Bernadette Peters

By Ernest Barteldes

published: March 06, 2008

Bernadette Peters has appeared in classic movies such as The Jerk, Annie, Pink Cadillac, and Pennies from Heaven, as well as innumerable TV shows including Ally McBeal, for which she received an Emmy nod. But musical theater obviously still runs in the veins of this 60-year-old, Queens-born actress and singer. She continues to star in Broadway shows — her last large role was in the 2003 revival of Gypsy — while also performing her one-woman show around the country alongside symphony orchestras.

For her stop in Miami, she will be backed by the Florida Classical Orchestra, conducted by her musical director, Marvin Laird. The repertoire will include interpretations of popular standards and, of course, classic theater songs by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. Peters is especially comfortable performing songs written by the latter, the composer of Sweeney Todd, and myriad critics consider her one of the premier interpreters of his work. In many of her concerts, she dedicates at least half of the set list to Sondheim's work, which should come as great pleasure to his fans.