By Andrew Gans
05 May 2006

Q: When do you think you decided you wanted to act as a career?
Carmello: I still haven't decided. [Laughs.] Every once in a while I think, "Is this what I do for a living? I guess it is." I think after I finished college, I did a summer-stock job up in the Adirondack Mountains. [But], even at that point I didn't think, "Okay, I know what I want to do with my life now." What I thought was, "I better get this out of my system because I have a feeling I'm going to wake up one day and be 55 and think, 'Gee, I could have been on Broadway.'"

So I moved to New York after that summer — that was 1983. I moved thinking I would stay there for a year or two and realize how hard it was and realize that there was no chance I was gonna make a career out of this, and then I'd go back and go to law school or go back to my business degree. I was lucky enough to get some jobs, and every time I was ready to give up and move back to my business career, I would get another job that would kind of suck me back in. [Laughs.] So, I think it just sort of happened little by little until I was a member of all the unions and I was working year round as an actor, not having to sell perfume at Macy's anymore.

Q: If you weren't in high school shows, when did you discover that you had the voice you have?
Carmello: I guess it was in those shows in college. I also sang in the choir in grade school, and I remember there was one sort of pivotal moment that I can recall when I was seven years old. There was a choir concert that we were doing for Christmas, and I was singing in this little trio with two of my friends. I forget what the song was, but the day of the concert my two friends were sick, and I was the only one there who was supposed to sing the song. And the teacher said to me, "You don't have to do this all by yourself. We can just cut the song." And I said, "No, I'll do it." I remember, at seven years old, deciding to step up to the plate and sing the song all by myself. I don't know if it was so much about the singing as it was about the bravery of it and trying to prove to myself that I wasn't scared. . . And then I didn't really pursue it. I sang in choir in middle school, and I sang in choir in college, but it was just for fun, it wasn't because I had a great voice or anything.

Q: Do you have any other projects in the works?
Carmello: The only other thing that's in the works right now is Joe Masteroff, who's a dear friend of my husband and myself, has written a musical based on Anna Christie, the Eugene O'Neill play. He wants us to do a reading of it, so I'm trying to learn the music from that right now while I'm doing the show. He wrote the book and the lyrics, and Ed Thomas wrote the music.

Q: Last question. Do you have any pre-show rituals you go through before a performance?
Carmello: No. [Laughs.] I think that I just try to make sure that I have some voice, but I don't do a formal vocal warm-up. I try to make sure that I don't sound like I just woke up, but since I've been up since 7 AM, I always feel like my voice has kind of warmed up anyway. I'm usually getting to the theatre in time to do the fight call, which is a required part of the ritual. I do the fight call, which is when we rehearse all the fights in the show. And, for me, it's that moment where I jump on Chris Peluso, who's the actor who plays the victim. Chris and I go through the attack, just to make sure we know what all the spots are that are dangerous. It's just a safety precaution they do whenever there's a fight in a show. . . And then I just put my make-up on, go get my wig, and clear my throat. [Laughs.]

[Lestat plays the Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway at 47th Street. For tickets, call (212) 307-4100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.]

BERNADETTE PETERS at Avery Fisher Hall

After opening with an upbeat, rhythmic version of Gypsy's "Let Me Entertain You," two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters stood centerstage in a solo spotlight and delivered a haunting, moving version of the Into the Woods anthem "No One Is Alone" that underscored life's uncertainties and despairs, but more so, the possibility of a revitalizing human connection. The expression is overused, but, truly, one could have heard a pin drop as Peters gently caressed the Sondheim lyric, "Hard to see the light now/ just don't let it go/ things will be alright now/ we can make it so." Some ninety minutes later, with the house lights up, Peters offered her second encore, Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings [Instead of Sheep]," and that same pin would have echoed throughout the cavernous Avery Fisher Hall as Peters sang the simple Berlin sentiment with a touching sincerity. It's a testament to her many talents and the warmth that she exudes onstage that Peters can hold an audience so firmly in her grasp for as long as she chooses.

