Official Bernadette Peters in Hello, Dolly! performances thread — Page 24

ACL2006 said: "Judging by it's grosses, the show seems to be doing well. Also, noticed at TKTS that the weekend shows are now only 30% off. Good for Peters!! Hoping to catch it & Peters next month."

It has varied. They start at 30 percent and as it gets closer to showtime it goes to 40 and then 50. This has been the case lately. I just revisited this last week and was disappointed in all the replacements. I will write in more detail when I am home next week as I am traveling with only a iPhone.

DAME said: "ACL2006 said: "Judging by it's grosses, the show seems to be doing well. Also, noticed at TKTS that the weekend shows are now only 30% off. Good for Peters!! Hoping to catch it & Peters next month."

It has varied. They start at 30 percent and as it gets closer to showtime itgoes to 40 and then 50. This has been the case lately. I just revisited this last week and was disappointed in all the replacements. I will write in more detail when I am home next week as I am traveling with only a iPhone."

I was disappointed as well. For me there are a lot of people wearing rose colored glasses while viewing Bernadette. I am looking forward to,your detailed review.

Jealous, @Flowerlovestage5! The star's a beauty!

Does anyone know definitively when shows stop collecting for Easter Bonnet? If I'm back in NYC I may try to snag a business card or something.

goldenboy said: "Saw it today. Sunday the Matinee. Have seen this production four times with Donna, Bette and now Bernadette.

To answer the AllyMauzey question... Ally was much better as Ernestina then Jennefir Simard who always seemed uncomfortable in the role . Ally seems to be having a blast.

I thought Bernadette was the best Dolly of the three. Bernadette as Dolly was fighting for her second and last chance in life and her performance of the Before the Parade Passes By moved me like no other Dolly. (including Channing and Pearl Bailey)I never had tears during this number before. I was moved and was crying. Bernadettehad all the humor of the other two plus the added vulnerability that made you love Dolly like you never loved her before.

Bernadette brings heart to the role that every other lady I have ever seen has lacked in the role. Her Dolly is fighting for her second and last chance at life.

Don't miss Bernadette in the role. A revelation."

I call complete BS on the above review . And I don’t mean that as a slam on Bernadette. She is fine. Actually she is wonderful and steals wonderful moments from many previous Dolly’s.

Updated On: 4/1/18 at 09:36 PM

DAME said: "When did you go DP?"

April 1st matinee

DAME said: "goldenboy said: "Saw it today. Sunday the Matinee. Have seen this production four times with Donna, Bette and now Bernadette.

To answer the AllyMauzey question... Ally was much better as Ernestina then Jennefir Simard who always seemed uncomfortable in the role . Ally seems to be having a blast.

I thought Bernadette was the best Dolly of the three. Bernadette as Dolly was fighting for her second and last chance in life and her performance of the Before the Parade Passes By moved me like no other Dolly. (including Channing and Pearl Bailey)I never had tears during this number before. I was moved and was crying. Bernadettehad all the humor of the other two plus the added vulnerability that made you love Dolly like you never loved her before.

Bernadette brings heart to the role that every other lady I have ever seen has lacked in the role. Her Dolly is fighting for her second and last chance at life.

Don't miss Bernadette in the role. A revelation."

I call complete BS on the above review . And I don’t mean that as a slam on Bernadette. She is fine. Actually she is wonderful and steals wonderful moments from many previous Dolly’s."

Not sure how far you are off from his assessment, based on your last sentence. Remember, individuals' opinions are often different. I have not seen BP yet, but I have seen Channing multiple times, Bailey several times, Rogers, Grable, Merman, Midler, Murphy and a couple of others best forgotten, and I think Murphy is the best Dolly I have seen. Who knows how much of that opinion is based on how much I have essentially loved Murphy in everything in which I have ever seen her, compounded by my slight disappointed with Midler, who was definitely having a low energy night when I saw her (only once). If my opinion is not a majority opinion, it is absolutely my opinion, just as Golden Boy's is his.

goldenboy said: "I don't know how you can call someone's opinion BS when its their opinion. What an odd comment. So I am going to give you MY OPINION on the Dolly's I've seen simply because I like to express my thoughts. And it will seem as if I have no life other than to see many productions of Hello Dolly and other theatre.



Bette was fine as Dolly. She played Bette playing Bette as Dolly and never once did I think she was a real character. She brought star power which in itself is exciting. After all she is Bette Midler . She brought a sense of push and aggressiveness to the role that was uniquely Bette. And she was fun.

I thought Bette was buoyed by the fantastic physical production around her and the wonderful actors around her: Kate Baldwin, David Hyde Pierce,, Gavin Creel etc. Don't get me wrong I had a blast with Bette's Dolly But it was Bette...not Dolly. Frankly LuPone and Ebersole gave better performances in War Paint. They played real people. I'm not surprised that "star power" trumped the Tony. It was exciting to have Bette on Broadway.

