Our official 2009-10 season Opening Night took place on Saturday, October 3, as Broadway legend Bernadette Peters returned to our stage for the first time since her sold-out appearance at Gala 25 in 2005. Once again the hall was filled with fans, and the stage was packed with some of the best theater musicians in New York, conducted by Bernadette’s longtime music director Marvin Laird.

Throughout the concert Peters introduced members of the orchestra, many of whom she had worked with on Broadway in such hit shows as “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Gypsy.” The Queens native was clearly happy to be on Long Island again. She fondly recalled her 2005 appearance, and the Tilles Center audience was equally thrilled to be welcoming her back.

Not surprisingly, Peters devoted much of her program to the music of Stephen Sondheim. “Gypsy” provided the evening’s framework, with “Let me Entertain You” as her opening number, and “Rose’s Turn” among her encores. As in many of her concerts appearances, “Being Alive” from “Company” was a showstopper, but she added a new song from that show to her set, performing “Another Hundred People” for the first time on Saturday night. The jazzy number perfectly captured the pace of the City that never sleeps.

As a final encore, Peters performed “Kramer’s Song,” a touching lullaby she composed herself, for her children’s book “Broadway Barks.” Written in response to the plight of stray animals, this song caught the emotions of everyone in the hall, who could easily imagine singing it to a beloved pet (or child!). After all the evening’s fireworks, it was this quiet musical moment which brought the Tilles audience to its feet.