Bernadette Peters

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Bernadette Peters

Peters at the premiere of I Am Because We Are (2008)
Born Bernadette Lazzara
February 28, 1948 (1948-02-28) (age 60)
Ozone Park, Queens, New York, United States
Spouse(s) Michael Wittenberg
(1996-2005) (his death)
Official website

Bernadette Peters (born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of an enduring career starting at an early age, she has performed in musical theatre, films and television, as well as in solo concerts and recordings. Peters first performed on the stage in the 1960s and in the 1970s in film and television. In the 1980s she returned to the theatre, where she has been, for over two decades, one of the most critically acclaimed Broadway stars, being nominated for seven Tony Awards and winning two. Peters also continues to act in films and on television, where she has been nominated for Emmy Awards for three of her appearances and has won one Golden Globe Award. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.

Peters is particularly noted for her starring roles in the stage musicals Song and Dance, Annie Get Your Gun, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods, becoming closely associated with the composers Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and in films including The Jerk and Pennies from Heaven.

Contents

[edit] Early career

She was born Bernadette Lazzara to an Italian-American family in Queens, New York, the youngest of three children. Her mother Marguerite started her in show business by putting her on the television show Juvenile Jury at the age of three-and-a-half. She later appeared on the television shows Name That Tune and The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour. In her teen years, she attended the Quintano School for Young Professionals.[1]

At age nine she obtained her Actors Equity Card in the name of Bernadette Peters to avoid ethnic stereotyping, with the stage name taken from her father's first name. She made her stage debut at nine in This is Goggle, a comedy directed by Otto Preminger that closed during out-of-town tryouts before reaching New York. She first appeared on the New York stage at age 10 in the New York City Center revival of The Most Happy Fella (1959). At 13 she was an understudy for Dainty June and one of the ensemble in a touring company of Gypsy. Upon graduation from high school, she started working steadily, appearing Off-Broadway in the musicals The Penny Friend (1966) and Curley McDimple (1967) and as an understudy on Broadway in The Girl in the Freudian Slip (1967). She made her Broadway debut in Johnny No-Trump in 1967. She appeared next as George M. Cohan's sister opposite Joel Grey in George M! (1968), winning the Theatre World Award.

It was Peters' performance as "Ruby" in the 1968 off-Broadway Dames at Sea, a spoof of 1930s musicals, that brought her critical acclaim and her first Drama Desk Award. She had appeared in an earlier 1966 version of Dames at Sea at the off-off-Broadway performance club Caffe Cino. Peters had starring roles in her next Broadway vehicles — Gelsomina in La Strada (1969), Hildy in On the Town (1971), and Mabel Normand in Mack and Mabel (1974), all of which had short runs. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to concentrate on television and film work.

[edit] Theatre

Peters returned to the New York stage after an eight-year absence in the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club production of the comedy-drama Sally and Marsha (1982), for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She then returned to Broadway as Dot/Marie in the Stephen Sondheim — James Lapine musical Sunday in the Park with George (1984), followed by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance (1985), Sondheim-Lapine's Into the Woods (1987), and Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl with music by Marvin Hamlisch (1993).

Peters is "considered by many to be the premier interpreter of his [Sondheim's] work," according to writer Alex Witchel.[2] Raymond Knapp writes that Peters "achieved her definitive stardom" in Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods.[3] Sondheim has said of Peters, "Like very few others, she sings and acts at the same time," he says. "Most performers act and then sing, act and then sing ... Bernadette is flawless as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything negative."[4] Peters continued her association with Sondheim with a 1995 benefit concert of Anyone Can Whistle. Additionally, she performed at several concerts featuring Sondheim's work, and performed for him at his 1993 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony.

