There Is Nothing Like a Broadway-Belting Dame

An Evening With Bernadette Peters

Valley Performing Arts Center -- Great Hall

Saturday, March 3, 2012

I joined several of my co-workers at the new Val-PAC at CSUN to see Bernadette Peters in a sold-out performance.  She actually had scheduled a show last season, but it was canceled, so I'm glad that she was able to return.  Our seats were in the upper balcony, in the box seats on the audience left.  Our seats were situated one in back of the other, so we weren't really sitting side-by-side unless the chairs were swiveled that way.  There was some glass above the side of some of the boxes, but not all.  I didn't have any glass right next to me, so I could look over the side, which was kind of a mistake, due to my fear of heights.  Woozy!  Unfortunately, the program did not have the song selections, and I'm writing this 2 weeks later, so I don't remember everything that she sang.

• Ms. Peters was wearing a beautiful shimmering lavender gown, which showed off the fact that she's still got a great figure.  Work it, Girl!
• At the beginning of the show, she said, "Hmm, what should we talk about?  How about the real estate market? I'm selling my house."  Then, throughout the show, she gave specifics about her home in Miami, like how many bedrooms it has and the fact that it has a swimming pool.
• She had just finished up a return to "Follies" on Broadway, and did a couple of songs from that show, including "Losing My Mind".  Her acting chops are obvious during this song, as she was wiping tears away, fully embracing her Sally character.
• I love when she sings Sondheim songs.  Thankfully, she sang a lot of them, though not all of the ones that are on her "Sondheim, Etc. -- Live at Carnegie Hall" CD that I love.  I don't know why, but I can't find my CD.  I have the jewel case, but no CD in it.  That annoys the heck out of me because I really want to listen to it.  Perhaps I should just buy it again.  I would have done so if she had it for sale at the show, but that didn't happen.
• ANYWAY, now that my lost CD rant is over, the songs that she did sing from that Carnegie Hall show were "Broadway Baby", "No One Is Alone", "Some People", "You Could Drive a Person Crazy", "Not A Day Goes By", and "Being Alive".  All awesome.  I do wish that she would have sung "Johanna", but I can't have everything.
• She also sang some selections by Rodgers and Hammerstein, my favorite of which was "There is Nothing Like A Dame", mainly because it's such a different take to have a woman sing what is traditionally sung by a bunch of lonely men in "South Pacific".  I also liked that she was singing the song to certain men in the audience.
• Ms. Peters showed her slinky sexy side most of all on "Fever", as she sung while laying on her side on top of the grand piano.
• The drummer is Cubby from the Mickey Mouse Club!  
• She included a song that she wrote (a lullaby)  in dedication to her dog, and proceeds of her CD and book sales (she wrote a couple of children's books) went to her favorite animal charity, Broadway Barks.
• She also sang, "Oh, Shenandoah" and "When You Wish Upon A Star", which were lovely, but I'd rather hear her sing Broadway songs because she emotes so well.

That was a fantastic concert, and I'm glad that I was able to see it.  Oh, if only she would sing something as Rita from "Animaniacs", I'd be in heaven.  :)