Bernadette Peters as Lovett - Will it EVER Happen?- Page 4

[binau]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 4:37pm

'Almost'...but I can't imagine Patti in a 'traditional' production (will I can, if the 2001 Concert DVD counts - and I don't want to imagine it any longer :P).


"No, this would be a very, very bad idea. Way beyond her abilities."

Do you really think so? I don't see how, besides one song (Worst Pies in London). I could imagine her being a little breathless in that song...but what else couldn't she handle? I mean I guess maybe it's not the individual songs so much as having the stamina to put them all together and give an energetic performance etc..she seems pretty fit though. She looks fitter than Patti LuPone who managed GYPSY..(her legs/armed seem pretty muscular and quite toned, so I guess inductively I'd claim she probably works out her whole body/'cardio' etc..)

I especially think "Wait" will suit her voice really well.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 4:48pm

I don't think it's "way beyond her talents," but I don't think it's the right fit. Victoria Clark is in really good shape, too, but I don't think she should play Mrs. Lovett. Not every performer is right for every role. It doesn't mean they're not talented, it means they're not a fit.

[binau]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 5:29pm

I hope it doesn't feel like I'm beating a dead horse (well I definitely am lol), but I thought I'd post possible 'updates' in case it does happen - it will be pretty cool to look back at the topic from a few years ago and see how it all began.

But Michael Bennett had a good idea that the future west end (2011) revival of Sweeney Todd could transfer to Broadway with Bernadette Peters.

In 2012/2013 Bernadette might be able to cope at 64/65, at least it would be her last chance. 7-8 years isn't that long since the Doyle revival but maybe with the film release there is a little more public interest in the show etc..

[binau]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 7:59pm

It has been almost 3 years since the original post, but here is a 3rd update:


Update #3 (3rd March, 2012): Well it's been a long time and the fanboyish pipe-dream continues but since the last update, Bernadette Peters has returned to Broadway twice in two leading Sondheim roles (in NIGHT MUSIC and FOLLIES) so it seems clear she still enjoys working. The Chicester Sweeney Todd has opened and closed and is about to open in the West End, and has just been recorded in the studio.

Apparently there is going to be a "Special Guest Star" in the summer. Perhaps Bernadette could make a temporary replacement for Staunton :P.

Michael Ball has expressed desire to come to Broadway with the production, although I assume Staunton who is praised in the role will come with him. This will be the last chance for Bernadette to ever play the role in London or New York if it transfers though.

Doesn't mean that Bernadette can't sing the role in a concert when she is 70 or play it somewhere regionally (although playing the role regionally seems beneath her). But this will be the last chance for her to play the role in London or in Broadway.

Updated On: 3/2/12 at 07:59 PM

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 8:03pm

If the show were to transfer to Broadway with Staunton and if she eventually had to leave due to prior commitments, Bernadette could be Staunton's replacement like she was Catherine Zeta-Jones' replacement in a 'A Little Night Music'.

Updated On: 3/2/12 at 08:03 PM

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 8:27pm

Do we have any vocal coaches/experts posting here? Because given all the reports of inconsistent vocals in FOLLIES, I am really skeptical that Peters can still sing Lovett.

Lansbury told me she basically did nothing but rest and save her voice while playing the part. She was 54.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 12:27am

Not a vocal coach or an expert, sorry Gaveston but I really think her Sally "issues" were more of a question of her having difficulty understanding the part than she did with the vocals. When I saw it in September, she was Bernadette Peters playing Sally Durant playing Bernadette Peters. She was basically a complete diva and stole the show/monopolized every ensemble number. Sally, I believe, is supposed to be much more contemplative, insecure, and reserved and she shouldn't be prancing around like a diva. That could have also been a director's choice, however, as it was clear they were so happy they had Bernadette that it was staged to be her show instead of Jan's.

