Posted: 6/20/18 at 9:41am
qolbinau said: "I honestly feel like crying sometimes when I think about how lucky we are to experience the performances of Bernadette Peters. This is what makes life worth living. The band was playing and and I’m going to be with the man that I love for the rest of my life. Oh dear lord isn’t it a wonder?"
I finally got to see Bernadette Peters this past Sunday, and so glad I did. What a natural for this role. You totally forget she's Bernadette Peters and honestly believe she's Dolly Levi. She struggled with her singing at times (especially "I Put My Hand In There"
where it sounded like she was trying to catch her breath at times, but by the end of Act 1, she was in full force - brought tears to my eyes when she sang 'Before The Parade Passes By'. At the end, when Horrace sings 'Hello Dolly' to her, you really believed they had fallen in love - there were tears and sniffles throughout the theater. What a memorable moment to treasure forever...so believable and tender. By the time of the final bows, you could feel the joy radiating from everyone in the cast (and Peters had tears in her eyes, as well).
As for the rest of the cast - Victor Garber was a pure delight. I think he was a little better than DHP. Gavin Creel - can he do anything wrong in this musical? My God, what a talent - so glad I caught his performance again. Same with Baldwin (and I liked the new Minnie better than the original one). As for Stemp, he was just magic, IMO.
So sad to see this show closing - if ever there was a musical which could make you forget the real world for a few hours, this is it....and boy do we need this today.
Thank you to everyone - especially you, qlobinal!!! - who recommended we all go to see Peters in the role (as I already saw Murphy, thanks to the advice here). Worth every penny.