By Jennifer Mustoe and Kathryn Olsen
Utah Valley University’s The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts has been attracting world-class performers since its opening in Orem and Saturday’s one-night engagement of Bernadette Peters in Concert is no exception. This actress and singer, whose career has spanned six decades and garnered many awards and nominations, is a Broadway icon. Her repertoire for the concert included musical theater classics from the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II as well as jazz. A large part of the evening was devoted to the compositions of Stephen Sondheim, as she originated roles in two of his musicals and is considered to be the foremost performer of his work.
Peters’ stage presence is both dramatic and comical, befitting an actress who has played both Mama Rose in Sondheim,Julie Styne, and Arthur Laurents‘ Gypsy and the titular character in Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, and Henry Fields. This personality effectively fueled her opening number of “Let Me Entertain You,” but became a show-stopper when she sang “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” from Rodger and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. She performed with a microphone, but her range and formidable projection were perfect for the expansive concert hall. This was particularly true when she performed some more serious works. For many of the songs, she gave context from the play itself or shared an anecdote from working with its creator. The audience was able to appreciate the hope and determination in “Before the Parade Passes By” from Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart‘s Hello, Dolly because she had told of the heartache survived by Dolly Levi in that musical. For her encore of “Kramer’s Song,” she told the story of being inspired to write it for her shelter dog in the context of her charity, Broadway Barks, and it brought a tenderness to the final moments of the concert.
Her supporting orchestra was a combined effort of university students and full-time musicians. Cellist Monika Rosborough-Bowman was featured for her soulful accompaniment of “No One Is alone” from Sondheim’s Into the Woods early in the program while bassist Kevin Axt provided the essential and steady jazz pedal point for “Fever” by Peggy Lee. Drummer Cubby O’Brien kept the energy going. Violinists Marcel Bowman and Katie Frandsen, along with violist Jon Kahanunui, provided smooth string support and well-blended harmonies while Daron Bradford, Brittney Woodis, Maddy Tarantelli, and Luca Florin provided remarkable woodwind and brass. The ensemble was helmed by pianist and conductor Marvin Laird, whose versatility at the keyboard was as integral to the show as Peters herself.
This concert was one night only, but The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts has many upcoming events that are just as stirring and professional in a variety of genres and artistic styles. Any one of them is worthattending for a night of escape into magic.
Utah Valley University’s The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts Presents Bernadette Peters In Concert
The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts at UVU 800 W University Pkwy, Orem, UT 84058
January 11, 2020, 7:30 PM
https://www.uvu.edu/thenoorda/
The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts Facebook Page
Bernadette Peters Facebook Page
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