Published on Sep 27, 1997
Although she will be remembered in the annals of theater history
as “Sondheim’s Diva” (her most recent album is called
Sondheim, Etc. plus her appearence in
Into The Woods and
Sunday In The Park With George stands testimony), Bernadette
Peters broke the surface by winning a Best Actress Tony in Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s
Song & Dance.
This musical had Act One told in song and Act Two in dance; with
Peters the only one on stage for Act One, singing as if there was a
stageful of actors with her. I’ve never seen this feat accomplished
in person, but her quality on record is stunning in itself.
Through eighteen songs, the character Emma slowly loses her
innocence to three men and a new life in New York City. The city is
portrayed in a series of “interlude” style songs like the three
variations of “So Much to Do In New York” and “First Letter Home”,
also followed by two variations. Almost stark orchestral
arrangements (can’t blame them; there’s only one person on stage
singing and she isn’t your everyday Broadway Belter) paint a
surprising vivid picture of Emma’s life in the city.
Of course, it’s the relationships that bring out the
actress in Peters. I’ve heard several versions of “Tell Me
On A Sunday”, but none as sincerely expressive as Peters’. It’s the
way she lets her voice break in the end, how the microphone gets
overloaded (at some points in the CD, it’s clear the recording
apparatus can’t handle Peters’ enthusiasm).
But sometimes, this stark orchestral arrangement kills certain
scenes; it can’t carry her voice to dramatic lengths and
“Unexpected Song” is plain ruined. It’s an intimate evening, but
you gotta cut Peters a break now and then. “Nothing Like You’ve
Ever Known” is a good track that doesn’t echo anything of Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s to date, but it wasn’t included in the show; it
fleshes out the final scene, so I wonder why they didn’t add it.
Another thing: why didn’t they include the orchestral arrangements
for Act II? Sure we can’t see the dance part, but Andrew Lloyd
Webber fans are buying this record more so than Bernadette
Peters’.
It drips of Best Actress and the show itself, by breaking the
mold somewhat, has a daring format. The album, however, does not
showcase this too well. It’s simply the soundtrack to an evening
with Bernadette Peters, and if I wanted that, I would’ve gotten
Sondheim, Etc instead.
Case in point: all this Bernadette Peters is good. Let’s just
make sure it’s an Andrew Lloyd Webber production.