The sold-out May 1 concert was the first time Peters has performed before a paying New York City audience since the tragic death of her husband in September, and Peters seems to have weathered the storm remarkably well. Physically, she looks phenomenal, dressed to the nines in a form-fitting Bob Mackie creation. In fact, I've often thought she must occasionally sip from the Fountain of Youth — now I think she's been swimming in it. And, vocally, her voice is in fine form, her powerful belt augmented by her lovely soprano tones. That said, her performances of her more heartbreaking tunes are, expectedly, even more heartbreaking. When she sings Jerry Herman's "Time Heals Everything" or Stephen Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By," there is an extra layer of emotion, an added poignancy and ache that is completely gripping. Yet, Peters, it should be noted, is still a playful entertainer, one who jokes with her audience, slinks her way through a belty "Nothing Like a Dame" or a sexy "Fever" — atop the grand piano — and offers pure joy in both Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Unexpected Song" and a lovely pairing of "My Romance" and "The Way You Look Tonight."

The concert, the final offering in Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, focused primarily on the works of Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Peters was equally at home whether singing the praises of "Mr. Snow," fretting that "The Gentlemen Is a Dope" or expressing the sentiments that "Children Will Listen" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy." Other highlights included her riveting delivery of "Some Enchanted Evening," a beautiful take on the American classic "Shenandoah" (featuring sparse harmonica accompaniment by Robert Bonfiglio), a triumphant "Being Alive" and a definitive "Move On." Peters, whose solo evening was directed with artistic flair by Richard Jay-Alexander, also treated the audience to a newer Sondheim tune, Bounce's "Isn't He Something!"

After a lengthy standing ovation, Peters returned to the stage for her first encore. As she discussed the classic musical Gypsy, Peters donned the sweater and shoes she wore in that recent revival and transformed herself from the lovable singing actress into the stage mother of all stage mothers, Momma Rose. Her rendition of "Rose's Turn" was, simply, phenomenal, her final shrieks of "for me, for me, for meeeeeeeee!" instantaneously bringing the enthusiastic crowd once again to its feet. Without a doubt, this people's got it, and thankfully she's spreading it around.

DIVA TIDBITS

An evening celebrating the release of the new PS Classics disc "Jule Styne in Hollywood" will be presented May 22 at Birdland. The concert is scheduled to include performances by Maria Friedman, Leslie Uggams, Norm Lewis, Jeff Harnar, Eric Comstock, Johnny Rodgers, Klea Blackhurst, Sara Zahn and The Lascivious Biddies. Show time is 7 PM. Concertgoers can expect to hear such Styne tunes as "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Some People," "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "I'll Walk Alone," "You Make Me Dream Too Much" and "Put 'Em in a Box, Tie 'Em with a Ribbon." The upcoming CD, "Jule Styne in Hollywood," will be released on the PS Classics label May 23. The recording focuses on Styne's work for the movies, including his ten Oscar-nominated tunes. Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. There is a $30 cover plus a $10 food/drink minimum. Call (212) 581-3080 for reservations.

A showcase of music by writers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will be presented May 14 at Joe's Pub. The 7:30 and 9:30 PM concerts, entitled Become: The Music of Pasek & Paul, will boast the talents of Laura Benanti, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Todd Buonopane, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Chelsea Krombach, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Steven Pasquale and Billy Porter as well as Whitney Bashor, Nick Blaemire, Anderson Davis and Rebecca Soler. Presented by Jamie McGonnigal, the two concerts will feature musical direction by Jonah Speidel. Pasek and Paul are up-n-coming musical theatre writers. Graduates of the University of Michigan, a revue of their work, Edges, has been presented in Washington, Philadelphia and New York City. A full-length production of Edges is slated for summer 2006. (A portion of the proceeds from Become will benefit the Wylie's Day Foundation, which provides funding for research of pediatric brain tumors.) Tickets, priced at $20, are available by calling (212) 539-8778. Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Avenue. Visit www.joespub.com for more information.

Broadway Barks 8 — the annual adopt-a-thon created by pals Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore to find homes for pets from city animal shelters — will be held July 8 in Shubert Alley. More information about the yearly event, which benefits local animal shelters and adoption agencies, will be announced shortly. For more information visit www.broadwaybarks.com.

Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.

Bernadette Peters dazzles during her American Songbook concert at Avery Fisher Hall.
photo by Stephanie Berger

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