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.