in such a way that I had vivid images of them in my head.

The second act was, until the very end, told only in dance. It is the story of the third man in her life (and her true love, the one she sings "Unexpected Song" about). His story picks up right after he has walked out on her. Through dance, it conveys his journey through NYC life, the exciting nightlife and his fleeting relationships with other women--which ultimately leave him empty. Eventually, we see the hat designs BP had been working on in Act I become popular and her eventual rise to success. He returns to her, but she refuses him--having been hurt by him before. Ultimately, though, she gives in to love and the final number of the show brings them together in both song and dance.

In addition to Scott Wise, the second act also featured Gregg Burge, Charlotte D'Amboise (and brother Christopher as the lead) and Cynthia Onrubia.

[moljul]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 11:03am

"In addition to Scott Wise, the second act also featured Gregg Burge, Charlotte D'Amboise (and brother Christopher as the lead) and Cynthia Onrubia."

As well as Valerie Wright who would work with Bernadette again as Dolly Tate in Annie Get Your Gun. Maureen Moore, who was the standby for Bernadette's Rose in Gypsy was also her standby in Song and Dance. And due to the strain of the role vocally, mentioned earlier in this thread (See me on a Monday though I think the lyric was actually See me on a Tuesday), Maureen went on several times as Emma. In fact, Bernadette thanks Maureen in her Tony acceptance speech.

[Chip1012]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 4:57am

I was fortunate to see the lincoln center tape and its breathtaking. Unfortunately though, I accidently hit "next selection" instead of next tape (to continue watching the show) so it cut right into my next viewing of "Annie Get Your Gun" and I was unable to go back to see the rest of Song & Dance. Someday I'll have to go back and do so.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:07pm

Gleeb u are right re Peter Martins. He liked the $$ but not the experience but I think he wanted to prove something vis a vis Jerome Robbins.

[Sant]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 9:07am

Sorry to say this, but I think BP's version of the wonderful "Unexpected Song" is absolutely dreadful! I'm not a big fan of her voice anyway, but that one is a stinker! If you want to hear a brilliant version of this song try finging Meredith Braun's (the original London's Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard) version of it - and you'll hear it the way it's supposed to be sung, in the original key and all. It can be found on "Andrew Lloyd Webber Classic Songs" compilation cd.