Bernadette in GYPSY
Bernadette in GYPSY
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Bernadette in GYPSY#0
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:31pm
What did you guys think of her as Rose in the recent revival? I loved her! She made me go back twice!!
FIRST TIME I SAW IT: Knocked me dead on my ass! I saw it in previews and she nailed every note, every comedic line, as well as every dramatic one. The scenes leading into Everythings Coming Up Roses and Roses Turn were bonechilling. She was frightening and loveable at the same time. I raced to the box office and bought tickets to another performance.
SECOND TIME I SAW IT: She was sick. She really should not have gone on. She was coughing the entire show and during Together, Wherever We Go, she began coughing and she just stopped singing. She was out of breath as well. Her acting was good but her singing was horrible and I felt so bad for her because she really went out there and tried to make the best of it. I was praying that Roses Turn wouldnt be a dud and it really wasnt. She was great during Roses Turn and gathered a standing ovation at the end of the show for being such a trouper.
THIRD AND FINAL TIME: The best performance I had seen her do as Rose. Everything's Coming Up Roses, Roses Turn, and Some People all got standing O's!! Her acting was phenomenal and her singing was perfection.
All in all, I adored Bernadette's portrayl of Rose. It was new and fresh (which upset many people who were used to the big brassy performances of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bette Midler, and of course the incomparable Ethel Merman.) She put Rose into a new and sexier light, showing that she wasnt always so mean and pushy. I loved her performance.
What did you guys think of it??
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#1
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:33pmShe definitely deserved the Tony over Marissa. Rose's Turn got a standing O when I went, also.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#2
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:33pmShe was horrendous. She was miscast and always ailing. This show lost alot of money and it was definitely one of the worst productons of this beloved musical I have ever seen.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#4
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:36pmTrue, she was sick quite a bit, but why do you think she was miscast? Her voice not being the typical Mama Rose sound?
Joined: 12/31/69
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#5
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:41pmI also thought it was a very bad producton of a great show. I love Bernadette; but she was no Mama Rose. In a talk at the DGA last year Arthur Laurents said her casting was a mistake he had nothing to do with and attributed the standing O's she was getting partially to the need of a audience to justify the cost of their theater ticket. He definitely was not a fan of this production
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Joined: 12/31/69
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#7
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:42pmI also want to add that he said it in a nice way and went on to say what a huge fan he was of Ms Peters.
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#8
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:46pm
I loved this production and Peters' interpretation of the role.
She was robbed of the Tony, no question.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#9
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:47pmNo she wasn't. She didn't even desreve to be nominated. It would have been a disgrace if she won.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#11
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:50pm
Seeing Marissa one night and Bernadette the very next night, I was completely blown away at the gap between the caliber of the performances, especially since Marissa had just won the Tony a month earlier.
Marissa was great, yes, but it was a no-brainer.
Bernadette deserved to win.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#13
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:51pm
theatermafia: My viewing her performance in a different light than you does not mean I am on drugs.
I came in expecting mediocrity, but she blew me away.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#14
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:53pmYou mean you thought Bernadettes constant clearing of her throat and hitting here mark rather mechanically, and elongating her words , and gasping for air vry audily between lyrics was all a great performance? Well i guess we disagree. And I guess the majority of the critics, and audience members that stayed away in droves disagreed with you.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#15
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:56pmOy priest. Let me guess; you probaly also liked FAME the musical? Gypsy was a embarrasment. The sooner this production is forgotten the better. Let it go. Updated On: 12/31/04 at 03:56 PM
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#16
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:57pmSaw her back in May on a school trip. One kid said she burped during the show but I didn't noticed. She did alot better in act Two and also got a standing O for "Roses Turn" but I think the star of that show was Juile Martell, who was Louise that day.
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#17
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:58pm
"And I guess the majority of the critics, and audience members that stayed away in droves disagreed with you."
Yes, they did. And I don't deny they did.
After all, the same critics and audience members loathed Pacific Overtures and that was the greatest experience I have had in a B'way theatre.
I dunno.
And perhaps I caught her on one of her best nights because she did not do any of those things when I saw her.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#18
Posted: 12/31/04 at 3:59pmWell I don't know about the burping thing. I mean the lady is a class act and a professional. I don't want to diss her. She was just miscast in this. Someone gave me the cast album. I find that even painful to listen too. She elongated her words like she was talking to a kindergarden class. This show was not her brightest moment.
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#19
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:00pm
"Let me guess; you probaly also liked FAME the musical?"
So, I disagree with you on one production and suddenly I am a shallow theatre-goer. That's ignorant.
It is all opinion. I just saw something in her performance that grabbed me, but I see how many people disliked it.
And for the record, Fame is a montrosity.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#20
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:02pm
Stick,
I don't think Mafia was infering you were shallow. But I am glad you hated Fame. And I am glad you enjoyed Gypsy. Good for you. Different strokes for different folks.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#21
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:03pm
Bernadette Peters is one of the finest actresses we have working on the stage today. Every show that doesn't have her in it is less for it.
Except GYPSY.
It was the worst case of miscasting I have ever seen. After waiting years to see this show live (since it is my favorite musical of all time), words can't even say how dissapointed I was. It just goes to show - Just because you want to play a character, doesn't mean you should.
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#22
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:29pmJust to add on to my post She was clearing her voice alot that day but only in the begining, It sounds like I got her one a good day. As I said about the burping thing I didn't noticed it, the student has been known to strech the truth a little bit. I am hoping to see Bernadtte in somthing in the near future. The main reason why we saw this show was my choir teacher is a huge Benadette Peters fan. From what I heard of it I thought I wasn't going to like it but I ending up enjoying it. But still I have only seen one production of Gypsy so I really can't compare Bernadtte to any of the other women who have played Mama Rose.
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#23
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:29pm
She sounded fantastic when I saw her a little over a year ago in the role. Her voice was crisp and clear, her acting was right on, and she was heartbreaking in her interpretation of Rose. I must admit, I do not care for the cast recording. She doesn't sound that good on it and the whole thing sounds as though it were recorded in a tunnel. Also, you can't tell someone they're wrong on their opinions. You can disagree, but you can't flat-out tell 'em they're wrong and you're right. Ahem, mafia.
But like you said, Dame, different strokes for different folks.
Updated On: 12/31/04 at 04:29 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/26/03
re: Bernadette in GYPSY#24
Posted: 12/31/04 at 4:34pmAll of you who really hated this production, I'd be curious to hear when saw saw it...whether it was in previews, or early in the run. Everyone I know who saw it early in the run or in preview hated it, but those who saw it later in it's run loved it. I'm thinking Ms. Peters grew into the role. I saw her a few months after opening and thought she was fantastic.
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