Official Bernadette Peters in Hello, Dolly! performances thread — Page 20
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:40pm
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:41pm
Great review from Green. Like Green, I was also very touched by Bernadette's monologue before Parade and her delivery of the entire number. I can't wait to see how she's evolved in the role since her first week.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:48pm
The Hollywood Reporter is a Rave, and his opinion of Bernadette's performance is nearly verbatim of Green's, noting the tenderness and poignancy she brings to the role.
She pulls off another triumph here, infusing her Dolly Gallagher Levi with a pathos that, while making the character less a force of nature, makes her far more relatable. When her Dolly speaks to her dead husband Ephraim, such as when she implores him to let her go so she can get on with her life and be happy, it's not just a prelude to the big, first-act closing number "Before the Parade Passes By" but also a tearful plea from the heart.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/hello-dolly-1087158
Updated On: 2/22/18 at 08:48 PM
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:52pm
EW is another Rave, also noting the vulnerability she brings to Parade.
"When she’s alone, she softens, bringing out the widowed Dolly’s vulnerability. Peters’ unparalleled ability to act through song (she is a Sondheim staple, after all) is clearest in the Act 1 capper “Before the Parade Passes By,” which moves from mournful to jubilant as Dolly bounces back to life. Some Dollys seem like they’d be happier joining a stage show, but Peters crafts a woman who carries just enough grief that you actually believe she wants a happy ending with Horace Vandergelder."
http://ew.com/theater/2018/02/22/hello-dolly-bernadette-peters-broadway/
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:56pm
Another Rave from the Washington Post, again agreeing how heartfelt her Parade and conversations with Ephraim are.
With Peters, Dolly’s melodically wistful musings about not wanting the parade to pass her by — did any parade ever dare pass Midler by? — are more heartfelt. And her conversations with her late husband seem to emanate from a more poignant place; she really does seem to be pouring out her soul to him, and to us.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/02/22/its-a-jolly-dolly-day-on-broadway-with-bernadette-peters/?utm_term=.99acb055cb9d
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:00pm
Well this is all looking very positive.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:01pm
I love how they are all practically verbatim on Bernadette's poignancy and tenderness as Dolly. I was so touched by her entire delivery of Parade, I can't wait to see it again.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:01pm
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:07pm
I am so sad that I may never get to see her perform the role again - but yes her "Parade" (and lines leading up to it) were a highlight. It also was not overdone either as people are often afraid of with Bernadette.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:13pm
Posted: 2/22/18 at 9:18pm
ljay889 said: "EW is another Rave, also noting the vulnerability she brings to Parade.
"When she’s alone, she softens, bringing out the widowed Dolly’s vulnerability. Peters’ unparalleled ability to act through song (she is a Sondheim staple, after all) is clearest in the Act 1 capper “Before the Parade Passes By,” which moves from mournful to jubilant as Dolly bounces back to life. Some Dollys seem like they’d be happier joining a stage show, but Peters crafts a woman who carries just enough grief that you actually believe she wants a happy ending with Horace Vandergelder."
http://ew.com/theater/2018/02/22/hello-dolly-bernadette-peters-broadway/"
Loved this line from the review especially. It’s so true: “ she descends a staircase like she invented stairs.”
Posted: 2/22/18 at 10:30pm
Posted: 2/22/18 at 10:35pm
Posted: 2/22/18 at 10:41pm
I feel oddly so proud of Charlie Stemp! He was my very favorite part of my return to the show.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 10:53pm
It's so nice to have you back where you belong ~ Hello, Bernadette!






Updated On: 2/22/18 at 10:53 PM
Posted: 2/22/18 at 11:07pm
Bernadette has a career planned beyond "Dolly". I purchased a ticket to see her in concert in Los Angeles in January 2019. Note that the person who wrote this text seems to think she has already completed her Broadway stint. (And, can the woman wear a dress, or WHAT??!!)
https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/305/
Posted: 2/22/18 at 11:08pm
I didn't get to see Bette...but after seeing Bernadette I'm totally fine with that. She was stunning; bringing me to tears during Parade Passes by.. She seemed to be having so much fun and her subtle command of the role was inspiring. And Charlie Stemp was the most charming Broadway debut I've seen in a long time.
Posted: 2/22/18 at 11:42pm
Posted: 2/23/18 at 1:38am
GiantsInTheSky2 said: "I’m so glad that I saw her a week into performances. She does such a fantastic job with the role and I can’t wait to go back - something I definitely didn’t say after seeing Bette."
Please girl. It was because you couldn’t get a ticket. Beautiful reviews for Bernadette and the show. I hope now it gets a box office boost.
Posted: 2/23/18 at 8:00am
"It’s a gay Sophie’s Choice, and it’s happening on Broadway right now....
(Garber and Peters) have no chemistry whatsoever, and do not even attempt to magic some up. Peters’ Dolly seems a little too outside the universe of the musical around her, and Garber’s performance compares poorly to David Hyde Pierce’s engaging incarnation—he was both a match and foil for Midler—in the earlier production."
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bette-midler-is-a-better-dolly-than-bernadette-peters-review-of-hello-dolly?ref=home
Posted: 2/23/18 at 8:11am
"But here's the paradox: Both women understand that to play Dolly is to play yourself, and so the thread binding their performances is also what makes them unique"
Posted: 2/23/18 at 8:24am
blaxx said: "Never saw the show with Donna Murphy, did she get a standing ovation every time after the title song like Midler and Peters?"
I don't know about every time, but she definitely did when I saw her.
So happy for Bernadette getting such rave reviews (the Daily Beast excepted); makes me even more excited to be seeing her in the role next month!
Posted: 2/23/18 at 8:43am
Posted: 2/23/18 at 8:54am
"Never saw the show with Donna Murphy, did she get a standing ovation every time after the title song like Midler and Peters?"
I saw the show with Peters in her third week, and there was no standing ovation after the title song.
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