| Author | Message: "Best On Stage" article | Posted by: StageTS
On: 6/2/1999 at 8:50:49 PM GMT
Message #: 1369
See headers | Hey, all!
Thought you might want to see this article I got from the Associated Press.
Enjoy!
Tim
Bernadette Peters: Best on Stage
.c The Associated Press
By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
NEW YORK (AP) -- She is a throwback to the days of Merman and Martin,
Channing and Verdon. Bernadette Peters demonstrates in ``Annie Get Your Gun''
why she is a star who shines best on stage.
In an age when television or pop recording stars are regularly thrown on
Broadway to help shore up sagging box-office receipts, Peters sells tickets
on the strength of her performing in front of an audience -- not on what she
does in film, on television or on CD.
No wonder she is the odds-on favorite to capture her second Tony Award Sunday
night for her portrayal of Annie Oakley in the current revival of the 1946
Irving Berlin musical.
Peters took a risk, accepting a role so closely identified with Merman. Yet
she seized those great Berlin songs -- including ``Doin' What Comes
Natur'lly,' ``They Say It's Wonderful,'' ``Anything You Can Do'' and
particularly ``Lost in His Arms'' -- and made them her own.
What makes Peters a star, much like the four other women mentioned above, is
her uniqueness. You can't duplicate her.
Not her looks -- that peaches-and-cream complexion; that massive mountain of
curls, threatening to overwhelm her petite frame, or that kewpie doll-chorus
girl smile, suggesting saucy rather than sinful.
And not her voice, able to negotiate the soaring melody of a Berlin ballad or
the intricate lyrics of a Sondheim song such as ``It's Hot Up Here,'' the
tongue-twisting opening number of ``Sunday in the Park With George.''
There's a vulnerability to her playfulness -- in song and performance -- that
makes audiences want to cheer her on.
Critics and audiences first took notice of Peters in 1968 in the off-Broadway
musical spoof ``Dames at Sea,'' in which she played a character modeled after
Ruby Keeler.
There have been flops as well as hits -- a one-night musical wonder called
``La Strada'' (based on the Fellini film) and a revival in 1971 of ``On the
Town,'' in which she played Hildy, the taxicab driver.
Peters never really cut it on television. Quick, do you remember her series,
``All's Fair''? Or even in the movies, where her best film, ``Pennies From
Heaven,'' was more of a cult hit than a popular success.
But Peters has had the fortune to have worked with three of the biggest
composers of the last 35 years -- Jerry Herman, Sondheim (twice) and Andrew
Lloyd Webber.
It was Lloyd Webber who refashioned ``Song & Dance'' for her, the show that
first demonstrated her box office appeal, and for which she won her first
Tony. Although the reviews were not great, Peters kept the show alive on
Broadway for a year. Two weeks after she left, the musical closed.
Barbra Streisand hasn't been on Broadway in 35 years. Fans are still waiting
for Bette Midler to appear in a new stage musical. Only Peters perseveres,
underlining what it means to be a Broadway star.
AP-NY-06-02-99 1333EDT
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
| | Author | Message: Re: "Best On Stage" article | Posted by: bluedenim
On: 6/2/1999 at 9:45:06 PM GMT
Message #: 1370
See headers | What an awesome article Thanks Tim for sending
that!!! -Eric
--- StageTS@a... wrote:
> From: StageTS@a...
>
> Hey, all!
>
> Thought you might want to see this article I got
> from the Associated Press.
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Tim
>
>
> Bernadette Peters: Best on Stage
>
> .c The Associated Press
>
> By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
>
> NEW YORK (AP) -- She is a throwback to the days of
> Merman and Martin,
> Channing and Verdon. Bernadette Peters demonstrates
> in ``Annie Get Your Gun''
> why she is a star who shines best on stage.
>
> In an age when television or pop recording stars are
> regularly thrown on
> Broadway to help shore up sagging box-office
> receipts, Peters sells tickets
> on the strength of her performing in front of an
> audience -- not on what she
> does in film, on television or on CD.
>
> No wonder she is the odds-on favorite to capture her
> second Tony Award Sunday
> night for her portrayal of Annie Oakley in the
> current revival of the 1946
> Irving Berlin musical.
>
> Peters took a risk, accepting a role so closely
> identified with Merman. Yet
> she seized those great Berlin songs -- including
> ``Doin' What Comes
> Natur'lly,' ``They Say It's Wonderful,'' ``Anything
> You Can Do'' and
> particularly ``Lost in His Arms'' -- and made them
> her own.
>
> What makes Peters a star, much like the four other
> women mentioned above, is
> her uniqueness. You can't duplicate her.
>
> Not her looks -- that peaches-and-cream complexion;
> that massive mountain of
> curls, threatening to overwhelm her petite frame, or
> that kewpie doll-chorus
> girl smile, suggesting saucy rather than sinful.
>
> And not her voice, able to negotiate the soaring
> melody of a Berlin ballad or
> the intricate lyrics of a Sondheim song such as
> ``It's Hot Up Here,'' the
> tongue-twisting opening number of ``Sunday in the
> Park With George.''
>
> There's a vulnerability to her playfulness -- in
> song and performance -- that
> makes audiences want to cheer her on.
>
> Critics and audiences first took notice of Peters in
> 1968 in the off-Broadway
> musical spoof ``Dames at Sea,'' in which she played
> a character modeled after
> Ruby Keeler.
>
> There have been flops as well as hits -- a one-night
> musical wonder called
> ``La Strada'' (based on the Fellini film) and a
> revival in 1971 of ``On the
> Town,'' in which she played Hildy, the taxicab
> driver.
>
> Peters never really cut it on television. Quick, do
> you remember her series,
> ``All's Fair''? Or even in the movies, where her
> best film, ``Pennies From
> Heaven,'' was more of a cult hit than a popular
> success.
>
> But Peters has had the fortune to have worked with
> three of the biggest
> composers of the last 35 years -- Jerry Herman,
> Sondheim (twice) and Andrew
> Lloyd Webber.
>
> It was Lloyd Webber who refashioned ``Song & Dance''
> for her, the show that
> first demonstrated her box office appeal, and for
> which she won her first
> Tony. Although the reviews were not great, Peters
> kept the show alive on
> Broadway for a year. Two weeks after she left, the
> musical closed.
>
> Barbra Streisand hasn't been on Broadway in 35
> years. Fans are still waiting
> for Bette Midler to appear in a new stage musical.
> Only Peters perseveres,
> underlining what it means to be a Broadway star.
>
> AP-NY-06-02-99 1333EDT
>
> Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The
> information contained in the AP
> news report may not be published, broadcast,
> rewritten or otherwise
> distributed without prior written authority of The
> Associated Press.
>
>
> Looking for a new hobby? Want to make a new friend?
>
> http://www.onelist.com
> Come join one of nearly 160,000 e-mail communities
> at ONElist!
>
===
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then she says DON'T CONTROL IT,
then she says YOU'RE CONTROLLING...
the way she MAKES YOU crawl"
-Tori Amos
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