BROADWAY’S PENNY FULLER TO PRESENT “A LIFE IN THE THEATER” AT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE”
Emmy Award-winner Penny Fuller, who's worked with artists ranging from Glenn Close and Lauren Bacall, to Robert Redford and Jake Gyllenhaal, will cover--in stories and song--a career that's spanned more than 60 years to date.
By CHIP DEFFAA
Editor-at-Large
Broadway legend Penny Fuller will share–in conversation and song–highlights of a career spanning more than six decades, in a unique, special presentation, Sunday May 17th, at the Bucks County Playhouse. An Emmy Award-winning actor, Penny Fuller has worked alongside some of the most iconic American actors — from Glenn Close to Lauren Bacall, and from Robert Redford to Jake Gyllenhaal.
On Sunday, May 17th, at 7 p.m., Fuller will join music director Bruce Barnes and Bucks County Playhouse Producing Director Alexander Fraser — a longtime friend — for “A Life in the Theater,” a one-night-only event in the Playhouse Barn. The evening will feature personal stories, reflections and songs from Fuller’s remarkable, award-winning career.
Alexander Fraser notes: “Now’s my chance to coax out some stories about working with the greats… Richard Rodgers, Charles Strouse, Neil Simon, Stephen Sondheim… and she’ll perform songs that have made Penny an indelible part of the American theater.”
Penny Fuller, flanked by Jesse Gellert and Michael Townsend Wright at a recent recording session (photo by Jon Gellert)
To which Penny. Fuller responds: “Well, Alex has been after me to perform at the Playhouse for the last ten years, and here we are. I have no idea what he’s going to ask me… but it’ll be a roller coaster ride to be sure!”
Tickets are $95 and include a drink from the bar, light fare, and an evening of storytelling and song. Tickets are available by calling the Bucks County Playhouse box office at 215-862-2121 or visiting BucksCountyPlayhouse.org
Fuller has received six Emmy Award nominations, winning in 1982 for “The Elephant Man,” and two Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway. She’s done Broadway shows ranging from “Cabaret” (succeeding Jill Haworth as “Sally Bowles” in the original production of “Cabaret”) to “Anastasia.” And she’s worked with some actors, like Robert Redford, on both stage and screen. She remains active to this day, often doing cabaret shows with her longtime friend and colleague, Anita Gillette.
If I may add a personal note to this report… I’ve enjoyed Penny Fuller on Broadway in both musicals, like “Applause” and “A New Brain,” and straight plays, like Wendy Wasserstein’s “An America Daughter” and Neil Simon’s “The Dinner Party..” And I’ve also been lucky enough to have her record for me. (I’ll share a photo of her in the recording studio, recording an Irving Berlin song with actors Jesse Gellert and Michael Townsend Wright.)
She’s long been a great favorite of mine, because she brings real insight to everything she does She gets inside her characters well. And she’s so expressive. She’s one of the most versatile actresses I know, equally adept at doing Shakespeare and Shaw and light comedy, on stage, screen, or TV. She’s done Sondheim on stage and “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “E.R” on screen–and most everything in between.
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