Bernadette Peters Live in London - TRDR

A thoroughly ejoyable evening seeing Bernadette again. What she has lost vocally she makes up in personality and interpretation.
the concert was about 1 hour 45mins with no interval which was great for me but quite a lot of people in the stalls seemed to suffer from no interval judging by the amount of people getting up and down presumably going to the toilet.
It was a mixed range of songs, almost all MT related and, as expected, a large chunk was Sondheim. I had pretty much heard her do all of those Songs in the past and it was nice to hear some other stuff which included a few R&H songs, a couple of standards and 2 songs from Hello Dolly.
A favourite was Gimmick from Gypsy with Joanna Riding and Bonnie Langford. We got both splits and a high kick from Bonnie!
Nicky Visage was sitting in the row in front and Elaine Paige 2 rows in front.
Now this should be in the bad behaviour thread but I have another story for there and, also, this story is so hilarious I just cant bring myself to put it there.
The opening music starts and someone 2 rows in front starts filming on their phone. FOH staff member comes over and tries unsuccessfully to get their attention for a while. Eventually they notice and I can see the woman mouthing to the the FOH staff "I am Elaine Paige"! She does then stop filming probably because the young girl had never even heard of EP and was having none of it.

Ugh. Elaine Paige is the worst.

Did she have a booster cushion?

The audience was a who's who of 'who wasn't in a show on Monday and was free to take a comp' which was fun.

It was a bit of a weird concert because it didn't have an interval and it did feel like it needed one - 1 hr 45 is a long time to be sat for a solo concert with no break.
Still had a really nice time - she did all the hits, did them as well as Bernadette always does, and Gimmick with Jo and Bonnie was great value.

Thinking again about her set list I would have loved for her to have done a number from Tell Me On A Sunday especially as she was in one of The Lords theatres.

There is something so special about seeing Bernadette perform live. I saw her in Old Friends four times last year and every single performance was dripping in charisma, joy and the genuine impression that she is feeling every emotion of each song for the very first time.

Monday night at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was not different. Her setlist ticked off what everyone had come to see. She sang a few Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers, including a blistering rendition of ‘There Is Nothing Like a Dame’ from South Pacific.

Her numbers from Hello, Dolly! were a joy too. I’d really been hoping to hear her ‘So Long Dearie’ and it was magnificent. She even told some pretty decent jokes, the woman really can do it all.

But when you shell out to see Bernadette, you’re really paying to see her masterful takes on Stephen Sondheim’s body of work. Nobody quite feels every note in the way that BP does, crystallised by the deserved standing ovation following ‘Losing My Mind’.

Bernadette’s earnest, and often sultry, performance moves people in a way I’ve not seen many artists manage with their sheer presence. The woman behind me was in tears from the second number (‘No One Is Alone’) and the chap next to me was blubbing away during ‘Send In The Clowns’.

But her range of emotions is quite remarkable and, joined by special guests Bonnie Langford and Joanna Riding, the trio resumed their hilarious ‘You Gotta Get a Gimmick’ routine from Old Friends. Cue a second standing ovation.

The night was rounded off with ‘Being Alive’ (third standing ovation), followed by ‘Move On (fourth standing ovation) and, finally, a lullaby written by Bernadette herself for an old pet.

Of course vocally she is not as strong as 25, 30 years ago but she still sounds sublime. And with Bernadette, it’s about so much more. She makes you *feel* things other performances simply can’t. What a joyous evening. Let’s hope we get another one next summer.

That being said, I wasn’t a massive fan of some of the arrangements from what felt like quite a sparse orchestra. I know that’s how certain numbers have always been performed at BP’s concerts but it did lose some of the gravitas for me, compared to Old Friends.

OH! I figured Nicky Visage was some niche/Gen Z celeb or influencer I'd never heard of!

Michelle Visage is a VERY different matter! ICON!

Plenty.

Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Jessie Mueller, Rachel Tucker, Hannah Waddingham, Cassie Levy, Heather Headley, Patina Miller, Laura Benanti, and arguably, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster etc.....

Shall I go on?....

Thank you! I'm not that familiar with most of them, so I'll take your word for it.


Although many of those aren't under 50. 

With So Little To Be Sure Of


www.setlist.fm/setlist/bernadette-peters/2024/theatre-royal-drury-lane-london-england-1b557960.html

That is a fantastic review theatreian!