I ’ ve been a huge fan of yours since I was six years old and saw you on the 1986 Tony Awards ®, singing “ Some People ” from Gypsy . That same year , you won your first Tony ® for Song & Dance . Long before YouTube existed , I watched that show — which was the 40th Anniversary of the Tony Awards ®— on VHS over and over . What do you remember about that night ? I wore a purple Bob Mackie dress . I remember winning and how nice that was , and how grateful I was to my manager . We all work so hard , all of us performers . We love it , and we do it for the love , but you have to put in the work . It

was a great night , and I appreciated it very much .

After seeing you perform that night , I was determined to see more of your work . I went to the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City . There , I discovered that at six years old , a young “ Bernadette Lazzara ” was on the show Name That Tune . What do you remember from that experience ? I remember running , running , running ! You know , you had to run , ring a bell , and then name the tune . My mother reminded me that I lost on “ Yonkers Raceway .” I think that was the title , unless I ’ m

reversing it . I said , “ Horses , Horses , Horses ,” or “ Yonkers Raceway .” It was one or the other , but it was close . I think I won almost $ 1,000 , but not quite . They also gave me sneakers . I ' m a shoe person , so I remember the sneakers that they gave me .

Do you still have the sneakers ? ( Laughs ) No .

You started in the industry as a child , and many actors go into the theater because they are starstruck . Who were some of your heroes or celebrity crushes as a child ? I grew up watching Million Dollar Movie . I would come

home from school by 3:30 , and at four o ' clock , Million Dollar Movie was on . Those were the movies from the 1930s and 1940s . That ' s where I learned all about Ruby Keeler , who I went on to play in Dames at Sea with designs by ( your mentor ) Peter Harvey . From those movies , I learned all about Ruby Keeler and Rita Hayworth . That was my training as a young girl . We also used to watch The Ed Sullivan Show . That was so great , because Ed Sullivan used to have Broadway shows on his show every Sunday night . My mother made sure we had money for me to take lessons , but we didn ' t have money to go to the theater . I learned about Broadway

8 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE May August / June 2024 2024