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Bernadette Peters: Timeless Bombshell at 78!

Broadway legend Bernadette Peters betrayed not a hint of her 78 years as she walked the red carpet at the Tony Awards this Sunday.Peters achieved stage stardom ...

Bernadette Peters: Timeless Bombshell at 78!
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Broadway legend Bernadette Peters as she walked the red carpet at the this Sunday.

Peters achieved stage stardom in the 1970s, with her formidable talent lurking behind features of such cherubic femininity that she was often compared to a kewpie doll.

She made her mark in movies as well, captivating audiences with her vulnerability in The Jerk and Pennies from Heaven opposite her then-boyfriend . 

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Onstage she often put on a 'sex kitten' persona, particularly in concert renditions of show tunes like Broadway Baby and There Is Nothing Like a Dame.

Her enduring youthfulness and slinky appeal got in her way when fans regarded her as insufficiently matronly in the role of Mama Rose in a 2003 revival of Gypsy.

When she arrived at Radio City Music Hall this weekend for the Tonys, Peters radiated an exquisite beauty honed by a rigorous diet and exercise regime.

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Broadway legend Bernadette Peters betrayed not a hint of her 78 years as she walked the red carpet at the Tony Awards this Sunday; pictured 1979

Peters achieved stage stardom in the 1970s, with her formidable talent lurking behind features of such cherubic femininity that she was often compared to a kewpie doll; pictured 1979

Her enduring youthfulness and slinky appeal got in her way when fans regarded her as insufficiently matronly to play Mama Rose in a 2003 revival of Gypsy; pictured 1979

Her impressively preserved hourglass frame was draped in a blood-red off-the-shoulder dress with tulle sleeves and a plunging neckline.

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Bringing out her luminous complexion with makeup including a slick of scarlet lipstick, she wore her signature red curls in an elegant updo.

When she arrived at Radio City Music Hall this weekend for the Tony Awards on Sunday, Peters radiated an exquisite beauty honed by a rigorous diet and exercise regime

Her impressively preserved hourglass frame was draped in a blood-red off-the-shoulder dress with tulle sleeves and a plunging neckline

Peters attended the ceremony with her husband Tom Sorce, whom she secretly married in 2024 after a two-year relationship she kept out of the public eye

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'This just felt like the right time because we love each other very much. That’s a feeling people either have or don’t have. Or maybe they like to live with people but don’t want to get married. Perhaps they had some bad marriages or relationships? I don’t know. But for me, for us, it felt right.'

She was previously married to financier Michael Wittenberg for nine years until his shock death in a helicopter crash in 2005, when he was just 43.

Peters made perhaps her most indelible mark on Broadway as a muse to songwriter Stephen Sondheim, originating the role of Dot in his 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George, and of the Witch in his 1987 show Into the Woods.

She has also starred in revivals of various Sondheim shows like Gypsy, A Little Night Music and Follies, and also .

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Peters' history with Herman stretches back to 1974 when he wrote the songs for one of her first Broadway shows, the Old Hollywood tragedy Mack & Mabel.

Most recently, she brought her star power to the Sondheim revue Old Friends, which started life in England in 2022 and came to Broadway last year.

A decade ago, she gave a viral interview in which she revealed the monastic diet and exercise regime she followed to retain her exquisite physique, via The Cut.

She began her days with a cup of coffee and three grapefruit slices, as well as tea with hemp powder and an occasional 'little bit of oatmeal,' she said.

Peters, who has won two competitive Tony Awards and been nominated for a further five, was enlisted to present best musical that evening

She wound up handing the trophy to Saturday Night Live impresario Lorne Michaels, the producer of Schmigadoon!, an adaptation of an Apple TV+ sitcom

'I don’t eat a big breakfast. Because then I’ll go down to the gym. I like to run. I do intervals. I work with a trainer three times a week,' she said, adding that she also incorporated weights into her workout routine.

'I eat a lot of sashimi, especially when I’m in a show. My diet is pretty clean. Just protein, vegetables, and salad - basically that’s what I try to stick with,' she said.

'I don’t say: “I’m going to have a cheat day.” I think I’ve gotten past that. But I don’t keep things in the house,' explained the Mozart in the Jungle star.

