For the first time online, experience an extraordinary evening with Broadway legend Bernadette Peters in concert. The free stream of Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert is set for Friday, July 10 at 8pm ET. Peters, a three-time Tony Award recipient and star of TV and film, will be joined by actor and friend Michael Urie to talk about the concert, share inside Broadway stories and celebrate Peters’ illustrious career. The concert, which was filmed in 2009 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, features extraordinary performances of songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and more. The evening also includes the legendary Mary Tyler Moore, who co-founded the annual pet adoption event Broadway Barks with Peters, and appearances by furry friends looking to find their forever homes. “I’m delighted to be able to share this incredible evening again, which has only been seen by those who were inside the Minskoff Theater,” Peters said. “I hope this evening will bring joy to those who now get to experience it while still making a real difference for people in need across the country, and in our industry through support of Broadway Cares.” While the concert stream is free to all, VIP and sponsorship opportunities also are available that provide exclusive virtual experiences with Peters and recognition during the stream. To learn more and watch, click here.
Craig Ramsay (photo: Nathan Cox) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Craig Ramsay (above) celebrates Canada Day in his own inimitable style as shot by Palm Springs photographer Nathan Cox. • Pink News: A gay club in Atlanta has finally decided to close its doors until further notice, after a club night last weekend led to several partygoers contracting coronavirus. A video of the party at popular gay club Heretic in Atlanta, Georgia, was circulated on social media, showing hundreds of men dancing close together without masks. The number of new cases of COVID-19 has skyrocketed in Georgia in recent weeks. • NYC Pride: ICYMI, check out the soulful performance by trans artist/producer D. Smith for NYC Pride Month. The continually creative Smith, who among other recent achievements includes writing and producing Billy Porter’s #1 Billboard Club track, “Love Yourself,” picked up the mic to soothe virtual viewers with her richly-layered take on “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” If you like, click here to check out her latest music video, “That’s Why I Love You.”
• Broadway: Want to watch a Broadway legend dazzle on stage for an incredible cause? On July 10, theater fans will be able to watch Bernadette Peters in a never-before-seen-online concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The 2009 performance, Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert. will be free to stream here at 8pm ET. Donations are encouraged but not required for viewing. • CBS News: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that indoor dining won’t be allowed to resume when New York City reaches Phase 3 of reopening next week. It will be delayed “until the facts change and it is prudent to open,” he said. • The Independent: After more than 48K new cases of coronavirus in the US were announced on Tuesday (the highest number since the pandemic began), Donald Trump repeated his belief that the coronavirus is going to “just disappear.” “I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear — I hope,” Mr. Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday.
Unbelievable. He’s still doing it. Trump is still – TODAY – claiming that the virus is going to magically disappear. I cannot believe that a human being could be this obtuse.pic.twitter.com/39lMlr6zGX
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 1, 2020
L-R Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep (screen capture) It began with some tech problems, but when Broadway.com’s salute to legendary composer Stephen Sondheim – Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration – finally got underway it was truly a gift for musical theatre fans. So many fantastic performances of Sondheim’s lengthy and rich catalog. One of the highlights was easily Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald serving up a spectacular “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company as a kind of Zoom cocktail hour. Donning white robes and pouring generous drinks, the approach was not only hilarious but solved the problem of trying to live up to Elaine Stritch’s legendary performance of the song. In case you missed it, I’ve cued up Christine, Meryl and Audra’s brilliant performance below, but you can view the entire 2+ hour livestream below. Other highlights include: • Melissa Errico’s “Children and Art” (Sunday in the Park with George) was the picture of understated perfection at the 41:04 mark • Mandy Patinkin, standing outside alone amid an enormous, empty grassy field, shared a moving a cappella “Lesson #8” (Sunday in the Park with George) at the 54:21 mark • Laura Benanti – “I Remember” (Evening Primrose) at 1:08:28 mark • Chip Zien, the original “Baker” (Into the Woods) was heartbreaking as he reprised his song “No More” at 1:14:06 • The event’s host, Raúl Esparza, sang a beautiful take on the event’s title song, “Take Me to the World” (Evening Primrose) at 1:50:59 • Donna Murphy’s poignant, pensive rendition of “Send in the Clowns” (A Little Night Music) at the 1:53:55 mark • Bernadette Peters closing out the event with a gorgeous, a cappella take on a song she didn’t sing in Into The Woods, “No One Is Alone” at 2:11:18 Bernadette Peters (screen capture) In truth, there are tons of terrific performances – I’m sure I’ll have missed mentioning something I loved. If you click here, you’ll find the full show with a complete breakdown of shortcuts to each individual performance. Stay with it to the end as there’s a much fun postscript to the shindig with the song “Broadway Baby” from Follies. The event served as a fundraiser for ASTEP – Artists Striving to End Poverty. You can donate at this link.
Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters will succeed Bette Midler as “Dolly Levi” in the blockbuster Broadway revival of Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! Additionally, Broadway favorite Victor Garber will replace David Hyde Pierce as “Horace Vandergelder.”
