Bernadette Peters

I have to admit to having been a little nervous for this particular conversation. Bernadette Peters has been on my bucket list of interviews for a very long time.

Music is one of the things that can frame the narrative of your life and for me, the sound of Peter's voice and the music she has sung over the years, is one that I hear very clearly. She has been singing, acting, dancing and performing on stages since the tender age of three, receiving her equity card at nine during the play "This is Goggle" with James Daly, Tyne Daly's father, Kim Hunter and directed by none other than Otto Preminger.

Peters laughed as she mentioned a funny story about the experience. "Tyne Daly told me, 'I was so mad at my father, I wanted that part. He wouldn't let me be in show business!' " It was the beginning of a very long, very successful career on Broadway, in film and television and on stages across the world, with more accolades and awards than most accrue in two lifetimes. In between it all she also managed to become a champion of those who are in need, raising funds through the many charities she supports.

Below is a bit more about what makes sweet Bernadette sing.

You started very young, your first performance was at three. Do you have any fond memories you'd like to share from those early days?

What's interesting is that the memories I have about singing are, basically for me, of me just playing, singing and fantasizing. Those days the shows were live, not taped, so I didn't know anything different. I never came home and watched it back and went "Oh," and put two and two together. I was just performing and singing with these big machines that would cross in front of me. They were the cameras of course, but at that point I didn't understand what they were. Someone would just tell me to stand in a certain place and sing a song and I would do it. (Laughs)

I so clearly remember your many roles and performances over the years, especially the early ones on "The Carol Burnett Show." Was it as fun as it looked?

It was so much fun, and Carol and I are still very close. You know they put on those shows every week. They would come in on Monday to read through the script, then do rewrites for Tuesday. On Wednesday they would start blocking it, and Thursday you'd be in the studio rehearsing with the sets; and Friday, you would shoot the show. It was all so fast, and they were all so good and unbelievably creative... And Carol was just divine.

It was such a special show and, I think, will always be iconic.

Carol is one of those people who, when young people meet her, they often end up crying because she meant so much to their lives growing up. That's why television is so powerful, because it comes right into your home and you don't really know what's happening there. Television can change whatever that reality is. It can change your outlook and give you an idea of what you maybe might want to do with your life. The creative process can be such a good influence, that's why I think it's so important for television to be uplifting.

Those variety shows are so reflective of a time when there was so much more live music, you got to know the performers in a way that you don't now.

They just aren't around anymore so you can't turn on the television and experience that kind of music. You have to go out looking for it on the radio or at a concert hall, those timeless classics that have held up so well. Today's music is wonderful too, and fun to hear -- it's just a different experience. But those standards have lasted for a reason.

Do you have a preferred medium as far as live performance on stage, in television or film?

No. I really like it when the writing is good, that's where my true preference is: Television, film or whatever it is, as long as the writing holds up, I enjoy it. It's also nice to have all of the extra channels like Amazon and Hulu, things like that, because you can be as creative as you want. It gives you a bit more opportunity to have more freedom.

It's so funny, because on the Amazon show I'm on, "Mozart in the Jungle," it's about a symphony orchestra and all the creativity it takes to pull it all together.

What's your favorite part of your role as Gloria Windsor?

The favorite part for me is finding out who she is as a person. She's a suit, a part of the business aspect of it all and yet, she has great love for the creative process in the arts. It's a great combination, but it's a tough balancing act for her, to keep everything up and running. She has a wonderful relationship with the conductor, Rodrigo De Souza (Gael Garcia Bernal), supporting his chance to be artistic and creative, which she knows in the end will keep the music alive and the organization as well.

There is such an explosion of material out there because of all of those extra channels, it's pretty remarkable. One of my other favorite moments with you as a performer was in "Sunday in The Park With George" on American Playhouse. It was such an amazingly talented cast and you were wonderful.

What a show. Sondheim sort of knew it, even when he was writing it. When we first did it, it was just the first act in workshop, though we did it at Playwrights Horizon, so there was an audience. We basically had just the first act, with only a certain number of songs, because he was basically writing it as we were doing it. New ones would come in during the process, and all our jaws would just drop, because they were all so amazing.

He seemed to write pretty specifically for the actors in that particular show. Was that true?

He really writes for the character. Though in that show, when he started, the Dot character was going to be a soprano and George was going to be a baritone. When he got Mandy [Patinkin] who has a high voice, and then me, who has a low voice, he wrote for our voices. (Laughs)

You seem to have had a unique and very special relationship with Sondheim and his work.

I do, I do. I really adore him. It's funny, we actually just did a reunion show, 29 years later, of "Into The Woods" with the original cast. It was at BAM [Brooklyn Academy of Music] and in Costa Mesa and it was like a rock concert. First of all, everybody can still sing, and everybody looked great. And, to be able to revisit a wonderfully written role, 29 years later, was quite interesting and so fabulous. It really was such a great privilege.

It's also funny how the timing for this interview worked out. The theme for this month's issue is all about pets and you have been such a strong supporter of animal causes.

Oh really? We actually just did "Broadway Barks" in July. It was our eighteenth year.

Tell us a little about what the organization does. You started it with Mary Tyler Moore correct?

Yes. It was the first time that all the local rescue groups worked together, in one place. To me, these rescue groups are my heroes. It was them who said, "This is just no good. These companion animals are here to put light into the world and make our lives better, and they are being neglected." These grass-root rescue groups and organization were started by one person who wanted to do something. We gathered all them together, back then there was only six... now we have 29.

We do the event in Shubert Alley between shows on Saturday and the celebrities come on stage with an animal, talk about them and try to get them adopted. It's a great thing, and I'm so proud of it for them and for us.

You have for a very long time been heavily involved in charity work and in particular with HIV/AIDS fundraising. I thank you for that.

Of course. I always tell people because there are so many things in the world that need attention, when you see something that grabs yours, whatever it is, then you should get involved with it. That's how Tom Viola started with Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, along with Patrick Quinn during the AIDS crisis, because somebody had to do something. Now it's such a large and wonderful organization and they do so much. They donated to Katrina victims and always give where help is needed. They actually produce our "Broadway Barks" event now.

How many animals do you have?

I keep it down to two, one for each hand. (Laughs) I say that I now understand what a womanizer is, because I am such a doganizer-I want all of them. (Laughs) I have a shaggy dog named Charlie, a big dog, and then I have a pit bull. My original set, the shaggy dog lived to 16 and the pit bull, Stella, was grieving so much for him that she would push his matt up to the door and wait for him to come home. She would wake me up at five in the morning, crying, so I had to get her a companion. I needed a young, male shaggy dog that Stella would tolerate, and that was Charlie. Then Stella passed, and Charlie needed a friend, so I went and got Rosalee. Now Charlie comes and kisses me in the morning and then kisses her.

That is so adorable. They really do change your life so much.

They do, they give you light in your life and purpose. Do you have a dog?

I have a Great Dane in my life, named Brooklyn.

You have a big dog in your life! (Laughs)

I wouldn't have it any other way.

For more information on Bernadette Peters' future concert dates or the many other causes that she supports and how you can help them, go to bernadettepeters.com