Last weekend, I took my kids to see the Broadway revival of Hello Dolly. This one currently stars Bernadette Peters as Dolly and Victor Garber as the male lead.
I confess, with everything else that’s playing, this show wasn’t on my list of must sees. Except for couple of famous songs, the music isn’t very memorable and the story is old-fashioned. Furthermore, the first 15 minutes had me anticipating I’d leave at intermission.
Then, Bernadette Peters made her entrance. Oh. My. God.
Now, I have seen Peters several times before on stage and I’m a big fan of her performance on the Amazon series, “Mozart In The Jungle.” I’ve been an admirer for decades, in fact. She’s regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of Stephen Sondheim, which goes not only to her vocal chops, but her musicianship (trust me, Sondheim is difficult to learn and sing). But this was in a whole ‘nother realm of mastery.
Peters, who just celebrated her 70th birthday, has gotten better with age and the wisdom that comes with it. Besides looking incredible, her energy was boundless. This is a role that requires an enormous amount of physical comedy. She was so brilliant and funny, she had her co-star, veteran actor Victor Garber (remember him as Jack Bristow from “Alias?”), struggling to keep a straight face. The audience went wild, giving her a standing ovation in the middle of the show… otherwise known as a “showstopper.”
I tell you this because clearly, she has been on a journey, one that doesn’t end, but that is beautiful. Because if you saw her in “Into The Woods” years ago, you might also have thought, Wow! This woman is amazing!
Even though would never compare myself with an artist of Bernadette Peters’ caliber, I believe her journey is similar to one my clients and I are on. Working on our own performing and presenting skills and applying them everywhere possible. Building skills that ultimately form a foolproof system, each presentation scaffolded on the one before, tweaking and adjusting, learning new things along the way. Because in becoming so skilled, we actually have the freedom to experiment in the moment, like Peters. This is the essence of authenticity.