The casting, which had been the subject of persistent rumors in the theater industry, was seemingly confirmed Tuesday morning in a social media post, now removed, that said that Peters and Victor Garber would join the cast early next year. By Tuesday evening, the producers of “Hello, Dolly!,” led by Scott Rudin, had confirmed that Peters would step into the role. Garber, who would presumably replace Midler’s co-star David Hyde Pierce, was not mentioned in the confirmation.
The question of who would replace Bette Midler in “Dolly!,” one of the top-selling shows on Broadway, has been a hot topic of speculation this summer. In the theater-industry rumor mill, a slew of names made the rounds — including Dolly Parton and Sutton Foster — but by August, Peters, last on Broadway in the 2011 production of “Follies,” began to look like the frontrunner. At the time, the comment from Scott Rudin, the show’s lead producer, was the coy, “There’s no replacement for Bette.”
But earlier on Tuesday, Garber’s husband, Rainer Andreesen, mentioned the “Dolly” casting in a comment on an Instagram post. That post has since been removed, but a screenshot remains.
Like Donna Murphy, who currently plays the role of Dolly for one performance a week, Peters and Garber are fan favorites among theater lovers. Peters, who’s won two Tony Awards, has starred in a string of notable productions, including the original stagings of “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Into the Woods,” while Garber, who stars in CW series “Legends of Tomorrow,” has appeared in Broadway shows including “Deathtrap,” “Noises Off” and, most recently, “Present Laughter” in 2010.
In terms of box office impact, Midler, who’s kept sales in the stratosphere since the show began performances in the spring, will be a tough act to follow. It’s uncertain that Peters would keep weekly grosses as high, but at the very least she’d get an initial boost from theater avids anxious to see her in the role. The revival, one of the last season’s biggest buzzmagnets, also seems likely to benefit from the momentum built up for the title itself over the course of its big-money run.
Peters begins her run in “Hello, Dolly!” Jan. 20 prior to an opening night set for Feb. 22. Midler plays her final performance in “Dolly!” Jan. 14; there will be no performances between then and Peters’ start date.
Two-time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy, who performs the role of “Dolly Levi” at select performances including all Tuesdays to rave reviews, will take her last trip down the Harmonia Gardens staircase on January 9, 2018.
Peters will reportedly be performing all 8 performances a week.
According to Variety, two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters is set to star in a new Amazon series “Mozart in the Jungle.”
The series is described as a dramedy based on a memoir by Blair Tindall about what happens behind the curtains at the symphony.
Amazon has recently begun to create it’s own original programming to compete with Netflix, such as the #1 streaming hit “Alpha House” to tempt more subscribers to it’s Amazon Prime service which included free streaming of tons movies and series.
In addition to developing original programming, Amazon has been actively acquiring streaming rights for many current hit TV shows like “How I Met Your Mother” and MTV’s “Teen Wolf.”
I’m an Amazon Prime subscriber myself and, as I’ve said on The Randy Report many times, I think it’s a great value. Not only the streaming content, but free two day shipping on most items you buy on Amazon.
Check out this interview video with Lea Michele, Megan Hilty and Bernadette Peters talking about their character work for the DOROTHY OF OZ animated film. (source)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 24: Celebrities and supporters stopped by the Ketel One Vodka “Walk of Change” at the GLAAD Media Awards to make their mark – literally.
For each celebrity handprint left, Ketel One donated $1,000 to GLAAD. Participants included Bernadette Peters, Cheyenne Jackson, Jay Manuel and Thomas Roberts.
When leaving his hand print on the Ketel One Walk of Fame, Cheyenne Jackson brought attention to his new wedding ring saying, “Look at my wedding ring!! This is so weird!”
Smash star, Phillip Spaeth, wasn’t shy about getting his hands dirty for a good cause when leaving his handprint on the Ketel One Walk of Change.
Broadway superstar Bernadette Peters flexed her stardom as she playful posed for the camera and even stated, “Am I making a muscle?” as she left her handprint.
For the first time online, experience an extraordinary evening with Broadway legend Bernadette Peters in concert. The free stream of Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert is set for Friday, July 10 at 8pm ET. Peters, a three-time Tony Award recipient and star of TV and film, will be joined by actor and friend Michael Urie to talk about the concert, share inside Broadway stories and celebrate Peters’ illustrious career. The concert, which was filmed in 2009 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, features extraordinary performances of songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and more. The evening also includes the legendary Mary Tyler Moore, who co-founded the annual pet adoption event Broadway Barks with Peters, and appearances by furry friends looking to find their forever homes. “I’m delighted to be able to share this incredible evening again, which has only been seen by those who were inside the Minskoff Theater,” Peters said. “I hope this evening will bring joy to those who now get to experience it while still making a real difference for people in need across the country, and in our industry through support of Broadway Cares.” While the concert stream is free to all, VIP and sponsorship opportunities also are available that provide exclusive virtual experiences with Peters and recognition during the stream. To learn more and watch, click here. 