In the PBS broadcast of Sunday in the Park with George
In the PBS broadcast of Sunday in the Park with George

In her latest Broadway stage role, Peters took on the role of Mama Rose in the 2003 revival of Gypsy. Ben Brantley in his New York Times review of Gypsy wrote, "Working against type and expectation under the direction of Sam Mendes, Ms. Peters has created the most complex and compelling portrait of her long career, and she has done this in ways that deviate radically from the Merman blueprint."[5] Arthur Laurents said: "But in 2003 there was a new Rose on Broadway: Bernadette Peters! Brilliant, original, totally unlike any of the others.[6]

In February 2006, she participated in a reading of the Sondheim-Weidman musical Bounce. On September 24, 2007, Peters participated in a one-time only charity reading of the play Love Letters with her former Gypsy co-star, John Dossett.[7]

Peters has been nominated for the Tony Award seven times and won twice. She has also been nominated for the Drama Desk Award eight times and won three times (Annie Get Your Gun, Song and Dance, and Dames at Sea). Her first Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical was for her performance as Emma in Song and Dance. Theater critic Frank Rich wrote in an otherwise negative review of the show that Peters "has no peer in the musical theater right now."[8] Peters won her second Tony for her performance as Annie Oakley in the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun opposite Tom Wopat. Critic Lloyd Rose of the Washington Post wrote: "...she [Peters] banishes all thoughts of Ethel Merman about two bars into her first number, 'Doin' What Comes Natur'lly.' Partly this is because Merman's Annie was a hearty, boisterous gal, while Peters plays an adorable, slightly goofy gamine... For anyone who cares about the American musical theater, the chance to see Peters in this role is reason enough to see the show."[9]

[edit] Film appearances

In Pennies From Heaven
In Pennies From Heaven

Peters has appeared in 31 feature films or television movies, including the musical Annie and Pink Cadillac, in which she co-starred with Clint Eastwood. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award (Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role) for her work in the 1976 Mel Brooks film Silent Movie.

She appeared opposite Steve Martin, whom she dated for a period of time, in the The Jerk (1979) and Pennies From Heaven (1981), for which she won the Golden Globe Award as Best Motion Picture Actress in a Comedy or Musical. In 1981 she also appeared on the cover and inside spread of the December issue of Playboy Magazine, in which she posed in lingerie designed by Bob Mackie.

Peters appeared with three generations of the Kirk Douglas family in the 2003 film It Runs in the Family. In May 2006 she filmed a movie Come le formiche (Wine and Kisses) with F. Murray Abraham in Italy; the DVD was released on June 22, 2007 in Italy.[10]

[edit] Television appearances

With the Muppets
With the Muppets

Peters was nominated for Emmy Awards for her guest-starring roles on the Fox situation comedy Ally McBeal (2001), and The Muppet Show (1977).[11] She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special, for her work in the made-for-television movie Bobbie's Girl. She won the 1987 "CableACE Award" for her role as Dot in the television version of Sunday in the Park With George.

She has appeared in many variety shows with stars as diverse as Sonny and Cher and George Burns, has performed on the Academy Awards broadcasts, both presented at and co-hosted the Tony Awards, and hosted Saturday Night Live in 1981. She made some 12 guest appearances on the various versions of The Carol Burnett Show[12] as well as appearing with Burnett in the made-for-television version of Once Upon a Mattress and the 1982 film Annie. She also performed at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony for Burnett (2003). Peters appeared often on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and on the day time talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, both as a co-host and a guest. Peters voiced stray cat Rita in the Rita and Runt segments of the animated series Animaniacs. Rita often sang on the show, sometimes in parodies of songs from Broadway musicals.

Peters has co-starred in a number of television movies, including The Last Best Year with Mary Tyler Moore, Cinderella with Brandy, and Prince Charming with Martin Short. (Peters was nominated for the "Golden Satellite Award", Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Cinderella.) She co-starred in her own television series, All's Fair, with Richard Crenna in 1976–77, for which Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe award. In March 2005, she made a pilot for an ABC sitcom series titled Adopted, co-starring with Christine Baranski, but it was not picked up.[13]

Peters has recently made guest appearances on several popular television series, appearing as a judge on the ABC series, Boston Legal (May 2007), as a defense attorney on the NBC series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (November 2006), and as the sharp-tongued sister of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) on the penultimate episode of NBC's Will & Grace ("Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?").

