| Bette, Donna and now Bernadette | |
| Posted by: MikeP (ACL15@aol.com) 11:36 pm EDT 05/25/18 | |
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| I saw Dolly last week with Bernadette Peters. This is my third visit to the production having seen both Better Midler and Donna Murphy. Its fascinating to me to how different these three interpretations are. Bette was BETTE. You are watching an icon in an iconic role. She was brilliant but also overpowering. It was about her. She was the production. Donna Murphy was the most character driven. She played Dolly vs. and icon wrapping herself around the role. Murphy was also the vocally strongest. With her the supporting characters seemed to shine more than with Bette. Bernadette is clearly in charge. You know you are watching a creature of the stage in her natural habitat. She brings a vulnerability to the role. This is especially present in the scene prior to "Before the Parade" when she is asking Ephraim to let her go. It generally moving. Vocally she had good and bad moments. But, I can say this about the last 3-4 productions I saw her do on Broadway. She can be very uneven vocally. She also seemed a bit out of breath at various times. But overall, she does a beautiful job. The production is in great shape! There are so many iconic moments and they all shine. Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin are still terrific. I feel lucky to have seen Charlie Stemp. The stage presence and magnetism are palatable. He is a star in the making. He is sensational. The hat shop scene seems to be a bit broader and is very funny. The court room scene has a bit more ad libbing but overall, its a tight and energetic production. While I loved David Hyde Pierce I thought he was channeling Walter Mattthau and as a bit over the top. Victor Garber nails Horace in a more honest and organic way. |
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