Her "Losing My Mind" was brilliant when I first saw it but it was a bit off-putting since it was so inconsistent with the character she had played for the previous two hours on the stage. By January, almost all of these issues were solved and everything was clicking. Her "Losing My Mind" which was probably similar to when I saw it in September, when combined with her performance, was as emotionally poignant as it could be.

Since all this happened months after she had already been playing the role, I think the issue really isn't with stamina at all but rather an issue of character. She's in phenomenal shape, vocally and physically, and I think she could do a lot as Mrs. Lovett.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 12:45am

I am a Bernadette fan - but I really don't see her in this role. I never have. Her British accent is so awful. If people thought her Sally was overacted, imagine what they'd say about her Lovett?

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 4:42am

While I don't really see her in this role it isn't because of her accent. When was the last time she had to do a British accent? Aside from that, who says the role requires one? I know it is usually typical for both Lovett and Toby to have one, but no one else in the cast gives it much of a shot. I don't think I have ever seen a Sweeney, Joanna, or Anthony on Broadway or on tour do an accent. If this is the case, then Lovett doing the British accent is really as odd as a Madame Giry doing a french accent in Phantom while no one else does.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 5:48am

Her British accent in Song and Dance was laughably bad, and Mrs. Lovett is written as distinctly Cockney. Aside from that, I think she'd be marvelous as long as she had a strong director who would keep her potential overacting in check.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 10:31am

When was the last time she had to do a British accent? Aside from that, who says the role requires one?

She had to do one in 2010 for Night Music. Some critics noted how bizarre she sounded. And is your second question serious? Of course Mrs. Lovett requires an accent.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 11:42am

Her British accent was laughably bad...

...and yet she walked away with a Tony Award for that very role. Go figure.

[PennybankBill]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 12:47pm

I love that in the middle of this thread, it turned into "Patti LuPone is a fat pig." So trashy.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 4:56pm

Thanks for the response, broadwaydevil. Apparently I misunderstood the complaints here about Peters' singing in FOLLIES. I certainly don't think she's bad on the recording.

I do hope it wasn't the director's choice and they don't push Clark to do the same. Although a lot of people get "star" moments, FOLLIES is basically an ensemble show.

[binau]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 5:10pm

"I love that in the middle of this thread, it turned into "Patti LuPone is a fat pig." So trashy."

Assuming this was the comment I made you have to forgive me! I was a closeted 18 year old fan-boy back then and didn't know any better.


I don't know WHAT accent Bernadette was attempting in NIGHT MUSIC but I assume with more practice and coaching she'd be able to manage one. And I think RE: her voice (agan no expert of course), her ability to sing Lovett will come from fitness/stamina/intricate skills around the lyrics and rhythms rather than sheer vocal power and range, which is where I assume her apparent inconsistenty in FOLLIES came form (those songs in FOLLIES sound like they require more voice to me than anything in SWEENEY TODD).

Updated On: 3/3/12 at 05:10 PM

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 7:23pm

I don't have copies of the scores, but while Sally in FOLLIES may require more "pretty" singing, I doubt it's actually as difficult as Lovett in SWEENEY. Sally certainly doesn't sing so many solos, and some of Lovett's songs, such as BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA, get pretty rangy. Lovett's songs also require a lot of very quick jumps in range, which is why Lansbury used her head voice more than she did in previous shows, even including GYPSY.

I think. I admit I'm not a musician.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 3/3/12 at 11:49pm

Worst Pies in London is more physically demanding, in my view, than anything Sally sings in Follies. By the Sea also requires crazy range. Not While I'm Around is also difficult to pull off well from an emotional standpoint. I think that could actually be the toughest number for her.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 4:29am

That's what I thought, broadwaydevil. Thanks. (In her day, Lansbury was really an excellent musician, even though she never had what we would call a "pretty" vocal sound. I know from personal experience, however, that she not only knew exactly what she was doing vocally, but what every instrument in the orchestra was doing and why. Apparently she learned a lot from studying for ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and MAME.)

