伯娜黛特·皮特丝的母亲是她演艺生涯中的第一个领路人。她很早就发现了小皮特丝的天赋,在皮特丝只有3岁半的时候,她就安排她在《少年陪审团》(Juvenile Jury)中担任了一个小角色。尽管这听来比较有传奇色彩,但此举确实使皮特丝从很小就对音乐剧产生了浓厚的兴趣。皮特丝后来又在《为它定调》(Name That Tune)中表现不俗,成为那些小演员中表现最好的一个。到了5岁的时候,她就开始接受系统的踢踏舞课程了。
皮特丝在百老汇的初次露面是在1967年的《Johnny No-Trump》中,初次登台便获得很多剧评人的好评,接下来在1968年在《乔治·M》(George M!)中的表演更是使人觉得她不是昙花一现。而她在随后的《海上娇娃》(Dames At Sea)中的表现更是让她获得了第一个戏剧委员会奖(Drama Desk Award)。
1971年,皮特丝因在伯恩斯坦的音乐剧《锦城春色》中扮演爱丝特哈泽(Brunehilde Esterhazy)而获得了第一个托尼奖的提名。在1973年,她完成了自己在银屏上的处女作《Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies》。从此,在有余力的情况下,她开始涉足电影界,她的表演天分同样适用于电影这个领域。她在1976年参与拍摄的电影《无声电影》(Silent Movie)获得了德国金球奖的提名。
皮特丝在1974年的《麦克和梅布尔》(Mack and Mabel)中的出色发挥使她再次获得了托尼奖的提名,而她塑造的“诺曼底人——梅布尔”的形象也长久的留在人们的脑海之中。在1979年,皮特丝完成了她和喜剧电影的第一次接触——同喜剧明星史蒂夫·马丁(Steve Martin)合演了喜剧《性情古怪的人》(The Jerk)。
在进入80年代以后,皮特丝好运不断。1981年皮特丝和史蒂夫·马丁合演的《天降好运》(Pennies From Heaven)获得了她的第一个金球奖,同时她的第一张个人专辑——《演唱现在开始》(Now Playing)也得以正式发行。
皮特丝在经历了三次托尼奖的提名之后,终于在1985年迎来了自己的第一个托尼奖项。这次她得以获奖的剧目是传奇韦伯的《歌与舞》。并且又接连获得了戏剧协会奖(Drama League Award)和戏剧委员会奖。从此之后皮特丝的演艺生涯可以说是一条坦途。在1987年由桑德海姆推出的《走进丛林》(Into The Woods)中,皮特丝凭借她出色的发挥捧得了第二尊戏剧委员会奖。
在音乐剧领域获得重大成功之后,皮特丝将目光再次转向了影视界。在2001年的上半年,皮特丝拍摄了她的第一部印度电影《让雪飘》(Let It Snow)。同年,她还灌制了由罗杰斯和小哈默姆坦作品精选而成的一张CD,全部由她进行全新的演绎,这张唱片将于2002年的3月推出。当然,皮特丝并没有放弃她在音乐剧方面的演出,她已经决定在2003年重演的桑德海姆名作《玫瑰舞后》中出任妈妈罗拉这个角色。而这个剧目正是当初幼小的皮特丝初涉百老汇所接触的第一部名作。相信皮特丝这次会给我们更精彩的演出。
在皮特丝杰出的舞台生涯中,这位两度获得托尼奖的女演员以其非凡的魅力征服了挑剔的观众,她就像拥有分身的魔术一样,出现在音乐剧的舞台、电影电视的荧屏、音乐会等多个不同的领域,并且都取得了不俗的成绩。在百老汇音乐剧的历史上,伯娜黛特·皮特丝已经成为同艾索·摩曼和玛丽·马汀一样著名的传奇人物。
by Jason Ankeny
One of the biggest Broadway stars of her era, Bernadette Peters was widely acclaimed as the finest singing actress to come along since Barbra Streisand. Born Bernadette Lazzara on February 28, 1948, in New York City, she began singing and dancing while a toddler, and was already a member of Actors' Equity by the age of nine. By 1959, having adopted the stage name Peters, she appeared in a revival of The Most Happy Fella, subsequently co-starring in a road tour of Gypsy; however, she then retired from performing for a time, extensively studying acting and singing during her late-teen years.
In 1968, Peters won a Theatre World citation for her performance in George M!; that same year, she also garnered a Drama Desk Award for her comedic turn in the off-Broadway spoof Dames at Sea. During the late '60s and early '70s, however, she suffered a series of theatrical disappointments, among them productions of On the Town, La Strada, W.C., and Mack and Mabel; as a result, by the mid-'70s she was also regularly appearing in film and television roles. Peters' Hollywood breakthrough arrived in 1979 opposite co-star Steve Martin in The Jerk; two years later, they reunited for the fascinating flop Pennies from Heaven.
Returning to Broadway, she reached new peaks of success as the star of a pair of Stephen Sondheim musicals, 1984's Sunday in the Park with George and 1987's Into the Woods; for her work in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance, Peters earned a Tony Award. During the late '80s, she mounted a hit cabaret act, which focused largely on show tunes but also included an effective cover of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." After a disappointing return to Hollywood, Peters reappeared on Broadway in 1993, starring in The Goodbye Girl; however, the show closed after less than 200 performances.