The 10 Most Incredible Bernadette Peters Performances

CHILLS.

10. “Sooner or Later”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=e5n-o80EX30.

As much as I love Madonna’s version from Dick Tracy, Bernadette nails this. It’s also just kind of mystifying that she’s still this sexy. It’s a Broadway kind of sexy — the kind that gay men really dig — but come on. She looks fabulous.

Source: youtube.com

9. “Johanna”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=LPSRmVqhzLc.

No video, sadly, but I love this performance. (Skip forward if you want to miss the gushing over Stephen Sondheim, but really, don’t do that.) It’s one of the loveliest songs from Sweeney Todd, and Bernadette kills it.

Source: youtube.com

8. “In Buddy’s Eyes”/”Losing My Mind”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WnQKxskWeck.

Let’s get this out of the way: Bernadette was wrong for the role of Sally in the Follies revival. But on their own, her renditions of “In Buddy’s Eyes” and “Losing My Mind” are lovely. Naturally.

Source: youtube.com

7. “Being Alive”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RJssHQjaZHg.

Because I love Company so much, I was a bit resistent to Bernadette’s version. (She’s not Bobby, you know?) But this is great, and the song works just as well for a woman. I’m glad she’s added it to her repertoire.

Source: youtube.com

6. “Rose’s Turn”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VI2q_VqDfRU.

Yeah, yeah, Bernadette’s Mama Rose in Gypsy didn’t get the same attention as Patti LuPone’s, but this is just really great. She captures the nervous breakdown perfectly — and still sounds awesome.

Source: youtube.com

5. “Children Will Listen”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gey1PtXYwLI.

Another of her standards, her performance in Into the Woods is sadly not available on YouTube. (You can watch the whole musical on Netflix, though! Do it!) Either way, it’s easy to see why this song is hers.

Source: youtube.com

4. “Move On”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mvGQ0R_CTfo.

It doesn’t get any better than Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in Sunday in the Park With George. Her concert version of this song is powerful, but the song works best in the context of the scene. And how could we leave Mandy out?

Source: youtube.com

3. “Not a Day Goes By”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5kMlQgyz834.

As she says, Merrily We Roll Along is one of Sondheim’s most complex shows, and this is not an easy number. And yet, Bernadette has made it her own with a flawless rendition that has become one of her standards.

Source: youtube.com

2. “Send in the Clowns”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KOZhmsp6iBQ.

There are other versions of Bernadette doing “Send in the Clowns,” which she ended up performing in the recent revival of A Little Night Music. But this is Bernadette Peters with STEPHEN FUCKING SONDHEIM on the piano. And it’s perfect.

Source: youtube.com

1. “Time Heals Everything”

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3MHxPuWld5o.

It’s not the most well-known song on the list — and Mack & Mabel is certainly not the most well-known show — but this is such an incredible, devastating performance. It’s not Sondheim, but it’s breathtaking.

Source: youtube.com