[binau]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 5:44am

I mean Worst Pies in London to me seems physically demanding because you have to sing complicated rhythms (e.g. the time signature changes often, there is syncopation, it is quick and there are a lot of fast complicated lyrics) so energetically.

But if Bernadette cannot sing this I don't think the issue will be in her voice. I know that e.g. broadwaydevil you did say you think she can handle the role so I probably will be beating a dead horse but I assume some people are still not convinced about her voice...

What I mean to say is I don't think Worst Pies in London requires a big voice in the sense of someone who can loudly sing a wide range sustained notes at the correct pitch, which FOLLIES does require and where I think people criticised Bernadette for/what I assume she was inconsistent with {I only saw her once, the first preview, and her voice sounded fine}. Imelda Staunton who is praised as Mrs Lovett, for example, does not have a big voice and often sounds like she is speaking rather than singing a lot of the song. I don't think she could begin to contemplate singing "Too Many Mornings" but manages "Worst Pies" just fine because it does not require her to have a 'big voice'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bExQa9nxY84

I guess my point is that if Bernadette can't sing "Worst Pies" it will be because she will not be able to hold her breath not because she doesn't have the voice, and that citing her vocal performance in FOLLIES won't help because that role requires different skills than Lovett. Of course, there are always ways to make it easier to sing too by reducing the tempo slightly or lowering the key (Indeed I can much easier imagine Bernadette singing the song like LuPone did on the revival cast recording compared to how Lansbury did it or now LuPone did it earlier in the Lonny Price concerts) .

And I assume Bernadette, an expert in vulnerability and emotionality (In Buddy's Eyes, Send in the Clowns, Rose's Turn, Anyone Can Whistle, I Won't Send Roses etc.) could handle "Not While I'm Around" with a bit of direction.

Updated On: 3/4/12 at 05:44 AM

[lotiloti]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 6:23am

Sondheim has already stated. He wants the 2012 London production, to transfer with Ball & Staunton intact. She has made the part her own, it will never be bettered !

[binau]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 6:26am

I thought I deleted grindr :P

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 9:34am

"Not While I'm Around" could certainly be good, thinking about it now, I actually think that may not be as difficult for her. You're absolutely right about "Worst Pies in London."

[NoHSMisNotAMusical]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 11:11am

I actually think Bernadette would be amazing as Lovett. Sondheim may want Imelda Staunton and the production to transfer but he is not a producer, and Sweeney Todd would probably need a star to convince tourists to see it.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/4/12 at 4:21pm

...citing her vocal performance in FOLLIES won't help because that role requires different skills than Lovett....

The above is probably the bottom line and it's my fault for mentioning the comparison in the first place. My bad, guys.

[binau]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 5:16pm

Update #4 (5th November, 2012). So, according to rumours on the West End board - the Sweeney Todd production with Ball and Imelda is not going to Broadway anymore because of the high upfront costs. So that avenue seems exhausted.

Bernadette said she'd return to Broadway in a recent interview she suggested it's a lot of work, but that she "loves it" and she'd return if the project was "irresistible".

http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/170837-DIVA-TALK-Tony-Winner-Bernadette-Peters-Chats-About-NJ-Concerts-Smash-Coming-Up-Roses/pg3

The plight continues..

----

Also, I apologise for some of my earlier posts in this thread. I feel I have evolved from a blind fanboy into a slightly more critical one since I started this thread three years ago. When I started this thread, I'd never seen Bernadette in a show (or any Broadway show, in fact), and I was younger and (more) stupid.

How gratifying it will be if this ever does happen. With the movie/a show known to the public, a theatre name (Bernadette Peters) who is active on Broadway and has perfect attendance, and the time since the last revival ever increasing, a Broadway revival doesn't seem as unsensible/risky now as it did three years ago.

Updated On: 11/4/12 at 05:16 PM