[edit] Concerts

Peters has been performing her one-woman concert in the United States and Canada for many years. She made her solo concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1996, devoting the second half to the work of Stephen Sondheim.[14] She performed a similar concert in London, which was taped and released on video, and also aired on U.S. Public Television stations in 1999. She continues to perform her solo concert at venues around the U.S., such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and with symphony orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony.

In a review of her 2002 Radio City Music Hall concert, Steven Holden of the New York Times described Peters as "the peaches-and-cream embodiment of an ageless storybook princess... inside a giant soap bubble floating toward heaven. A belief in the power of the dreams behind Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs, if not in their reality, was possible."[15]

Major solo concerts by Peters
Other notable concerts in which Peters participated
  • Sondheim: A Celebration At Carnegie Hall (broadcast on PBS Great Performances in 1993) — June 10, 1992
  • Hey Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh — June 7, 1998
  • Hollywood Bowl Sondheim Concert — July 8, 2005

[edit] Recordings and discography

Peters has recorded six solo albums (and several singles) starting with her debut album in 1980 titled Bernadette. Three have been nominated for the Grammy Award. She has recorded most of the Broadway and off-Broadway musicals she has appeared in, and four of these cast albums have won Grammy Awards. Additionally, she recorded songs on several other albums, such as "Dublin Lady" on John Whelan's Flirting with the Edge (Narada, 1998). On the Mandy Patinkin Dress Casual 1990 album, Patinkin and Peters recorded the songs from Stephen Sondheim's 1966 television play, Evening Primrose. Her 1980 single "Gee Whiz" reached the top forty on the U.S. pop singles charts, and her album Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein reached position 14 in the "Top Internet Charts."[16]

Solo recordings
Album cover from Bernadette (painting by Vargas) (1980)
Album cover from Bernadette (painting by Vargas) (1980)
  • Bernadette (1980) MCA
  • Now Playing (1981) MCA
  • I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (1996) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee
  • Sondheim, Etc. - Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall (1997) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee[17]
  • Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein (2002) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee
  • Sondheim Etc., Etc.Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It (2005) Angel Records
  • Kramer's Song (2008) Blue Apple Books (single)
Cast recordings
  • George M! – Sony (1968)
  • Dames At Sea – Columbia Masterworks (1969)
  • Mack and Mabel – MCA (1974)
  • Sunday in the Park with George – RCA Records (1984) – Grammy Award winner (Best Cast Show Album, 1985)
  • Song and Dance – The Songs – RCA Victor (1985)
  • Into The Woods – RCA Victor Records (1988) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Cast Show Album, 1989)
  • The Goodbye Girl – Columbia Records (1993)
  • Anyone Can Whistle Live At Carnegie Hall – Columbia Records (1995)
  • Annie Get Your Gun The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (1999) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2000)
  • Gypsy The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (2003) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2004)
  • Sherry! – Studio Cast Recording – Angel Records (2004)
  • Legends Of Broadway-Bernadette Peters Compilation (2006) – Sony Masterworks Broadway
Other recordings
  • Dress Casual – select tracks with Mandy Patinkin – CBS Records (1990)
  • Sondheim – A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (Concert Cast) RCA Victor Broadway (1992)
  • Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh – Philips Records (1998)
  • Flirting with the Edge – John Whelan – Narada (1998)
  • Dewey Doo-It Helps Owlie Fly Again – RandallFraser Publishing (2005)

[edit] Miscellaneous awards and honors

Peters in 2006.
Peters in 2006.

