Bernadette Peters In
Concert (Acorn Media/1998)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Music: B-
Bernadette Peters is one of the great multi-talents of our
time and a few years ago, she taped a concert of mostly showtunes. Acorn has issued the 1998 Bernadette
Peters In Concert in a somewhat basic DVD that has its moments and good
singing. The songs are as follows,
after an introductory medley:
1) We’re In
The Money
2) Broadway
Baby
3) No One
Is Alone
4) Sooner
Or Later
5) Unexpected
Song
6) Faithless
Love
7) Time Heals
Everything
8) Raining
In My Heart
9) Some
People
10) Johanna
11) So Much Happiness
12) Hello Little Girl
13) Any Moment
14) Later
15) You Could Drive A Person Crazy
16) Not A Day Goes By
17) Being Alive
18) With So Little To Be Sure Of
19) Children Will Listen
20) Move On
21) I’ll Be Seeing You
22) My Romance
23) The Way You Look Tonight
You can tell she is a seasoned pro, going from song to
song with more smoothness and ease than just about any living singer live. With women vocalists in particular of late,
we have had our disappointments (regardless of music genre) and she is as
compelling as the best in the business.
That film and TV lost her to significant Broadway works of the likes of
Stephen Sondheim in particular is mass media’s loss. Most of the songs here are his.
Proving he is no slouch or has been, Bob Mackie delivers some great
outfits for Peters, further enhancing her dynamic presence.
Though this was shot in digital High Definition, why this
is framed at 1.33 X 1 instead of 1.78 X 1 is a big mystery, especially because
Peters looks good and the HD shoot looks like it is better than the usual we
have seen. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
has limited surround information, but if they downtraded the image, we could
expect the sound might have suffered as well.
Too bad this was not multi-channel or DTS, because the band is really
good as well. Extras include a bio on
Peters, weblinks, stills and complete career credits. Too bad there were not more music performances, but for what is
here, Bernadette Peters In Concert is a solid 90 minutes. Some of the songs are not as memorable,
while others grow on you the more you listen to them. Get a copy and see.
- Nicholas Sheffo