Bette reminded me of Ethel Merman in the role. (going back to my 14 year old memory) While it was nice to see Merman in the role, it was a star turn more than an acting feat. You always knew it was Ethel and not Dolly. She put on the dress; she sang the songs; it was thrilling to see Ethel on a stage. But you never really believed she was Dolly. But you still had a damn good time even though the show seemed a tad tired at that point. This was my first Dolly. Exciting for sure but certainly not the best.

Donna Murphy was damned good as Dolly. And I sang her praises. She sang the role better than all of the other current Dolly's. She danced the role better than all of the other Dolly's Donna brought a sense of intelligence to the role which I didn't realize was a slight handicap until I saw Bernadette. Her Dolly was a smarty and you always knew she would get her man.

And I had a blast watching Donna as Dolly. Donna is a consummate performer. Her Wonderful Town performance was a delight. I would see Donna in anything... except maybe in Sondheim's Passion which was a show that puts this writer to sleep. . (This is probably the place where you can insert BS simply because you don't agree with me)

Bernadette (who was so painfully miscast as Rose in Gypsy) was a revelation as Dolly. She did something that I have never seen any other Dolly do.

She was real and raw in the emotional moments.

I believed she was a woman fighting for her second chance and she brought tears to my eyes during Before the Parade Passes by and when she spoke to her dead husband. I have never seen an actress in Hello Dolly so desperately fighting for a second chance at life and to want a sign so desperately from her departed husband.

That plea for a second chance was so real. So amazingly real. That vulnerability mixed with humor and comic timing made Bernadette hit Dolly out of the park like no one else I have ever seen.

I never never had a tear in my eye from any other Dolly....not with Channing (who I saw in a later revival)Merman, Streisand, Lee Roy Reams ( don't get me started on that one) or Pearl Bailey. Overall in term of humor, vulnerability, commitment to the role, acting, song interpretation she was hands down the best Dolly I have ever seen. And one of the best your likely to ever see.

In sum, it seems as if I need a life. It seems as if I spend all my time watching performances of Hello Dolly and expressing myself in opinions here.

What I really need is a date... no a second chance at life. An oak leaf just fell out of my bible but an oak leaf without color.

Anyone interested (well not just anyone.. I am a discerning Virgo but IM me with a picture and requests) in dating an athletic, theatre loving, handsome 50 something gay man? Before the Parade Passes By? Being a half millionaire couldn't hurt.

"

This is one of my favorite posts on the board.

Jarethan said: "DAME said: "goldenboy said: "Saw it today. Sunday the Matinee. Have seen this production four times with Donna, Bette and now Bernadette.

To answer the AllyMauzey question... Ally was much better as Ernestina then Jennefir Simard who always seemed uncomfortable in the role . Ally seems to be having a blast.

I thought Bernadette was the best Dolly of the three. Bernadette as Dolly was fighting for her second and last chance in life and her performance of the Before the Parade Passes By moved me like no other Dolly. (including Channing and Pearl Bailey)I never had tears during this number before. I was moved and was crying. Bernadettehad all the humor of the other two plus the added vulnerability that made you love Dolly like you never loved her before.

Bernadette brings heart to the role that every other lady I have ever seen has lacked in the role. Her Dolly is fighting for her second and last chance at life.

Don't miss Bernadette in the role. A revelation."

I call complete BS on the above review . And I don’t mean that as a slam on Bernadette. She is fine. Actually she is wonderful and steals wonderful moments from many previous Dolly’s."

Not sure how far you are off from his assessment, based on your last sentence. Remember, individuals'opinions are often different. I have not seen BP yet, but I have seen Channing multiple times, Bailey several times, Rogers, Grable, Merman, Midler, Murphy and a couple of others best forgotten, and I think Murphy is the best Dolly I have seen. Who knows how much of that opinion is based on how much I have essentially lovedMurphy in everything in which I have ever seen her, compounded by my slightdisappointed withMidler, who was definitely having a low energy night when I saw her (only once). If my opinion is not a majority opinion, it is absolutely my opinion, just as Golden Boy's is his."

What I mean is that I don’t believe GB was giving a honest review .. more like a shill. I’ll write my thoughts this weekend as I am still traveling and on my cell.I didn’t mean to restart the whole Donna vs Bette vs everyone else thing . It so stupid. So happy the show continues to bring joy.

I think it's a weakness of the musical that the role is written so that basically your favorite diva will be your favorite Dolly. The show has no depth and so the whole show is about watching your favorite put on that red dress and walk down those stairs. So it tends to bring about a confirmation bias.

"I love Carol Channing so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"

"I love Ethel Merman so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"

"I love Pearl Bailey so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"

"I love Bette Midler so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"

"I love Donna Murphy so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"

"I love Bernadette Peters so she was the most amazing Dolly ever!"


Real musical theater roles with actual meat on the bones (instead of fluff) won't have this issue. For instance I can love a singer to death but think she'd be all wrong for Eliza/Mama Rose/Anna Leonowens/Elphibaba/Mrs. Lovett and so on and so forth. But Dolly is all about diva fetish/worship.