Saw Bernadette tonight in concert in Buffalo with the BPO. She mentioned loving Buffalo and how she played back in 2008. She then proceeded to do the same schtick about trying to sell her house in Florida, which she did in 2008. She was amazing and totally killed, but do performers really not try to write new banter every year? Is it that hard. I was like, wtf. lol
Sad. Did she sing anything Mrs Lovett from Sweeney Todd?
No Sweeney Todd-it was the same show as last time with the addition of "In Buddy's Eyes" Losing My Mind" and "Send In The Clowns". So it had "Let Me Entertain You", "Fever," "Nothing Like A Dame" "Mr. Snow" "With So Little To Be Sure Of" "Being Alive" "When You Wish Upon A Star/A Dream Is A Wish""No One Is Alone" "Children Will Listen" "Kramer's Song". This time she left off "Some People" and "Youll Never Walk Alone" which were in her last concert.
Some performers very rarely change their banter (Streisand, for one). It's akin to certain comics who use certain bits in every show.
I was at last night's concert as well. While I found Ms. Peters to be delightful and in fine voice, I found the banter to be somewhat odd. She also indicated to the audience that she was preforming Fever for the first time, which according to your report of her prior setlist Bettyboy, simply wasn't true. Regardless, she remains an extraordinary entertainer, and I am thankful to have had the experience.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/17/10
She's been singing Fever "for the first time" since around 2005.
Updated On: 9/29/13 at 05:25 PM
She looked the best I've ever seen her look and she sounded amazing. I actually think she has finally settled into "Losing My Mind". I think she struggled during the Follies run but now it is her own.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Does Bernadette use "No One Is Alone" or "Children Will Listen" as her signature song? I always thought she should use "Time Heals Everything" as her signature song?
She should use "Move On" as her signature, but she seems to have removed that song from her setlist completely. It disappointed me a great deal that she skipped it and "Being Alive" when I saw her in New Orleans last December.
I always thought "Being Alive" was her signature song-she has sung it every time I have seen her.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
But her signature song should come from one of the roles she originated. And there are other people who sing "Being Alive" better than she does.
Broadway Star Joined: 10/15/06
Who sings it better?
Featured Actor Joined: 6/28/05
Nonsinger - Dean Jones.
I'm not surprised to hear she's recycling her stage banter, she's always done that. It think she told that fake Gypsy bio story for ages.
Anyone going to her show this Friday in Orange County? I may be misinterpreting an article in some local paper, but it sounds like she's playing with a small ensemble instead of with an orchestra. Truly disappointed. I know she's the main attraction, but I've seen her in concert a few times since the late 90s and whether it's an independent show or a Pops/symphony orchestra show, she's always played with an orchestra. It would be one thing if she were playing some intimate space like Below 54, but she's playing a concert hall built specifically for orchestras. Hope I got it wrong, but I don't think I did...
From the article:
"Peters will perform at the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Friday. Her inaugural performance will be accompanied by an ensemble comprising a piano, drums, bass and more."
Bernadette Peters Pre-concert Profile - The Daily Caller
So interestingly she came to Australia this week. There were three concerts in Sydney (at about a 1100 seat theatre), the first two were about 75-80% sold and the last one abysmal (maybe around 30-40%). Indeed, she has been telling the same jokes (including selling her house) for years and singing the same songs for even longer.
While I would throw away some of her songs immediately, particularly her awful rendition of "Let Me Entertain You", I must say I am absolutely convinced that "Bernadette Peters has no peer" in being able to sell vulnerability in a song. She acted the SH*T out of the FOLLIES songs and "Send in the Clowns", and was giving performances quite close to how she performed them on stage.
I've never heard any other performance of "In Buddy's Eyes" with an arc so clear that by the end of the song she is unhappy. Bernadette's "Losing My Mind" seems even more intensely depressing now than it was in the show. I realise people criticise the tears but it is just so thrilling to see her descend into a complete mess on stage. At one of the "You said you loved meeeee"s she repeated the word "me" under her breath and then stood there in a brief moment of silence before resuming the song. Self-indulgent to the extreme and I loved every single second of it!
Thanks qolbinau for sharing that info. Beautiful description... I could imagine being there and experiencing it first-hand. From my experience, Ms. Peters seems to be getting better and better as she gets older. Was not a fan of her Mama Rose or Sally Durant Plummer but thought she was excellent last year in Sondheim/Marsalis's "A Bed and a Chair."
Thanks qolbinau for sharing that info. Beautiful description... I could imagine being there and experiencing it first-hand. From my experience, Ms. Peters seems to be getting better and better as she gets older. Was not a fan of her Mama Rose or Sally Durant Plummer but thought she was excellent last year in Sondheim/Marsalis's "A Bed and a Chair."
Have seen Paul McCartney several times and he tells the same stories over again also.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
He's a chronic pot smoker so as far as he's concerned, he's telling those stories for the first time.
"He's a chronic pot smoker so as far as he's concerned, he's telling those stories for the first time."
LOL, but then how does he have any recollection of the past - just teasing
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