Peters has received many honorary awards over the years, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (April 1987);[18] the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (1987); the Sarah Siddons Award for outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production (1994); the American Theatre Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City (1996), becoming the youngest person so honored [19]; an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York (May 19, 2002);[20] and the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame (June 28, 2002).[21]

[edit] Personal

Peters married Michael Wittenberg (investment adviser with Wachovia Securities) on July 20, 1996 at the upstate New York home of long-time friend Mary Tyler Moore. Wittenberg died at age 43 on September 26, 2005 in a helicopter crash in Montenegro while on a business trip. Three other people were killed in the crash, which occurred when the aircraft struck a high-voltage cable according to the police in Montenegro's capital.[22]

"Broadway Barks"

In 1999 Peters and Mary Tyler Moore co-founded "Broadway Barks", an annual animal adopt-a-thon held in New York City. Their goals are to promote adopting animals from shelters and to make New York City a no-kill city. To support this cause, Peters has written a children's book titled Broadway Barks (Blue Apple Books, April 2008) and a lullaby ("Kramer's Song") to go with it, included on a CD in the book.[23]

[edit] Work

[edit] Stage credits (selected)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television credits (selected)

[edit] Watch and listen


Awards
Preceded by
Sissy Spacek
for Coal Miner's Daughter		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1982
for Pennies from Heaven		 Succeeded by
Julie Andrews
for Victor/Victoria
Preceded by
Chita Rivera
for The Rink		 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
1986
for Song and Dance		 Succeeded by
Maryann Plunkett
for Me and My Girl
Preceded by
Natasha Richardson
for Cabaret		 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
1999
for Annie Get Your Gun		 Succeeded by
Heather Headley
for Aida

[edit] References

  1. ^ The New York Times, Jesse Green, April 27, 2003, Her Stage Mother, Herself accessed 2008-28-03
  2. ^ The New York Times, Alex Witchel, February 28, 1999, "A True Star, Looking For Places to Shine" accessed 2008-28-3
  3. ^ The American Musical and the Performance of Personal Identity, Knapp, Raymond, ISBN-13:978-0-691-12524-4, 2006, p. 215.
  4. ^ Washington Post, Chip Crews, January 3, 1999, p. G01.
  5. ^ New York Times, Ben Brantley, "New Momma Takes Charge", p. E1 accessed 2008-28-03
  6. ^ The Art Of The American Musical: Conversations With The Creators, Jackson R. Bryer, Richard Allan Davison, p. 138, 2005, Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0813536138
  7. ^ See "PHOTO CALL: Love Letters with Peters and Dossett" playbill article, 9/25/07
  8. ^ New York Times, September 19, 1985.
  9. ^ The Washington Post, Lloyd Rose. January 8, 1999, B01
  10. ^ [1] Article from Italian-language Yahoo movie site] (Italian)
  11. ^ Muppet Wiki: Bernadette Peters episode
  12. ^ The Carol Burnett Show Episode Guide
  13. ^ Playbill.com article, March 16, 2005
  14. ^ New York Times review, Holden, Stephen, December 11, 1996, "Bernadette Peters, Sweet With Sondheim" Retrieved 02-19-2008
  15. ^ New York Times 2002 review
  16. ^ Billboard
  17. ^ Sondheim, Etc. – Bernadette Peters - Pandora Internet Radio
  18. ^ The Associated Press, "Names in the News", April 24, 1987
  19. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Christopher Rawson, January 25, 1996, p. C1
  20. ^ playbill.com article noting the honorary doctorate, May 19, 2002
  21. ^ playbill.com article noting the award, June 28, 2002
  22. ^ New York Times article, The Associated Press, September 28, 2005,Boston Globe obituary
  23. ^ playbill article, May 1, 2008, Gans, Andrew, "DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Tony-Winning Actress Bernadette Peters" Retrieved 5-2-2008

[edit] External links

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Persondata
NAME Peters, Bernadette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lazzara, Bernadette
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress, singer
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Ozone Park, Queens, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH