Official Bernadette Peters in Hello, Dolly! performances thread — Page 17

I am younger than 18 and I adore Hello, Dolly! My mom is a big Bette fan (I know her from Hocus Pocus like how Zamedy said) and she introduced me to the revival. I am familiar with Bernadette from Sunday and Gypsy, and I am looking forward to seeing her on my trip to the US this summer. However, I think the appeal of the show for other young fans my age who aren't familiar with Bette, Donna, Bernadette is/was Gavin, Taylor, and Charlie. Teens my age usually flock to a show/gain interest in a show because of a cast member they think is attractive, like those 3 or Isaac from OOTI. I wish younger people my age were more open to giving the show a chance, though! But to each their own

"Jarethan's wrote: I am not shocked in the least. Let's face it: what is there in Hello, Dolly! that is going to appeal to those who think things like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Book of Mormon, Waitress, etc. are great musicals?"

Also... Spongebob is my absolute favorite musical and I still love Dolly.

Updated On: 2/8/18 at 08:51 AM

Young people are hardly exposed to Bette's culture because: one, they don't listen to her music, and two, she's a total diva unlike Donna Murphy, who would be so kind and spend ten minutes with each of her fans waiting outside. Don't get me wrong, I am in my 20s and I adore Bette, but a lot of my peers seem to enjoy the stars they can get "personal" with.

A strayed question: are the producers of Hello Dolly keeping the lead actresses from doing stage door? Bette did some in the first several months and stopped, and when I went to see Donna's performance, the security kept telling us Donna was not coming out (but of course she did after an hour or so). Now Bernadette is not doing stage door either. I wonder if this is their selling strategy, to keep the leads in mystery?

Saw this the other night, and it's still great fun. Peters and Garber are still rather tentative and not entirely mastering lines and lyrics yet (even after a decent rehearsal period and two weeks of performances...). The role really doesn't play to Peters' strengths, and her voice seems to be in rather bad shape, with several instances of cracking and aborted sustained notes. Her Act II food schtick gets only mild laughter. Garber seems to be imitating Hyde Pierce imitating Walter Matthau; it's clear that he could be much much better, but perhaps he isn't inspired yet to find his way. They both seem, sadly, not merely old, but tired as well.

The real find of the cast replacements is Charlie Stemp as Barnaby, who has been given additional dance sequences, and sings, dances, and acts so beautifully that Gavin Creel fades into the backdrop in their scenes together. If a producer brought his Half A Sixpence over from the UK, if it might well start him on his way to US celebrity. Kate Baldwin and Jennifer Simard continue to excel in their roles.

bwayphreak234 said: "I think there is a problem with young people only enjoying the stars they can get "personal" with. Broadway stars are not required to engage with fans and get "personal" with them via social media or at the stage door, and if that is impacting anyone's view of them as a performer, that's a problem."

I would agree that some young theatergoers think of theater as a live concert, or even worse, comic conventions. They see performances but think of stage door more important than the show itself. I think it's probably because my generation grew up with TVs and movies, but never theaters.

It's interesting to me that most of the peers I talked to all enjoyed Donna's performance better, (probably because the market price was just horrifying to young adults) because they never knew how big Bette is. Bernadette, on the other hand, is somewhat famous through television (SMASH, Mozart In The Jungle), and I do know some peers who liked her. But to pay hundreds to see her in person? Probably no.

I always think the show is designed for old-fashion theater lovers. The producers never thought of pleasing the young audiences. But it was surprising for me to find out Bernadette is not selling well. I saw her twice: her first performance and one the week after that, she was magnificent.

I do hope they do a Bernadette program, or even better, a Bernadette CD. That would be awesome.

Updated On: 2/9/18 at 05:18 PM

qolbinau said: "$89? You'll likely get better seats for the same cost if you go to TKTS for a weekday performance."

Indeed! I snagged a 6th Row Center Orchestra Seat for $89 at TKTS Wednesday night!

Updated On: 2/9/18 at 08:06 PM

Hello, Bernadette!





by Ken Fallin

It really is ugly.

I am curious what you think they could have done, other than hiring someone much younger (and known by a younger audience)to play Dolly?

"RUSH TICKETS!!" Says all the young peeps.

From the bottom of my heart, I think this is a show with very limited variations production-wise. I can see it with a hundred different Dollys but ends up with the same effect. The costume, set, lighting... everything is old-fashioned and predictable. It started in 1960s with a periodical style our generation was never involved with, and I think all the productions in the future will stay that way. But who knows? Maybe a different interpretation will attract a lot of young theater professionals. I do think if they change a bit with the commercials and overall graphic design, it may give a completely different impression to the young folks.

Also interestingly, I found a lot of my peers not able to enjoy the story itself. To be honest, I didn't really care about the story overall, it was a perfectly done and choreographed performance, and the star power was more important than anything else. Maybe the plot might be another reason why the show is not popular among the young ones.

newintown said: "Saw this the other night, and it's still great fun. Peters and Garber are still rather tentative and not entirely mastering lines and lyrics yet (even after a decent rehearsal period and twoweeks of performances...). The role really doesn't play to Peters' strengths, and her voice seems to be in rather bad shape, with several instances of cracking and aborted sustained notes. Her Act II food schtick gets only mild laughter. Garber seems to be imitating Hyde Pierce imitating Walter Matthau; it's clear that he could be much much better, but perhaps he isn't inspired yet to find his way. They both seem, sadly, not merely old, but tired as well.”



Ouch! When is the official opening?

Updated On: 2/10/18 at 12:21 AM

Storkish said: "I am curious what you think they could have done, other than hiring someone much younger (and known by a younger audience)to play Dolly?

"RUSHTICKETS!!" Says all the young peeps.

From the bottom of my heart, I think this is a show with very limited variations production-wise. I can see it with a hundred different Dollys but ends up with the same effect. The costume, set, lighting... everything is old-fashioned and predictable. It started in 1960s with a periodical styleour generation was never involved with, and I think all the productions in the future will stay that way. But who knows? Maybe a different interpretation will attract a lot of young theater professionals. I do think if they change a bit with the commercials and overall graphic design, it may give a completely differentimpression to the young folks.

Also interestingly, I found a lot of my peers not able to enjoy the story itself. To be honest, I didn't really care about the story overall, it was a perfectly done and choreographed performance, and the star power was more important than anything else. Maybe the plot might be another reason why the show is not popular among the young ones.


I guess that I can see that. My 67 year old wife, who has only seen the show 4 times in 46 years (1 Merman, 2 Channing 'revivals', 1 Midler -- a pretty impressive group if you are only going to see it 4 times) told me after seeing it with Midler (who she loved) that I could skip getting her tickets for any future performances because she was 'all Dollied out', and that it was just too old-fashioned for her. I should also point out that she hates She Loves Me (which I consider sacrilege), for the same reason. In this respect, I have periodically dismissed her as a Philistine; i will have to reassess that and conclude that she is just very young for her chronological years.

Storkish said: "Young people are hardly exposed to Bette's culture because: one, they don't listen to her music, and two, she's a total diva unlike Donna Murphy, who would be so kind and spend tenminutes with each of her fans waiting outside. Don't get me wrong, I am in my 20s andI adore Bette, but a lot of my peers seem to enjoy the stars they can get "personal" with.

A strayed question: are the producers of Hello Dolly keeping the lead actresses from doing stage door? Bette did some in the first several months and stopped, and when I went to see Donna's performance, the security kept telling us Donna was not coming out (but of course she did after an hour or so). Now Bernadette is not doing stage door either. I wonder if this is their selling strategy, to keep the leads in mystery?



"

Well, it's all about "your" generation and the stage door madness. Only it's not. Really. I find all that extremely presumptuous. I don't know what a "strayed" question is :)

In another post, I don't know what a periodical style is either. The style of a magazine? Theater is not only about the current generation, although the pandering these days to same is a little nauseating.