'My poor friend came over and she felt peaked and she said: “Do you have a cracker?” and I said: “Oh, unfortunately, I don’t have any crackers in this house.” Because if it’s around, I’ll eat it,' she confessed. 

'I share a KIND bar sometimes with my assistant, and that’s great because then you have half of the calories. I just boiled potatoes for my dog, so I just had a piece of a boiled potato, which I don’t usually have - but it’s a vegetable,' she said.

Best Musical

The Lost Boys

Schmigadoon! - WINNER

Titaníque

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

 

Best Revival of a Musical

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Ragtime - WINNER

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

 

Best Play

The Balusters

Giant

Liberation - WINNER

Little Bear Ridge Road 

 

Best Revival of a Play

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

Becky Shaw

Every Brilliant Thing

Fallen Angels

Oedipus

 

Best Direction of a Musical

Michael Arden - The Lost Boys

Lear deBessonet - Ragtime

Christopher Gatteli - Schmigadoon!

Tim Jackson - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Zhailon Levinston and Bill Rauch - Cats: the Jellicle Ball - WINNER

 

Best Direction of a Play

Nicholas Hytner - Giant

Robert Icke - Oedipus

Kenny Leon - The Balusters

Joe Mantello - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

Whitney White - Liberation

 

Best Lighting Design in a Play 

Dog Day Afternoon

Oedipus

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Bug

The Fear of 13

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

 

Best Sound Design of a Play

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Oedipus

The Fear of 13

Bug

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

 

Best Costume Design in a Musical 

Ragtime

Schmigadoon!

Cats: The Jellicle Ball - WINNER

The Lost Boys

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

 

Best Lighting Design in a Musical

Chess

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Schmigadoon!

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Ragtime

The Lost Boys - WINNER

 

Best Sound Design of a Musical 

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Ragtime - WINNER

The Lost Boys

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Schmigadoon!

 

Best Scenic Design in a Play 

Oedipus

Bug

Dog Day Afternoon

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

Fallen Angels

 

Best Scenic Design in a Musical

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

The Lost Boys - WINNER

Schmigadoon!

 

Best Book of a Musical

The Lost Boys

Schmigadoon! - WINNER

Titaníque

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Will Harrison - Punch

Nathan Lane - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

John Lithgow - Giant - WINNER

Daniel Radcliffe - Every Brilliant Thing

Mark Strong - Oedipus

 

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Rose Byrne - Fallen Angels

Carrie Coon - Bug

Susannah Flood - Liberation

Lesley Manville - Oedipus - WINNER

Kelli O'Hara - Fallen Angels

 

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Christopher Abbott - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Danny Burstein - Marjorie Prime

Brandon J. Dirden - Waiting for Godot

Alden Ehrenreich - Becky Shaw - WINNER

Ruben Santiago-Hudson - August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Richard Thomas - The Balusters

 

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Betsy Aidem - Liberation

Marylouise Burke - The Balusters

Aya Cash - Giant

Laurie Metcalf - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - WINNER

June Squibb - Marjorie Prime

 

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical 

Nicholas Christopher - Chess

Luke Evans - Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Joshua Henry - Ragtime - WINNER

Sam Tutty - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Brandon Uranowitz - Ragtime

 

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Sara Chase - Schmigadoon!

Stephanie Hsu - Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Caissie Levy - Ragtime - WINNER

Marla Mindelle - Titaníque

Christiani Pitts - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

 

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical 

Ali Louis Bourzgi - The Lost Boys - WINNER

André de Shields - Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Bryce Pinkham - Chess

Ben Levi Ross - Ragtime

Layton Williams - Titaníque

 

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical 

Shoshana Bean - The Lost Boys - WINNER

Hannah Cruz - Chess

Rachel Dratch - Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Ana Gasteyer - Schmigadoon!

Nichelle Lewis - Ragtime

 

Best Original Score

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

The Lost Boys

Schmigadoon! - WINNER

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

 

Best Orchestrations

Schmigadoon! - WINNER

The Lost Boys

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Chess

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

 

Best Choreography 

Schmigadoon!

Ragtime

Richard O'Brien's the Rocky Horror Show

Cats: The Jellicle Ball - WINNER

The Lost Boys

 

Best Costume Design in a Play 

Dog Day Afternoon

Liberation

Fallen Angels - WINNER

The Balusters

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

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