Not a Book: Bernadette Peters

I usually try and write here about things that you can go and see. This is a bit of an exception, because it was a one night only thing. But I had a great time, so I’m writing about it anyway.

Bernadette Peters only made her West End Debut I. Sondheim’s Old Friends, but she is an absolute Broadway Legend. If you go on a streaming service and look for Stephen Sondheim songs or cast albums you’ll find her there. And now in her mid-seventies she’s still touring and sounding pretty darn good.

The set list for this included a lot of Sondheim – and pretty much all the stuff that I hoped she would do: Losing Mind from Follies (and Buddy’s Eyes), Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music, Children Will Listen from Into the Woods, You Gotta Get a Gimmick from Gypsy (with special guests Joanna Riding and Bonnie Langford) and Move On from Sunday in the Park with George. But on top of that she also threw in a couple of songs from Hello Dolly – given that she’s played Dolly and Imelda Staunton is currently headlining that show elsewhere in the West End and things like Nothing Like a Dame, Johanna and Being Alive. It was a wonderful straight through hour and fortyish minutes and from my perch up in the balcony it was amazing. And I think the rest of the audience was as spellbound as I was.