Valentina3 said: "Mr. Nowack said: "Would a star, near-legend, of Bernadette's status really take such a position?"
I love her just as much as the next queen (probably more, I still cry whenever I listen to "Hang The Moon"
, but she's hardly a legend outside of theater community.
In the last 70 years, exactly what Broadway female musical stars were 'a legend outside of the theatre community'? I can't think of anyone other than, maybe Angela Lansbury (and, despite her amazing portfolio, that is mostly due to the success / duration of Murder She Wrote at a certain age)..
I guess that Ethan Merman would qualify, since her music was the popular music in those days, but she certainly was not a movie legend or a TV legend. If Broadway didn't exist, no-one would have heard of Mary Martin, whose national fame was made by Peter Pan. Outside of Broadway / Broadway show tours, she was almost a two hit wonder: Peter Pan and the show with Ethel Merman. She was a Broadway legend. Period. Same for Carol Channing, who was certainly well known, but mainly for touring with Hello Dolly. One Oscar nomination doesn't qualify.
Bernadette is better known outside of the theatre community than, dare I say, Patti Lupone or Audra MacDonald or Chita Rivera or Sutton Foster or...
My point is that there are arguably maybe two, and one is dead, one is 90.