Bernadette Peters

Born as Bernadette Lazarra in 1948 in New York, Bernadette Peters is a two-time Tony Award-winning actress. Peters will make her West End debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at the Gielgud Theatre in autumn 2023.

Peters made her New York debut in The Most Happy Fella at New York City Center. She then starred in a national tour of Gypsy, meeting her longtime collaborator Marvin Laird. Following high school, she appeared in numerous Off-Broadway musicals: The Penny Friend, Curley McDimple and Dames at Sea. She made her Broadway debut in Johnny No-Trump in 1967, quickly followed by George M! the next year.

The following decades saw Peters appear in numerous Broadway shows: On The Town (as Hildy), Mack and Mabel (as Mabel Normand), Sunday in the Park with George (as Dot/Marie), Song and Dance (as Emma), Into the Woods (as the Witch), Goodbye Girl (as Paula McFadden) and Annie Get Your Gun (as Annie Oakley). Peters won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Song and Dance and Annie Get Your Gun respectively.

More recently, Peters has starred in prolific Broadway revivals. She’s played Mama Rose in Gypsy, Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, and Sally Plummer in Follies. In 2018, she took over the role of Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! from Bette Midler.

In a review on New York Theatre Guide, the critic said: “In Bernadette Peters we have an actor who connects with her character. Peters conveys the circumstances as well as the determination needed to navigate the world as a single woman relying on her own wits. It is in her every move, every gesture. This is not a casual situation. This is survival. When this Dolly says she is tired - it is not a joke.”

Aside from her career on stage, Bernadette Peters has also enjoyed a prolific career on screen. She won a Golden Globe in 1982 for her performance as Eileen in Pennies in Heaven. She also earned Emmy nominations for The Muppet Show, Ally McBeal, Bobbie’s Girl, and her guest performance on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Peters is also a four-time Grammy nominee, notably in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.

After starring in the all-star Stephen Sondheim gala in 2022, Peters returns for a 16-week season of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at the Gielgud Theatre.