One of Broadway's brightest stars, Bernadette Peters, will be the recipient of the Distinguished Dedication and ServIce To the American Musical Theater Award, presented by Westport Country Playhouse at the theater's "80th Birthday" gala, "Playing Our Songs: Celebrating 80 Years of Musical Theater," on the evening of Monday, September 19. This year's gala production will be a retrospective of the musicals that have graced The Playhouse stage since its founding in 1931.
"
Bernadette Peters is not only a force of nature and a Broadway musical star of legendary significance, she is also a true artist: boldly exploratory, constantly refining her enormous talent, always challenging herself, never sitting on her laurels," said
Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. "Whatever she does, watching her is akin to watching the great classical musicians who constantly stretch themselves and excite audiences not only with sheer charisma-- which she has in spades, to be sure-- but with a sense of refinement and that is unparalleled in American musical theater. She goes for the truth of a song with the force of a heat-seeking missile."
Bernadette Peters appeared at Westport Country Playhouse in Riverwind in 1967. At the 2008 Gala, she presented a tribute to
Angela Lansbury. Coincidentally,
The Playhouse's 2012 season will open with Into the Woods, a musical that starred Ms. Peters as the Witch in the original Broadway production.
Throughout her illustrious career, the Tony Award-winning actress has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage, in television and films, on recordings and in concert. Ms. Peters most recently starred in The Kennedy Center's critically acclaimed production of
James Goldman and
Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical, Follies, which will begin previews on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on August 7, with a September 12 opening. Prior to that, she starred on Broadway opposite
Elaine Stritch in the Tony Award-winning masterpiece, A Little Night Music.
A native of Ozone Park, New York, Peters began her performing career at the age of three. She made her theatrical debut in This Is Goggle, starring
James Daly and
Kim Hunter, directed by
Otto Preminger.
Peters made her Broadway debut in 1967 in Johnny No-Trump, and in 1968 starred with
Joel Grey in the musical George M!, earning a
Theatre World Award for her memorable portrayal of Josie Cohan. That same year, she received a Drama Desk Award for her showstopping performance in the Off-Broadway musical Dames at Sea, and quickly became one of the most sought-after stars in musical theater.
Peters received both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her critically acclaimed performance in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance. In 1999, Peters earned her second Tony Award, her third Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her portrayal of Annie Oakley in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun.
Peters also received Tony Award nominations for her performances in the 1992 musical The Goodbye Girl;
Stephen Sondheim's Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park with George; the
Jerry Herman/
Gower Champion ode to the movies, Mack and Mabel; and the
Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green classic On the Town. In addition to these honors, Peters earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for her memorable portrayal of the Witch in
Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. In 2003, Peters received her seventh Tony Award nomination for her electrifying portrayal of Momma Rose in
Sam Mendes' Broadway revival of Gypsy.
In addition to numerous Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast albums, Peters has recorded six solo albums: Sondheim, Etc., Etc.:
Bernadette Peters Live at
Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It);
Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein (Grammy Award nomination); Sondheim Etc.:
Bernadette Peters Live at
Carnegie Hall (Grammy Award nomination); I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Grammy Award nomination);
Bernadette Peters; and Now Playing.
A performer of amazing versatility, Peters has lit up the silver screen in 17 films. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Pennies from Heaven. Her many television credits include appearances in several performing arts specials such as PBS' Evening at Pops and The Kennedy Center Honors, as well as the star-studded Sondheim: A Celebration at
Carnegie Hall.
Peters has received numerous accolades throughout her distinguished career, ranging from the Tony Award to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other honors include the Sarah Siddons Actress of the Year Award and Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year for her "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment."
Peters devotes her time and talents to numerous events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Her "pet project" is Broadway Barks, which she co-founded with friend Mary Tyler Moore. The star-studded dog and cat adoption event is presented each summer in Shubert Alley, benefiting over two dozen rescue shelters throughout the New York City area.
Westport Country Playhouse's annual fundraising gala will include pre-show cocktails, a performance and post-show dinner and parties. In addition, there will be silent and live auctions of unique and one-of-a-kind items.
Gala tickets are $2500, $1000 and $500. Corporate sponsorship packages are available. For more gala information or ticket purchases, contact Kathryn Gloor at (203) 227-5137, ext. 122, or kgloor@westportplayhouse.org.
